Cambodia
Woho, I'm late late late (sounds like Mr. Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland)
Cambodia is full with beggars. It's not a critic towards them, not at all, life is damn difficult in Cambodia. Especially if you were so unlucky as to walk on a landmine or another UXO (unexploded ordnance). If you lost your parents or were abused and had to run away to live in the streets. If life just brought you down and made you enable to feed yourself and your family. Yes, Cambodia is hard with its people.
As a result, you see many children trying to sell you books, bracelets, postcards, fruits and so on. Everywhere. They learn some sentences such as "X bracelets for x dollaaaaaaaar" and "money to go to schoooool" but are not able to answer when you ask them where are their parents. Most of them will not go to school, for the very reason that the "money to go to school" is easier to get than the hard-won money of the parents.
Some of the children live in the streets too and do as they can to survive, be it stealing, selling or begging. And you see many of them and you cannot do anything because they are just too many and you cannot help all of them.
I usually prefered to buy things from parents. Had I needed a book, I would have bought it from this man in a wheelchair. They are trying to make a living for their family without involving their children. They didn't decided they would walk on this mine. Buying from a child will just incourage his parents to send them selling again. So if I see a child, I just try to determine which ones are his parents and go to buy something from them.
Help the local economy, encourage the fair trade, give some tip, always remember they are human beings like you and me, and not just "another beggar". See their families and their hopes behind their eyes and don't get angry at them. If you don't need anything, just smile and send them off with some words.
Yeah, seeing so much poverty has been hard.
But the other side of it is that Cambodians are struggling to live and will take any opportunity to improve their condititions. It almost turned into a cultural side in Cambodia, and most of the people that will talk to you will be wanting something.
If they don't approach you for money, they will because you are a Western girl or boy and they have ideas of how easy it can be to reach you. I didn't count how many guys ask for my phone number, even sometimes a man in his 50s.
So... it was difficult to get to make a genuine friendship with a Cambodian. I was lucky enough to know two monks in Phnom Penh, Phra Chhunny and Phra Sotheara, from Chiang Mai. They introduced me to one Cambodian guy in their temple, and it was great just being around Wat Kropeha with him. Or the people at the wedding I went to, with Phra Chhunny and Phra Chuaon.
Yes, you do have nice people in Cambodia. The best way to find them is to avoid Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville and go really far away from the touristic paths. It will be easier to get to know the Cambodian people if they don't see you as just another tourist.
I was in Cambodia from May 3rd to 18th. Two weeks, three cities and a mixed feeling about it all. I met really nice people, saw the amazing temples of Angkor and enjoyed the feeling of "real life" that Thailand is sometimes missing. But, in the same time... it was hard.
Cambodia is full with beggars. It's not a critic towards them, not at all, life is damn difficult in Cambodia. Especially if you were so unlucky as to walk on a landmine or another UXO (unexploded ordnance). If you lost your parents or were abused and had to run away to live in the streets. If life just brought you down and made you enable to feed yourself and your family. Yes, Cambodia is hard with its people.
As a result, you see many children trying to sell you books, bracelets, postcards, fruits and so on. Everywhere. They learn some sentences such as "X bracelets for x dollaaaaaaaar" and "money to go to schoooool" but are not able to answer when you ask them where are their parents. Most of them will not go to school, for the very reason that the "money to go to school" is easier to get than the hard-won money of the parents.
Some of the children live in the streets too and do as they can to survive, be it stealing, selling or begging. And you see many of them and you cannot do anything because they are just too many and you cannot help all of them.
I usually prefered to buy things from parents. Had I needed a book, I would have bought it from this man in a wheelchair. They are trying to make a living for their family without involving their children. They didn't decided they would walk on this mine. Buying from a child will just incourage his parents to send them selling again. So if I see a child, I just try to determine which ones are his parents and go to buy something from them.
Help the local economy, encourage the fair trade, give some tip, always remember they are human beings like you and me, and not just "another beggar". See their families and their hopes behind their eyes and don't get angry at them. If you don't need anything, just smile and send them off with some words.
Yeah, seeing so much poverty has been hard.
But the other side of it is that Cambodians are struggling to live and will take any opportunity to improve their condititions. It almost turned into a cultural side in Cambodia, and most of the people that will talk to you will be wanting something.
If they don't approach you for money, they will because you are a Western girl or boy and they have ideas of how easy it can be to reach you. I didn't count how many guys ask for my phone number, even sometimes a man in his 50s.
So... it was difficult to get to make a genuine friendship with a Cambodian. I was lucky enough to know two monks in Phnom Penh, Phra Chhunny and Phra Sotheara, from Chiang Mai. They introduced me to one Cambodian guy in their temple, and it was great just being around Wat Kropeha with him. Or the people at the wedding I went to, with Phra Chhunny and Phra Chuaon.
Yes, you do have nice people in Cambodia. The best way to find them is to avoid Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville and go really far away from the touristic paths. It will be easier to get to know the Cambodian people if they don't see you as just another tourist.
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