Cambodia. The new Wild, Wild West.Practically no police presence. Their transportation system is inadequate. No one practices road safety. Mothers and their infants ride on the back of motorbikes. Two, three, four people on one motorbike. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone wearing a helmet. Pedestrians step into and stroll through traffic as if there are no cars and motorbikes zooming by. They would put a professional New York City jaywalker to shame. You may spot the stray officer attempting to direct traffic but his efforts are in vain.
Wanna see how they drive here? Check out these links.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffk2rqY83Is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hHw8Z4tF28
This country is in desperate need of sanitation, tourist revenue and school teachers.
Piles of garbage lay strewn on every sidewalk, street and alleyway of the hotels, restaurants, businesses and homes, waiting to be burned. Or worse, just decompose. The rain and mud make matters worse. But this is a fact of life here. It appears that they have sanitation trucks, maybe one or two.Not exactly the type of thing that attracts tourists, eh?
What is a big attraction for tourists and expatriates is the standard of living. Beers are $0.75. Well drinks are $2.50. A complete meal costs anywhere between $2.00 and $5.00. A standard room at a
guesthouse, like the one I stayed at during my first week -- Rory's Guesthouse -- costs $11 per night. The average rent for a one bedroom apartment is $150 per month. But these are luxuries that foreigners indulge in since a large percentage of the population live below the poverty line. Adults and children make a living on the street, begging and stealing and eating food from the trash. They don't have social security, so a job is essential to survive. The average salary for a full time hotel employee is $95 per month. But a foreigner working as a part-time English teacher (15 hours a week) can make $150 per week. Cambodians treat foreigners very well, often better than they treat fellow Cambodians. It certainly puts one's life back home into perspective.
Schools campaign vigorously for English-speaking teachers. Yet, once you arrive, you're greeted with procrastination, disorganization, somewhat shady characters and next-to-zero direction. During last year's trip, I was working for a long-established organization that ran a successful program, so I didn't have to deal with the bureaucracy. One thing's for sure, this experience has taught me a lot of self-reliance.But do you know what really bothers me? And I'm not alone in this. They have no respect for your time, are slow to provide information and refuse to admit when they don't understand what you are asking them (read: yes you to death). I've been told by expatriates that the reason for this is that Cambodians always want to save face, not look bad. Whatever the case is, it's a nightmare for any tourist trying to schedule anything or get directions.
