Monday, May 17, 2010

Phnom Penh: Guns, Ganja and Girls




This is literally the title of a book that I picked up while here – and a surprisingly fitting title for a book about PP. I was blown away by my first step in Cambodia – a fully developed urban grind with more than its fair share of taxi, tuk-tuk (motorcycle with an attached cabin for passengers) and cyclo (a pedal bike with 2 comfortable seats for passengers) drivers yearning to take visitors to the Killing Fields and the Firing Range. I’ll get to these soon.

First of all I arrive on May 5th, better known to many as Cinco de Mayo – the celebration of Mexico winning the battle at Puebla and popularized by gringos especially in border states (Cali, Texas, etc.). Since I was staying at “Hotel California” in PP, I arrived to a full-on party at my hotel’s bar. When presented with margaritas and carnitas with beans and rice I was more than happy to join in the fun. The night progressed to a smattering of local bars and my oh my did I see more hookers than I ever have in my life. That explains the “Girls” part of the book – apparently prostitution runs rampant in PP and is inexpensive and virtually legal.

The next day I went for more cultural activities and visited the T21 museum that was used as a prison camp during the Pol Pot / Khmer Rouge regime. A brief history for those who may not know: Cambodia’s King was overthrown by a US CIA-backed coup that was soon ousted by a militant group Khmer Rouge who effectively killed or imprisoned all the nation’s “elitists” including those educated, living in cities or with wealth. The KR ran everyone out of Phnom Penh, tortured and killed an estimated one to two million citizens and wreaked havoc throughout the country through fear and intimidation. So, the museum lays out this tragedy and the Killing Fields show the area where, like a concentration camp, the bodies were just thrown upon each other in heaps. It’s an incredibly sad history and it is amazing how Cambodia has recovered from such a brutal history. Cambodian people were so sweet and a welcome break from the too-obvious hustlers from Indonesia. Other Southeast Asia countries call them “naïve” but as a traveler it is such a relief to not have to negotiate for 1 hour for a decent price.

This history led to the “guns” part of the book which now is a business that allows tourists to shoot any of a large inventory of weapons (including AK-47s, rocket launchers, uzis, etc.). I didn’t do this activity but lots of tourists do.

Now to the “ganga” part…in a country that seems to be lawless it is only fitting that restaurants openly advertise their “happy” pizzas. All tuk-tuk drivers also pull over and ask if you if want anything. The city is definitely a bit crazy, but given the friendliness of the citizens, it more than makes up for the lawlessness. The next stop was a bit more of a dip into earlier history with a visit to Siem Reap and Ankor Wat, some of the largest Hindu temples in the world built around 1000-1100.

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