Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Oh Cambodia, it’s difficult to stay optimistic as a tourist in a country ravaged by corruption, inefficiencies, and severe income disparities.  While the country is relatively peaceful compared to its traumatic history of genocide, civil war and famine, we couldn’t help but compare it to its more successful neighbor (Thailand).  

Hoping for beach time, we traveled south towards the Gulf of Thailand, only to discover an undeveloped destination.  Our first bus broke down, delaying us over four hours - we wrote it off as a fluke.  After spending one night in Phnom Penh (sadly, a sleazy aura of prostitution and disabled beggars) we journeyed on a second bus to the coast.  Open minded, we took the ride in stride as it too was delayed and then broke down.  The scenery over two days included never-ending barren rice paddies, deteriorating shacks built on stilts, spewed garbage, bicyclists overloaded with goods, and wandering cattle on the road.  Arriving to a scruffy and hedonistic beach (with signs clearly not adhered to: Prostitution Prohibited) and an abundance of child beggars, we decided the destination wasn’t our style.

We bought bus tickets to Thailand, only to find out the next morning the bus was actually sold out for several days.  Feeling traveller’s fatigue of broken buses and promises, Ken hired a private taxi to transport us to the Thai border.  The ride was surprisingly pleasant through the rolling jungles of the Cardamom mountains.  On the upshot, we can only hope the combination of tourist dollars and foreign investment will help pull Cambodia from poverty and corruption to one of prosperity and stability.

If you’re looking for an easy read to learn about Cambodia’s tragic history under the Khmer Rouge, try “First They Killed My Father” by Loung Ung -- a true account of a child’s terror written by a female refugee.