Cambodia

1. Phnom Penh

As an introduction to Cambodian culture and history, I wanted to start with the National and Genocide Museum. It was really interesting, but the museum at the former S21 prison about the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot was intense. I had to digest it first. I already knew something about this part of history, but I wasn't aware of how brutal and cruel it was...

The city of Phnom Penh didn't impress me much. Poverty is strongly felt here. It's terribly dirty, stinks, and the traffic is even crazier than in Bangkok. As a white pedestrian, you're being watched by everyone here, and it doesn't seem to be appreciated if you don't take a tuk-tuk. Even if you prefer to walk (on the nonexistent sidewalks).

The hostel was perfect and there were nice people from all over the world to chat with. I started a conversation with a Dutch woman who works here, and she recommended me the best vegetarian restaurants as a vegetarian. 😉 They were really delicious. I wouldn't have dared to eat street food like in Thailand...

Excursion from Phnom Penh: On "Silk Island" in the Mekong River, silk is produced, spun, and woven in villages. I could see how the thread is obtained from the silkworm cocoons. Since then, I have been quite disgusted by silk 🙈

     2. Battambang

Battambang is a smaller city on the way to Siem Reap (Angkor) and is located west of the large Tonle Sap Lake. You can't do much sightseeing here, but I learned a lot about the countryside and the people, their way of life, culture, and the history of Cambodia.

Thanks to the friendly Bun, my tour guide, I got an insight into various traditional crafts. He took me to a local market, where it made my stomach turn several times. If the internet could send smells, you would also feel sick looking at the pictures. There was pretty much everything, starting from live snakes, skinned rats, whole pig's heads, pig's brains, leeches, insects, and live tied-up ducks...

The paradise for vegetarians and vegans, huh? 😂...

I also visited the Bamboo Train, a bamboo train built out of necessity on tracks, which used to serve for transportation but is now only operated for tourists.

But my highlight of the day was the very authentic 80-year-old cigarette lady, who has worked her whole life rolling cigarettes - and will continue to do so until she can't anymore. Her 90-year-old husband built her a wooden contraption many years ago, which allows her to roll several cigarettes at once. She was very proud of it! She told me about her history during the Pol Pot regime and showed me pictures of her family. So sweet!

To finish it off, I visited a kind of theater/circus that supports the lives of children and teenagers through an art school and educational programs. Besides Cirque du Soleil, this was one of the best performances I've seen so far! 😊

I had very interesting conversations about Khmer culture with Bun. During Pol Pot's regime, much of the culture and knowledge was lost. There were no longer allowed to be individuals, only workers and farmers, no intellectuals or academics. Even people who simply wore glasses were killed...

I think anyone who comes here as a "Western" person has great respect for the people here, who lost more than a quarter of their population to murder in a very short time (some estimate 5 million), has little money or resources, and yet looks very determined to the future in the new generation.

1. Siem Reap and Angkor

About 900 years ago, when Rome was still a small settlement, there was a kingdom here with 1 million inhabitants and a high culture that attracted people from all over the world. Now I know why!

The Buddhist and Hindu temple ruins that can be seen here are only a part of what remains. And a creepy fact: in the not too distant future, there will be very little left of it, as the sandstone is being destroyed by rain and nature.

The history and details of my three-day visit with Irene and Willemien from Holland would exceed the scope here. In any case, I had a great time here with very likable and funny company.

Conclusion: A trip to Cambodia has broadened my horizons. It clearly shows how privileged we are in a country like Austria in terms of freedom, education, equality, hygiene, healthcare system, freedom of expression, and peace. Most of this is taken for granted by us, but here it is anything but self-evident. And despite everything, the people here are mostly very open and warm-hearted.