I left Cambodia after eight days wondering whether I travelled the country “right”. Did I need to stay longer, or did I just not go to the right places? My time in Cambodia featured neither incredible beaches (although I heard the island Koh Rong in the south may tick this box), outdoor adventure, thrilling social experiences, nor, besides Angkor Wat, magnificent cultural and historical landmarks. Overall, it was light on “highlight reel” moments, novel experiences, and picturesque post card sceneries – the things I normally associate with my favourite travel memories.
On the contrary, between learning about the recent history of Cambodia, including the ruthless reign of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s resulting in the deaths of more than a quarter of their population, and seeing so many solo old white men at seedy bars ogling at every Cambodian woman passing by, more than a few times in Cambodia I found my experience to be quite sobering.
The above has made me reflect on what travelling “right” means and what a good travelling experience is. Just because I didn’t leave Cambodia with a travel “high” feeling, something I left my most recent travel destinations with, does not mean Cambodia wasn’t a rewarding travel destination.
This is my biggest takeaway from Cambodia. “Traveling right” is more than just feeling like Dora the Explorer, constantly feeling adventurous or excited by doing new things, partying in exotic places, or relaxing by a beach. “Traveling right” can take many forms, including ones that result in you leaving a place with a sombre feeling and questioning whether you travelled it correctly. It can take the form of a primarily educational experience that shows you darker sides of humanity and history. Travelling can encourage you to look inward, with experiences that compel you to ask how you can be a better person and make an impact on the world, and make you more aware and grateful for the privilege you were born into.
Here are 21 other musings from my eight days in Cambodia, followed by highlights from my itinerary.
21 Additional Musings
1 – Khmer vs Cambodian. The first musing addresses a question I had in my mind when I first entered Cambodia: what is the difference between “Cambodian” and “Khmer”? Both are widely used and seemed to be interchangeable. Simply, Khmer refers to both the primary language of Cambodia and also an ethnicity of a group and Cambodian is the nationality. Since over 95% of Cambodia is Khmer, they practically mean the same in many contexts.
2 – The Khmer are Kind. The introduction to this blog entry paints a picture that is not so rosy, but I want to make it clear to readers that I had many fun and positive moments too. I recognize this is a little cliché to say and can be said of the people from many countries, but almost all of the Khmer people I interacted with seemed authentically kind. I don’t think I had a moment where I felt like the person I was interacting with was rude or faking being nice. The first person from Cambodia I met on this trip was actually someone working in Bangkok. Pich (Diamond) worked at the company that operated the shuttle that I took from Bangkok to Siem Reap and her kind-hearted nature was a representative precursor to the kindness that was to follow. You know, I think I have been called “handsome” more in my eight days in Cambodia than the rest of my life (so… maybe like 6x). Is this sufficient evidence of them being kind? It is possible, yes.
3 – But are the Khmer also submissive? Cambodia is known for the Angkor Wat, a massive temple complex built in the 12th century during the Khmer Empire. As it should be, this is an immense source of pride for Cambodians. But a review of much of Cambodia’s more recent history will show that they have been dominated, either directly or indirectly, by France, Vietnam, or Thailand. One tour guide claimed that because they have been dominated for so long, Cambodians are generally submissive people and their defense in conflicts is not to say no, but to ignore. I wasn’t in Cambodia long enough to have an opinion on the accuracy of what I consider a provocative statement, but maybe this plays a role in why my experience with the Cambodian people has been so positive – not only are they kind, but Cambodians generally just aren’t that combative and confrontational. This is interesting because it makes us wonder about the strength of the relationship between our country’s history, family history, and the way we are.
4 – Why do we Travel? According to Yuval Harari: Romantic Consumerism. A related question to “how to travel right” is “why do we travel to begin with”. Yuval Harari, historian and author of “Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind, would respond by saying the reason humans travel is not innate and instead is shaped by imaginary realities. Travel is not something an alpha chimpanzee male or ancient Egyptian elite would do with their power and fortunes. Instead, Harari argues that why most people leisure travel is shaped by romantic consumerism, a fictional concept combining romanticism (i.e., to realize our human potential, we must have as many different experiences as we can) with consumerism (i.e., to maximize our happiness, we must consume more).
I think his point is valid and true. Even if the reason we travel is shaped by imaginary concepts (which can understandly come across as “superficial” at first, which has negative conntations) I don’t view it as problematic. If we feel that accumulating a variety of experiences through travels improves who we are as a human living in the society we are in, we can use our new knowledge to try and make the world we live in a better place. Here the motivation isn’t as important as the result.
