I felt very sad to leave Cambodia.
It seems to grow on you and it's definitely something to do with the people. I found them more humble than in Thailand and always ready to live for the moment.
Toby once said i was getting the 'Cambodia bug', as he called it.
People have very hard lives here....
The average wage was just $60 - $80 US a month, sometimes less in the garment factories.
I met lots of people who only went to school for 1 or 2 years as their parents couldn't afford more. These people were obviously intelligent but due to their lack of education had ended up doing low paid jobs. It was also common to see women doing hard, manual labour like working on building sites.
A waiter i spoke to in Sihanoukville said the younger folk look after their families as much as they can. He said he used to be a lorry driver, but being the only son, his parents were scared he'd have an accident, so persuaded him to become a waiter. He earned $80 US a month and sent $50 US of this home to his family. He managed it by eating and sleeping at the restaurant. He was 32 but not married, as he had no money to impress upon any girls...
The $3 barbeque seafood meal i ate there was actually almost a days wage for him...i made sure i always tipped him a dollar each time...
The guide we had in Battambang may have eluded to why Cambodians are the way they are. He said the Cambodians who survived the Khmer Rouge feel like they had begun a new life. He felt he had begun his second life...
..for a people who had been through so much war, misery and turmoil, I hope, now peace is here, the country and its people will continue to prosper, without losing their innocence and charm...I wish them well...
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