Goodby Cambodia - Xin Chào Vietnam

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We stayed here for only 3 weeks, not much to judge anything.

Cambodia is the place where some travellers ask if it is possible to fall in love with a country and others are glade to leave it as soon as possible.

Cambodia is the country of a glorious history and a horrifying recent past.

Cambodia, where the sadness of the victims is hidden behind beautiful smiles.

Cambodia is the country of Angkor Wat, the country of the beautiful Apsara dances and unfortunately also the country of the Killing Fields.

Cambodia has obviously many faces.


I met so many nice and friendly westerners, who came here to start a new life. Many of them frankly told me, that they have fallen in love with Cambodia.

Obviously Cambodia is more than Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields.

I have to admit, first it sounded very strange to me, when someone said that he has fallen in love with Cambodia specially after the violent recent past. I tried to imagine a foreigner coming to Germany maybe 12 years after the end of world war 2. Could he also fall in love with Germany ? This is something I find hard to imagine. I guess the difference between Cambodia and Germany has something to do with the age of the people. Big part of the population in Cambodia -different than in Germany at this time- is very young and has nothing to do at all with the Genocide.

Though we leave Cambodia, it will keep me occupied. I bought so many books about Cambodian recent History in Kampot ( yes there is a very good book store) that I need months to read them all.
But I know exactly what I will do when I have read all these books. I will invite some friends for dinner and we are going to watch the movie "Same same but different". This film is based on a real story. A young German backpacker comes to Phnom Penh and does what many young people do. He goes to a disco and -what a big surprise- gets to know a Cambodian girl. Both fall in love with each other but the problem is that she is a prostitute and has HIV. She has to support her family with the money she earns with this business. I don't want to tell her the whole story but it has a very beautiful Happy End. So young man, be careful when you come to Cambodia, you might loose your heart.

Goodby Cambodia

Next destination Vietnam. I look forward to come back to Vietnam.




Recommended reading:
"When the war was over - Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution"
by Elizabeth Becker
"River of Time" by Jon Swain

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Comments

[Walter]

What a shame !
Thank you for your comment. I agree with you, I have read the same thing. What a shame! At the same time when the US-Government supported the Khmer Rouge they also supported the Contras (group of Terrorist) in Nicaragua to fight against the Sandinist Government.