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.