5 – Gastrodiplomacy and the Mediocrity of Cambodian Cuisine. Like the food in Laos, I think the food in Cambodia is meh: OK, not bad, not great. In response to this, Jason, my Tour Guide in Kampot, after explaining the best Cambodian food is found at the homes of locals and not restaurants, explained that this perception is due to a lack of a national gastrodiplomacy policy. Gastrodiplomacy refers to a state-led policy of promoting national cuisine to foreign audiences and a way of marketing national identity through culinary culture. A country’s focus on gastrodiplomacy casts a positive light on a country, generates tourism, and increases the perception of a country’s cuisine. Increased investment into developing national food spurs modernization and increases the quality of its food.
6 – Gastrodiplomacy in Thailand vs Cambodia. Perhaps our association with Thailand with great cuisine (like Pad Thai!) is primarily due to effective gastrodiplomacy programs. In 2002, Thailand launched a clearly successful program that involved, among other things, the creation of thousands of new Thai restaurants globally (the government offered loans for Thai nationals looking to open restaurants abroad). Is it a coincidence that Japan and Malaysia, two other Asian countries we associate with “good food”, also implemented gastrodiplomacy programs? Surely gastrodiplomacy efforts have influenced our perception of not only food in the country, but the country itself. It was only in 2021 that Cambodia launched their own official gastrodiplomacy program, which will likely feature fish amok, a dish I didn’t try in my stay. This food propaganda is something to keep an eye on over the next decade…
7 – Angkor vs Anchor Beer. Two popular beers in Cambodia are Angkor Beer and Anchor Beer. Because they sound virtually identical, one thing you may experience in Cambodia is receiving beer from one brand when you actually wanted the other. Canadian intellectual property law is not something I studied in law school but seeing multiple travel buddies confused upon receiving their beer made me question whether this is something that would fly in Canada and other parts of the world, something I will think of when I study for the bar exam on my return to Canada.
8 – Cambodia, an ideal place for deep travel experiences. In my Laos blog post, I talked about deep travel, which is obtaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of the places you visit, including the local way of thinking and living. While it can be achieved in many ways, it clearly is best achieved through direct contact and meaningful experiences with locals for long durations of time. Because Cambodia has fewer “tourist hot spots” and unique things to do than neighbouring SE Asian countries, I think it makes it an ideal place for a conventional deep travel experience, such as volunteering or working and living with local families for an extended period of time. This is because there is a smaller opportunity cost of doing this in Cambodia compared to other countries, which offer more unique experiences and more tourist “hot spots”. I met a young Swiss traveller who used Workaway to find a volunteer opportunity – he got to live with a Khmer family for two weeks while helping teach English and was keen to share all that he had learned about Cambodian culture.
9 – The annoying acceptance of US Dollars. Cambodia accepts both US Dollars and the Cambodian Riel. You may think this is advantageous as it gives you more flexibility with how to pay, but the opposite is true. I found it a nuisance receiving a mix of currency back as change and the most annoying thing is that with respect to USD, they only accept USD that are in almost perfect condition. Any imperfection means they won’t accept it, which meant I had to be careful about how I handled US cash and have some anxiety over whether payments would be accepted.
10 – Majestic Angkor Wat. I followed the advice of many and woke up at 4:30AM to catch the sunrise over Angkor Wat and it was as majestic as advertised. While there were still many tourists, since I visited Cambodia in low tourism season, it felt a lot more serene than I had envisioned after seeing how busy it can be on Google Images. At Angkor Wat, you can either buy a one-day pass or three-day pass. I opted to visit the complex main sites in one day, and I found that was enough to get my temple fix, however since it is the largest religious monument in the world, you can easily spend two full days here. The temple complex is truly a masterpiece and shows the power and strength of the Khmer empire.
11 – The Complex Cambodian Flag. On the topic of Angkor Wat, did you know that it is the centrepiece of the Cambodian flag? The flag even includes details of the steep stairs that lead to the doors of the temple. Imagining drawing this flag got me thinking whether the Cambodian flag is one of the more complex national flags in the world. The OP of this fun reddit thread concludes it’s at least in the top 20% most complex flags!
12 – Why are Cambodian hostels so good? Because SE Asia is such a well-trodden backpacking region, there are so many hostels to choose from. And because there’s high competition among hostels, including in Cambodia, the overall hostel quality is incredible for what you pay for. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cambodia had some of the best you can find in the world. For example, for $4 a night, I stayed at Onederz in Phnom Penh which had a rooftop pool and bar, a well-staffed reception, commonly cleaned bathrooms with warm showers, and an in-house restaurant. In contrast, the shared dorm accommodations in China and Mongolia (where I am writing this entry) are so much more basic for what you pay and this is likely due to these countries having a smaller backpacking culture and thereby less hostel competition. I suspect that since Canada, like China and Mongolia, doesn’t have a big backpacking culture, the hostels are also likely lower quality.
13 – The reason there are so many stray dogs. Like many SE Asian countries, there are many stray dogs, but it is only in Cambodia where I learned a likely reason why: 80% of Cambodia is Thervada Buddhist and neutering dogs goes against Buddhist teachings (although my quick research suggests there is not an official Buddhist stance).
