In just a couple days so far Cambodia is a world of difference from Thailand. I expected them to be different in many ways but I also expected way more similarities than there are.
It is a dirty place. Now don’t get me wrong, dirty can be great, sometimes there is nothing better actually, but sometimes when you go for a walk down one road and your back is covered in mud then it gets a little old. Today we went to a market and I was racing to get out of it, it was a vegetarian’s worst nightmare. Blocks long of stands under a huge tarp with endless amounts of meat, all of it cut, all of it old, covered in bugs and flies, and dripping all sorts of liquids all over my feet. Live skinned frogs, fish cut wide open, snakes, full pigs heads, cows tongues, nasty nasty meat sitting there for days sometimes weeks on end. There were piles of garbage in every aisle, sometimes up to your knee, and the smell was unbelievable. It was hard to imagine that this is where most of the restaurants are buying their food for all the delicious meals we are eating every day.
For sex lovers, drug addicts, pedophiles, party animals, or gamblers, Cambodia is the place for you. It is Vegas minus the money and glamour; anything you want you can have…at a very small cost. The moment I walk out of my hostel in the evenings I have men surrounding me, first they ask if I want to buy pot and within seconds they are running down the list of the endless highs I can purchase, cocaine, opiates, heroin, ecstasy, anything I want. How about taking home a women, nope not interested there, well can a child entice you then? This is literal people, ANYTHING you want you can have, it will cost you nothing but somebody else their life. The hostel I am in has a sign posted about not doing drugs here because it will ruin your life; I cannot imagine how many travelers came here for a party and end up leaving their spirits behind.
And men, don’t get me started on men! I have hardly looked at one white man in the last month and not felt a boiling hate for who they are and what they are doing in this continent. The trail of damage and pain that the western men have left behind is unfathomable. Married men, fathers, grandfathers, business men, political figures, men from every walk of life coming to these countries to find themselves a cheap virgin. They are freakin proud of it too, they have no shame attached as they parade around their purchase for the night. They even have the audacity to act like the heros , like they are at least giving the girls good money so they have a chance at a future or giving them their first and only amazing sexual experience, like the girls have been waiting all their lives to have the pleasure of crawling into bed with a foreigner. It leaves me speechless and angry, it makes me cry, it makes me want to save the world.
Now don’t get me wrong, there are a million wonderful things about the country as well. I have fell in love with certain things already and I have also accepted when you go to a new country that is so different from your own, it takes a period of adjustment and often times your attitude isn’t the best in the first day or two. One thing I have loved is the children. I have fallen in love with Cambodian children; they are so absolutely beautiful and very cute. Many of them are learning English (whether through work or school) and all of them love to practice it with you. You would be hard pressed to walk by a child and not get a huge smile with a big hello to follow. I love the attitude here as well. Everyone is so friendly and they always want to just hang out and chat or help you in some way. Last night I was outside on my computer and a lady came up and asked to go through my pictures. She sat there for a half and hour giggling away as she enjoyed the snapshots of my latest adventures. It was very neat to share that with her and something totally new for me.
I cannot wait to discover all the other beautiful gifts that Cambodia has to offer. I am certain my time here will be quite the adventure and I am sure I will learn not only a lot about the country but also about myself and my limits. Now I just need to get my little butt adjusted!
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