Arriving in Phnom Penh

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Stepping out of Phnom Penh airport in the late afternoon, my lungs are instantly filled with hot tropical air; not at all unpleasant in contrast to the chilling winds I’d left swirling behind me in the Australian winter. I barely have time to register my surroundings before a man approaches to whisk me straight into an airport taxi, pre-empting my thoughts before I have time to breath a nervous word of my shaky, infant Khmer. As I instinctively make my way to the left-hand side of the car, I quickly realise I’ve had my first cultural embarrassment by forgetting that the front passenger’s seat is on the right-hand side! The next moment of cultural difference proves less trivial however, in that the driver does not know the location of my hotel, and my language skills are not at all up to the task of giving directions. But after a chat with his colleague, the driver smiles and nods at me, having found where to go.

We then proceed to fly through the city streets, weaving in and out of an eclectic and chaotic mix of tuk-tuks, open-air trucks bursting to the brim with commuters, motorbikes often with three people squished onto the seats, and expensive-looking cars which I’ve heard one travel book describe as belonging to the “Khmer riche”. It feels like I’m caught in a surreal symphony of horns and beeps, as we meander through a landscape featuring older colonial-style buildings, tiny street stalls, glistening new developments, and colourful, competing signs advertising different mobile phone providers and plans. Old and new seem to be just as complexly intertwined in the urban fabric as the various vehicles are on the roads. We eventually swing into a quieter street and pull up at the hotel, and as I step out onto the streets of Phnom Penh, my senses are instantly met with the rich and fragrant smells of various fruits and meats that I can’t yet identify, but can’t wait to learn.

However, as I enter my room, I’m suddenly hit by a rush of emotions: I feel like I’ve been hurled headfirst into the thick of things (certainly into the thick air!), which to be honest, is incredibly terrifying. I confess that for these first few moments of my arrival I have “I Still Call Australia Home” nostalgically running through my head, drilled into my brain through all those Qantas ads. However, as if approaching the downward drop of a rollercoaster, after this initial terror comes a rush of adrenaline, excitement, and joy. I’m here to learn and grow, and feel so privileged to be able to step out of my own cultural shoes and into those of another (though in literal terms, the footwear of Australia and Cambodia is very similar: thongs seem to slap the pavements of Phnom Penh as much as they do the Australian sands!).

As I switch on the television and curiously flick through the mix of French, British, American, Korean, and Khmer channels, I am once again reminded of how small and intertwined the world is, and how we must cherish and value any and all opportunities for cross-cultural sharing and respecting/embracing difference: yes this is important for the globalised economy, yes this is valuable for international politics, but most of all, it is an essential part of being human. Can’t wait for what this Exchange brings!

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Comments

[theary khmer]

Welcome to Cambodia!
Wish you all the best with your international studies. This is a great website while staying in Cambodia! http://www.canbypublications.com/ Theary

[HannahJohn]

Thank you so much for the kind welcome and good wishes, and for sharing the link! That will be really helpful! :) Best wishes to you too in your travels.