So I left Bangkok, I left Thailand to travel to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, one of its neighbour countries.
I was still up in the air, the aircraft was doing its approximation to the runway and I could verify something that one can read in any travel guide talking about Cambodia: it's a rural country, about the 80% of its population life in the countryside. It was easy to see from the window of the aircraft, as only fields and narrow roads could be seen.
I don't want to be missunderstood, but I felt that I was landing into a poor country. But, what does poverty mean? Is poor something bad? According to the IMF, Cambodia is on the 143rd place out of 181 according to its GDP. What should I expect? No idea, honestly.
I am at the terminal, but it's not done yet: I need a visa, so I pay $25, and right after a few minutes of no idea what was going on, I get my passport back, as the authorities had taken it out my hands to check it out and stamp my visa on it, but with no explanations. A passport is just a few sheets of paper, but it's my life if I am out of Europe.
So I get out of the terminal, I exchange some dollars. In Cambodia you can pay in American dollars, Riels (national currency), or you can mix them if you consider that $1 = 4000 riels.
I take a taxi to the city. I guess that the $8 flat fare I paid made the taxi driver happy, as for just $2 you can get a really decent meal in a local restaurant. Anyway, I want to get out of the airport.
I was soon "attacked" by the driver's questions. A nice way to start is asking about my home country, and that's what he did. Obviously, but when he knew I am from Barcelona he declared himself a Spanish national football team supporter. I said I was a fan too. What was I supposed to tell him, that I am Catalan and I speak a different language? That I declare myself Spanish just because that is what my passport says? I'd love it, but it was not a good idea.
On the way to the city I noticed that the motorbike is the right means of transport... there were hundreds of them around me! I saw up to four people on a motorbike, helmet is just an option, and the sit either looking forward or sideway. If there is any child, always in-between the adults.
We drove along a wide avenue, people were walking back home and children had just finished their school day. I was surprised by the amount of people and the way they drive... you can do anything!
In the traffic lights, the motorbike riders next to my taxi looked at me. By far, there are much fewer tourists than in Thailand. If I smile to them, they smile back to me. They look gorgeous, they are what we would call "exotic", Southeast Asia is an historical meeting point of the Indian and Asian cultures.
The driver was soon interested on what I would be doing tomorrow... He offered me to go anywhere, he would drive me. In other words, he gave me a piece of paper, with his name, telephone number and "best friends" written on it.
During the 20 minutes ride I found what I was looking for: the excitement of a new place, with new people and new culture to discover. I liked it.
Once I left my luggage I went for a walk, it's easy to walk around because the streets follow a gird pattern, just like Manhattan.
During my stay in Phnom Penh I noticed that the tuk-tuk drivers are really persistent... they used to follow me with their vehicle at the same speed I was walking, trying to drive me anywhere I wanted to go, they even waited for me to get out of any temple to keep insisting on driving me! And one more thing I noticed, specially in Siem Reap: they have no idea about the place you want to go... They just tell you to get on the tuk-tuk, how much they want for the ride, and then they are as lost as I am in a city I have never been before.
A couple of tips: ONE -->for a short ride in the city I would never pay more than $1 (and I guess is still expensive, but... I'm a foreigner). TWO --> show the driver a receipt, lets say, of a restaurant, claiming that it is the address where you wanna go, if he says that he know the place... Up to you!!
As it happens in most of Asian countries, you eat in the street unless you wanna go to a tourist restaurant where you will pay five times what you will pay in a local place. So, as a tourist you have the chance to eat in a decent restaurant, with a selection on western and asian food, and you will pay +10$. But if you feel you are a traveler instead of a tourist, I would recommend to eat in a local restaurant. These are the details that make the trip unforgettable and worth: you will find food stalls where you take away your meal, but if you decide to seat down, you will probably find yourself in a "street restaurant", with plastic tables and chairs, some of them in the streets, some others indoors. Tables are usually big and you can seat anywhere, so don't be surprised if a local seats next to you, maybe you will even have the wonderful experience of getting to know a local. On the table you will share spicy sauces, green tea and the napkins. Under the table, a huge litter basket is used to throw away the used napkins.
Any variety of rice or noodles is available, and even if you order "chicken with green curry", you will get plain rice with it. On the other hand, if you order "rice with chicken and green curry" you will get it mixed.
Cambodians get up early, but they also go to bed earlier... and don't make too much distinction between day weeks and weekends. I felt that looking at your watch constantly is useless, time is a much more relative concept, and I loved it.
Cambodia is a great place to visit; great heritage spots, really decent food and nice people.
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