Contradictory Cambodia

Some of the beautiful kids we met

After starting off our Cambodian experience in the countries glorious past, we have now spent some time in modern day Cambodia as well – a country full of contrasts that gave us lots to think and wonder about.

Battambang, one of the province capitals, has been a two days stop. The city can’t be compared to the glittering, noisy Siem Reap that so clearly is the tourist capital of Cambodia. Battambang is dirty, horribly poor and dark after nightfall. But it is also welcoming with brightly smiling locals, charming with its old French colonial houses and tasty with some real Cambodian food and great coffeehouses. It is the province’s urban center with bustling markets and paved roads. But it is also the most rural place we visited in Cambodia, bedded in nothing but rice fields and a couple of villages in the middle of the jungle that can only be reached on dirt roads, maybe not at all during the rainy season. 

The trainride is about to start - we are still smiling

 It offers the touristic attraction of the bamboo train that, if you dare riding it, makes your back hurt crazy for a couple of days. But taking the train will also lead you to a wonderful little village in the middle of nowhere where you’ll meet local girls and boys that are so eager to get to know you, play with you and share their thoughts without asking for anything in return. Battambang’s surroundings bear witness of old Khmer glory in the many

In deep discussion with one of our guides

Angkor temple ruins that are scattered around the jungle. But they also bear witness of the more recent devastating Khmer Rouge rule that threw the country in a long period of darkness and ethnic conflict in the killing fields that surround the city and the infamous killing cave in the mountains.

Boah ey, a palace!

Next on our trip was Phnom Penh, the exotic capital of Cambodia. Phnom Penh might not play in the same league of southeast Asian megacities as Bangkok, Hanoi or Hoh Chi Minh City –but it might step up there sooner than you’d think. Skyscrapers start reaching up, financed by the Chinese, life in the streets is noisy and fast, smog is hovering the city on sunny days and modern, cool eateries, cafes and nightclubs dot the city. 

Enjoying the visit to a German restaurant

The city is international, catering to the quite large expat population’s and the tourists’ needs with international cuisine, nonstop electricity, hot showers, a large variety of English language newspapers, western music in the streets and almost total WiFi-coverage. The Cambodian history is omnipresent in old temples, the palaces and the beautiful history museum as well as the places of national memory in Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek. The signs of a new, hopeful and promising Cambodia line the streets in ultra modern office buildings, democracy monuments and shiny new temples – and in the many young Cambodians that come to the city with hopes and dreams for a bright future. Unfortunately, Cambodia and its capital still have a very long way to go. The education of many Cambodians is basic, the infrastructure in most of the country is underdeveloped, human rights and especially those of children 

Choeung Ek

aren’t well protected, there is very little industry and economy is still down, the vast majority of the

people have no access to fresh, clean water, not to mention medical care…the list of problems is long. After having spent two weeks here, all we can say is that Cambodia captures the visitor with its contradictions and contrasts and we really hope that a brighter, better future lies ahead for this warm, welcoming and absolutely beautiful country. 

Beautiful scenery at Phnom Penh