Two-motodop ride

Let me tell you my experience with motos yesterday.

I was about to go home.  A motodop stopped to pick me up.  I negotiated my fare and rode with him when he agreed.

His motorbike broke down along the way.  I felt pity for him.  He would probably need to fork out at least a chunk out of his hard-earned money for parts and maybe labour in order to fix his bike.  Since it wasn't very far from where I wanted to go, I chose to pay him the agreed fare and walk the rest of the way.

My motodop accepted the payment but he did not let me walk.  (Hardly surprising - it is out of culture here to walk further then a few steps since motos abound and will take you most places quite cheaply).  Instead he hailed another motodop for me.  He kept half the fare, and gave the second motodop the other half, and asked him to take me the rest of the way.

I was happy to receive this service.

The second motodop took me the rest of the way, and then told me that he was not given enough money.  He wanted double what he was given.  I explained that I had paid that double to the first motodop, but he would not have that.  He explained that he had taken me a long distance and deserved the full price; not half.  I told him that I normally pay that price for travelling from a further point, but he still disagreed.  In the end, we met half way.

I was not happy for the second motodop's insistance.  Had I known he would say this, I would have chosen not to have ridden with him.

In the end, I shrug my shoulders and think "oh well".  It wasn't a big sum of money anyway.  It was the principle of honesty, keeping one's word, being civil (or otherwise) that was troubling, not the price.

Too long?

I read in the Cambodia Daily about a prison that is being built in a province.  I have forgotten which province it is, I think it is Kampong Thom.

Anyhow, if my memory serves correctly, the story told of a prison that was built many years ago, to house 40 prisoners.  Over the years, the prison has deteriorated due to lack of maintenance.  Walls have started to crumble, and the roof has fallen in some places.

Over the years, the prison has also grown to house over 200 prisoners.  These prisoners now fear for their safety in the midst of an overcrowded jail that could fall on them.

A new prison is in the process of construction.  It is a more modern facility.  However, it took a long time to get approvals and money, so it is about 10 years behind schedule.

I find it sad to read of conditions like this.  I wonder how much of the country faces similar management issues?  Ie. how much have deteriorated due to lack of maintenance, and how many projects fall behind schedule due to delays in fund-raising and approvals?

Gambling

I wonder if gambling is legal in Cambodia?

The 2005 edition of "Culture Shock! Cambodia" says it isn't.  It says that the reason there are many casinos near the Cambodia-Thai border is because gambling is illegal in Thailand but not Cambodia.  So the Thais who want to gamble cross the border into Cambodia, and hence poor some of their money into this country.

Last Friday's edition of the "Phnom Penh Post" however, says something to the contrary.  It mentions gambling as a past-time associated with the kick-boxing sport and other sporting past-times favoured by the Cambodians.  It says that Prime Minister Hun Sen has outlawed gambling, but it continues.

Perhaps gambling was legal in the past, but no longer legal now.  Perhaps certain types of gambling is illegal but not others.  I wonder what the real scoop is.

Priority

It was a little embarrassing to see a couple of Buddhist monks trying to get ahead of the queue while boarding AirAsia last Sunday.

AirAsia has a system running where passengers may choose to pay extra for the privilege of choosing their seats and for boarding earlier than everybody else.  It is not an unusual system on budget airlines.

These Buddhist monks did not pay for the privilege, but assumed that they would be given priority.  I do not know why.  Maybe they simply did not understand the announcement.  A few other people (ie. not Buddhist monks) had also similarly misunderstood.

Maybe it is the culture in Cambodia, which gives honour and priority to Buddhist monks, Prime Ministers, and other people of privilege and seniority.  Perhaps these monks were Cambodians who had enjoyed this privilege almost all their lives while in Cambodia, and simply did not think to behave differently while in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

I wonder if they were denied the privilege because they were in a different country?  I mean, would they have been given this privilege at a Cambodian airport?  Or does the culture of airports excempt them from the privilege they would have enjoyed in other parts of their home country?

Nevertheless, I do appreciate that it can be embarrassing, to have become so used to a particular culture, and be expected to behave differently while being in a different one.

Remembering the Dead

Many things in Cambodia remind people about death.

A school in Phnom Penh was converted to become a concentration camp when Pol Pot was in power.  Many died at this concentration camp.  This school has been converted to a museum to remind people of the atrocities of that era.

Tragic stories of the Khmer Rouge era are also recorded in text-books, tourist guides and other material.  It is hard to visit Cambodia without hearing something of this past.

The Chinese tradition of remembering ancestors is observed here since many Cambodians have Chinese ancestors.  This is why many visit the cemeteries during the April “Cheng Meng” season.

Some also have altars at their homes for worshipping their ancestors.

In the Khmer calendar, Pchum Ben in October is as important an event as Khmer New Year.  During Pchum Ben, people would bring rice sacrifices and money to the temples to feed the monks and honour their ancestors.

Suppressed anger

Somebody once asked: "how could a man like Pol Pot be so cruel to his own people?"

After some reading and talking to some people, here is the answer I have come to understand.

The Cambodians are really very gentle people.  The language, the culture, all leaves one to appear happy and peaceful.  Any negative emotions like anger, frustration and rage are kept hidden - ie. not to be revealed to one's neighbours.

However, this suppressed anger has a nasty side when it is let out.

Cambodians are also highly into violence.  Not in their everyday behaviour, mind you, but the television shows, dramas and comic books that they enjoy show their tendency towards this.  Usually, it is just watching violence as a form of entertainment.

When the suppressed anger was released through a man corrupted with power with a tendancy towards violence back in the days of the Pol Pot regime, disaster ignited for the country.

Note: this is an opinion formed from recent understanding of the Cambodian mindset.  I do not know how accurae my recent understanding is.  Nor do I really know what went on inside the mind of Pol Pot.

No faith in banks

I hear that many Cambodians do not trust banks.

Apparently, there was a time in the past when banks closed, and people were not able to withdraw their money before it happened.  Many people lost their savings as a consequence.

Maybe the lack of faith also has roots during the Khmer Rouge era.  When the red army took over the country, people did not have the chance to avail of their money or buy their way out before the persecution and hardship began.

However, many banks in the country today are foreign investments, and Cambodians need to use these banks as to facilitate business and trade among themselves and people in foreign lands.  Banks are also a way to protect one's savings from robbers.

A pretty delicate balance in faith, I think, since foreign banks may feel the need to close suddenly if they are not profitable enough in this country.  And with so many banks in business here, the competition for profit is pretty stiff.  Or so I think, anyway.