Most of the culture we saw in Cambodia was experienced from the back of a tuc-tuc, zooming past verdant rice fields, down red dirt roads, past shacks built on stilts. I’d love to share with you some of what I observed:
– There is very little waste management or environmental protection.
Cambodia is a lot more polluted than Thailand. There is a problem with littering and it seems that the only way to dispose of garbage is to burn it.
Cambodia is a lot more polluted than Thailand. There is a problem with littering and it seems that the only way to dispose of garbage is to burn it.
– It is extremely dusty!
– Girls are purchased for pleasure.
It’s very evident when you see old American men with young, beautiful Cambodian women what their relationship to one another is. It’s extremely sad, but very common for men to travel to Southeast Asia to pay for sex. We saw many men at our hotel in Siem Reap with women that were definitely not with them by any choice of their own. It makes me feel so sick that they are subjected to this and feel that it is their only way to survive. Part of Kone Kmeng’s mission is the prevention of child trafficking. People in this part of the world are so desperate for a way to make money that they will do anything, including selling their child for what is promised to be “a better life”.
It’s very evident when you see old American men with young, beautiful Cambodian women what their relationship to one another is. It’s extremely sad, but very common for men to travel to Southeast Asia to pay for sex. We saw many men at our hotel in Siem Reap with women that were definitely not with them by any choice of their own. It makes me feel so sick that they are subjected to this and feel that it is their only way to survive. Part of Kone Kmeng’s mission is the prevention of child trafficking. People in this part of the world are so desperate for a way to make money that they will do anything, including selling their child for what is promised to be “a better life”.
– People ride bicycles and motorcycles everywhere (and often with 3, 4, or even 5 people on one!)
– There isn’t much variety in food.
There are no grocery stores or supermarkets and many restaurants do not serve food to order (instead in large pots removed from heat and therefore very susceptible to bacteria). We ate most of our meals at a little roadside restaurant which had a couple of rice or noodle dishes to choose from. The locals bought their food at a nearby market which was full of disgusting chunks of meat and fish covered in flies and sitting in the blazing sun. Our diet lacked fruits and vegetables and nearly everyone on our team got sick at some point because of the food.
There are no grocery stores or supermarkets and many restaurants do not serve food to order (instead in large pots removed from heat and therefore very susceptible to bacteria). We ate most of our meals at a little roadside restaurant which had a couple of rice or noodle dishes to choose from. The locals bought their food at a nearby market which was full of disgusting chunks of meat and fish covered in flies and sitting in the blazing sun. Our diet lacked fruits and vegetables and nearly everyone on our team got sick at some point because of the food.
– Many people do not value education.
– Children must fight for their rights.
Instead of being at home doing homework in the evenings, kids roam the streets (in tourist areas) selling books, souvenirs and flowers in order to pay for their family’s food and if they’re lucky – tuition.
Instead of being at home doing homework in the evenings, kids roam the streets (in tourist areas) selling books, souvenirs and flowers in order to pay for their family’s food and if they’re lucky – tuition.
– Parents leave their children for a more prosperous future in Thailand.
It’s a situation similar to Mexicans illegally immigrating to the United States.
It’s a situation similar to Mexicans illegally immigrating to the United States.
– It’s extremely hot and we are constantly sweating.
The heat in Cambodia is dead air; there’s never a breeze.
The heat in Cambodia is dead air; there’s never a breeze.
– The people are beautiful, friendly and very respectful.
– White people are a spectacle to be seen.
On our daily tuc-tuc ride we would be hollered at and waved at every couple of minutes. Children would come running out to the road to say hello and adults would giggle and point at the colour of our skin.