14 – And why do so many cats have bent or no tails here? While not as common as dogs and not seen as much in major cities, the cats I did see (many near monasteries) all seemed to have no tails or bent tails. Sensing my distress, I was told not to worry. This is not caused by mutilation and is simply just a common genetic trait of cats here.
15 – Mildly Interesting Monks. With more than 80% of Cambodia being Buddhist, there are unsurprisingly plenty of beautiful monasteries and many monks. What I found moderately intriguing was seeing monks doing normal people activities. A teenage monk was in front of me purchasing junk food at the corner store, bobbing his head to music on his phone, and a Swiss traveller I met told me he even saw some listening to music on airpods.
16 – Monk Life. Seeing the above got me curious enough about monks, particularly the life of the boys at Buddhist monasteries, to ask questions about it on a group tour. For whatever reason, I had this idea in my head that child and teenage monks at monasteries forgo education entirely, which made me sad, thinking they may end up potentially spiritually wise, but not so in most other areas. This is not the case. Not only do monasteries provide education, but many monastic students come from poor families and are extremely grateful for opportunities they otherwise would not have, including having adequate shelter. I was told that many of these students stay for as long or short as they want and even wealthy families send their children to live at a monastery for a period of time. Altogether, this shows the important role Buddhism plays in Cambodian life.
17 – The Personal Finance of Cambodians. I was also told that the average salary of an “unskilled worker” in Cambodia is $300-350 USD per month, which equals a yearly salary of $3600-4200 USD ($5000-$5800 CAD). Even if the cost of food, accommodation, and transportation is significantly lower here, it’s clear that basic luxuries the Western world values are out of the picture for most. As someone interested in personal finance, I would be curious to learn more about the budgets of Cambodian families. How much can they possibly save?
18 – “Genocide”. Exploring Cambodia is incomplete without familiarizing yourself with the “genocide” at the hands of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s (the reason I put the word genocide in quotes is that it doesn’t meet the legal definition of genocide, but this is beside the point). Visits to the Security Centre (S21), a high school that was converted to a torture facility in the 1970s, and the Killing Fields, a site of mass killings, are helpful places to learn more. One of the things that really made it hit home was being told many were killed simply for having glasses or soft hands (suggesting vanity, education, and an avoidance of manual labour).
19 – Cambodian Movies. I try to watch movies or shows that relate to the country I’m in, whether it is because of the film location or content, when I am in that country. Two “Cambodia” films that I watched or attempted to watch are “First They Killed My Father” (2017) and “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” (2001). First They Killed My Father, directed by Angelina Jolie (whose son, Maddox, was adopted from an orphanage in Cambodia), shows what life was like under the Khmer Rouge through the life of a young girl – a worthwhile watch and is on Netflix. Tomb Raider was so bad I couldn’t’ get through it but it apparently showed a portion of the Angkor Wat complex that I went to.
20 – Favourite parts of a country. When I talk to people from a country, to spark ideas for my blog post, I have got into a habit of asking them what their favourite part of their country. Some answers I received included Angkor Wat, the sea near Kampot, fish amok, and the friendly people. The answer I found most interesting was: “Freedom. Cambodia is not a nanny state, and you can do anything”.
21 – A gloomy experience. It might be this “freedom” that contributes to Cambodia having gained a reputation for sex tourism. I will refrain from passing on too much judgment on people I don’t know or a culture I don’t fully understand, but I will say I often felt disturbed seeing so many old white men, often solo or in duos, sometimes in trios, beers in hand, at seedy bars eyeing every local woman passing by. Etched into my memory is walking by a dodgy massage parlour near my hostel in Phnom Penh and being grabbed in the arm by a girl, who couldn’t be older than 14 years old, offering massage services. As Cambodia continues to get richer (Cambodia is still one of SE Asia’s poorest countries measured by GDP per capita), one hopes you see less and less of this.
Highlights from my Cambodian Itinerary
I visited three places in my eight days in Cambodia. I spent four days in Siem Reap, two days in Phnom Penh, and then two days in Kampot, before leaving to Bangkok. Highlight activities from my time here include:
- Being entertained at Phare, the Cambodian Circus (Siem Reap)
- Learning more about the Khmer Empire at the Angkor National Museum (Siem Reap)
- One day at Angkor Wat doing the small circuit (Siem Reap)
- Exploring nightlife at Pub Street (Siem Reap)
- Visiting APOPO Visitor Center, which showcases “hero rats” who are trained to detect landmines (Siem Reap)
- Visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S21) and Choeung Ek Genocidal Center (one of the major “Killing Fields” used by the Khmer Rouge) – at both sites, remember to get the audio guide! (Phnom Penh)
- Bike Tour with Jason’s Bike Tour. Highly recommend! He is a Canadian that moved to Cambodia years ago that never looked back. (Kampot).
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