a collage of bits of Cambodia
The country that affected me most was Cambodia. The feeling there was much different than any other Asian country that I visited. Vietnam is more influenced by China and it is evident in their temples, food and society. In Cambodia however, the temples are incredibly different from anything I have ever seen, the food has more curry and milk, much like Thai food, and the people interact with you in a completely different way. It felt a bit more threatening and a whole lot more unstable, but it was refreshing to hear people openly bad mouth the party in power.
We were there when the country's 4th elections were taking place. Emotions were stirring and party banners lined the road. People were proud to have voted but did not seem surprised when the same party that has been running for 15 years, the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), won yet again. It seems that the CPP will continue to deposit the Cambodian people's money in their own accounts and give nothing to their people. If this is doomed to continue for 5 more years, when will it be declared a failed democracy?
It is sad and infuriating to experience a bit of the rich and lost Khmer culture only to find out that the bit of hope these people had on their election day was immediately destroyed by these CPP gangsters.
2 comments:
I can't seem to stop thinking about Cambodia, especially after hearing some Sin Sisamouth tunes. It's a simultaneously crushingly beautiful and crushingly sad place; Angkor Wat and begging orphans. They've been attacked by the French, Americans, Vietnamese, Thai and, most terribly, by themselves.
I agree a million fold. I still feel that crushing feeling from both extremes when I think about Cambodia.
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