March 2017

I have been struggling to write my thoughts on Cambodia. I always like to write about the positive side to a country and then maybe add the less positive side to balance the writing.

Unfortunately, there is not a lot to write about regarding the positive side to Cambodia. In fairness to Cambodia, we didn’t cycle that far or were in Cambodia for that many days – 420 kms and 11 days, partly because we didn’t like the country. We spent three days cycling from the border in Vietnam and three days to the border of Thailand and two days cycling around Angkor Wat.

When we entered Cambodia, I thought it was a friendly place, people helped us get across the border and find our hotel in Bavet. However, things were not as friendly in Phnom Penh or Angkor Wat. We felt as if we were being ripped off at every available opportunity. Strange really in the rural areas we were charged a reasonable rate for water and drinks, and we felt that the people were honest. The people who were the poorest were the ones less likely to rip us off.

Cambodia is a small nation 181,035 sq km, with a population of approximately 15 million people, 68% of that population is under 30.

Cambodia is very poor, it is the poorest nation in South East Asia. There is very little industry and the agriculture is very limited. The sad thing is there doesn’t appear to be any help from the government to help people have a better life. The government is reportedly very corrupt.

As cyclists we enjoy getting to meet local people and chatting to them about their country. In Cambodia the interaction between the locals and us was very limited, their English was very limited and of course for us to learn Khmer for such a short time was not practical. We did try to learn a few words, as usual, but even our attempt at please and thank-you and hello etc. was not greeted with any enthusiasm.

We did speak to one person who spoke good English in Phnom Penh, he was a tuk tuk driver and night porter at the hotel where we stayed. He had three jobs, night porter, tuk tuk driver and he had a little bit of land where he grew rice where his family lived about two hours from Phnom Penh, he only saw them one day per week.

What we did learn about Cambodia was from our New Zealand friend Bethy and her friends (in Phnom Penh). We noticed a lack of kids going to school on a regular basis in the rural areas. Bethy indicated that the schools held classes in the morning and in the afternoon. One set of kids would go to school in the morning and another set of kids would go in the afternoon.

In the rural areas we cycled through we noticed very few kids in school. Only one area when we cycled from Kralanh to Serei Saophoan did we notice schools that were full throughout the day. We also noticed in that area a lot more high schools and further education. Whoever was in charge in that area was definitely helping the population.

Cycling in Cambodia was difficult for us, we do like to cycle on paved roads. All the roads that led away from the main highway were dirt roads with red dust that got into everything. The main paved roads were not too bad to ride on, although some of the roads were chip and seal.

I had not been able to find out very much about cycling in Cambodia because most touring cyclists take the northern route over Laos and then into Thailand. Cambodia was the most expensive country to cycle in – it uses U.S. dollars along with the Riel. The prices reflect what you would pay in dollars in the U.S. you pay the same amount in Cambodia. For example a lunch-time sandwich and fries would be $8.00 each, an evening meal ranged from $10 – $15.00 especially if you were eating western food. Of course if you ate local food, it was cheaper, but there were some very scary looking local food. The beer was always cheap. However, the accommodation was reasonably priced, averaging $10 to $20 U.S, but you got what you paid for!

One of the main reasons to go to Cambodia is Angkor Wat, a spectacular area. However, the government may have priced that out of the budget of the average backpacker and touring cyclist. We chatted to one backpacker who had been informed that the corrupt government wanted to discourage independent tourism and only have “package” tours as they can control the money better.

The other reason to go to Cambodia is to go to S21 and the Killing Fields in Phnom Penh, although I don’t think your average tourist would want to be reminded of the inhumanity of man to his fellow man. That tour was a very sad and sobering day, something that should not be forgotten.

Pol Pot wanted Cambodia to be as great as the Khmer era when Angkor Wat was built. Did this mean he wanted to have a population that was kept in their place with no opportunity for improvement. If that is the case, he has succeeded. Pol Pot killed 25% of the population and the majority of those killed during his very short reign were educated people.

I expected Cambodia to be poor, what I didn’t expect was the lack of optimism of the people. However, if you know your government is corrupt and you have no opportunity for improvement, unless you work 18 hours a day like the tuk tuk/night porter driver in Phnom Penh, why would you be optimistic.