Since being a punk fan in my early teens, Cambodia has been on my wishlist because of the Dead Kennedy’s song ” Holiday in Cambodia’. Actually, no, not really. If you know the song, it satirically makes fun of American college kids jaded with the West and how they should go to Cambodia to experience some hardship. This song is from the 80s, right after the Cambodian genocide, so it makes it even more satirical. Listening to this in 2024, I can think of some situations where it is familiar now…. anyway.
After experiencing the beginning of Tet, I decided to go to Cambodia to avoid the crowds and inflated prices since it was a 7-10-day ordeal in Vietnam. My first stop was the capital, Phenom Penh. Phenom Penh might have been my least favorite for this trip. I found the city to be a bit depressing.
What was wrong?
It’s dirty, it’s hot, there are not so many green areas, and trash is burning in the streets. It’s not my first experience with these places, but I wasn’t a fan. The most “interesting” aspect of it was a very depressing topic.
It’s full of sex tourists. Every major shop had Viagra and condoms at the register. You see these smirking older Western guys from the US or Europe with much younger and beautiful girls. All of them have some look of despair on their faces. The hotel had a sign that said sex with children and trafficking is illegal. Cambodia used to be a prominent place ( probably still is )for not only sex tourism but also child sex tourism. Interpol and even the FBI do some work catching many of these nasty men, but not fast enough.
Most of the ” ladies of the night” seem to be of age, but I am sure much worse stuff goes on behind the scenes. This isn’t just mail-order bride stuff. It is explicitly older men coming there to sexually abuse a young girl. Maybe one that is an older teenager of a legal age, but it is still nasty. I feel so sorry for them. I hate this is a reality for many women and feel it’s incredibly unfair someone like me gets to choose what life I want, and these women are stuck with this life. Birth is a lottery. I’m sick of those pretending it isn’t.
Another thing I didn’t like about this place was the situation with the pagodas. People pile money on the Buddha; right outside, you see people begging. This was something I remember from Myanmar. I can’t stand this. I don’t mean to take a total dump on religious institutions. Many of these temples and churches probably donate the money to charity. I don’t have facts and figures for each one, but it is sad to see people in rags while these religious institutions are exceptionally maintained.
I know they rake in tourists, but donating money to verified local causes is a better idea. This helps people directly. In addition, these causes help under-served people build skills to help themselves. I’m NOT throwing a wad of cash to one of the sky daddies in the hope that some friendly monk feeds some kid.
So, did you see anything interesting?
The biggest must-see, in my opinion, is the genocide museum. I know this isn’t adding much serotonin to my post. But you can’t skip this in Phenom Penh. It’s very informative, and this horrible chapter of history needs to be taught. Even today, people keep missing assignments on this topic.
The museum is officially the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, or simply Tuol Sleng. The museum chronicles the Cambodian genocide. It’s in an old high school that was used as Security Prison 21 by the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 until its fall in 1979. Nearly everyone who went through these doors was murdered. The Khmer Rouge was one of the most vicious of the 20th century. If someone were to make a tournament of vicious regimes of the 20th century, it would easily make the semi-finals.
The Cambodian genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Pol Pot ended up killing 1.5 to 2 million people from 1975 to 1979; this was a quarter of the Cambodian population. Pretty much blinking the wrong way would get you sent to one of these brutal prisons and killed. The US government is guilty of sending aid to them in the 1970s to offset the Vietnamese communists.
The museum is very informative. It comes with audio guides, but even without them, a lot of literature is posted. It takes a couple of hours minimum to see it properly. It’s pretty grim walking through what looks like a classroom turned concentration camp. You can also go to the killing fields out of the city to see and learn more, but I opted out as I had enough for one visit.
So, sex tourism, greedy pagodas, and genocide? Did you enjoy anything with this place at all?
The area near the Russian market has some nice things to do, but they are somewhat expensive for what they are. The area has a lot of NGO/Diplomatic types who mostly live there. This can be a refreshing crowd to be around at times. I met up with a couple of friends I know from various travels. We went out for some lovely Mexican food from a guy who lived in Southern California for a while. There seem to be some fun things for people who live there, but it is still one of those bubbles.
Despite my reservations about this topic, the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda are also stunning and must-see. However, their hours are weird. They are mostly open during the hottest part of the day and close pretty early, which causes my patience to dwindle.
Another interesting thing, about Cambodia is that they have a fabulous king who sounds like a fun guy. I’m not crazy about monarchies, but this one, similar to Europe, doesn’t have as much to do with politics, although he probably should. He sounds more clever than the ones in charge. He is an elderly bachelor who lived in Prague for many years. His favorite hobby is critiquing Czech theater. He was a ballet instructor in Paris. I’m sure he is a blast at parties.
I’m sure there are more things this city offers, but it ranks the lowest of the Southeast Asian capitals that I’ve visited so far. I am sure there is more to it. If I’m wrong, please feel free to tell me. Next, I’ll talk about Battambang and Siem Reap, which I immensely enjoyed.