lundi 21 avril 2008

I wasn`t ready...

After visiting Bangkok, I thought every place in Southeast Asia should be more or less just like a hot version of home. This is just not the case... Cross the border to Cambodia and find a bus or taxi along the Brocken Backside Boulevard to Siem Rap, and it will be like stepping inside a time-machine to a lost world: the one of the long-gone Khmers...

2 commentaires:

Anonyme a dit…

Remember Lesotho and Swatziland?
We found americanized civilization even there, in form of horrific Mc Donalds!
Will be Cambogia still intact?
To you the answer....

Carlo a dit…

Hi n2! Cambodia is not intact at all... America is here with all of its might. This country is poor at the highest degree and they`re not yet recovering from the impact of communism. But they don`t use their local currency (the RIEL) and one dollar is the price for everything... one dollar for water, one dollar for a tuk-tuk ride, one dollar for your a t-shirt, one dollar for a small Buddha statue, one dollar for breakfast, lunch or dinner, one dollar for foot massage, etc etc. In Siem Rap, just by the famous Angkor, the impact of tourism is horrific and most, if not all, youngsters, spend their day begging at the corners of the streets... so deceiving! Anyway there is no McDonald yet! You can still eat with locals at local food stalls and try to chat for a minute or two with the Khmer people. But I am really looking forward to leave this fake place to find the real Khmer world in its everyday life. Stay tuned!
N1