Cambodia

Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, Siem Reap

Basically Cambodia is one of the Mekong Delta countries - others are China, Laos and Vietnam. The kingdom is also the member of ASEAN. From Mekong, Tonle Sep to the sea, Cambodia composes of a huge piece of land facing the Pacific Ocean. Hilly relief is found along the coast, while a large piece of green land is in the offshore area.

The history of Cambodia is a melancholy. The great dynasty of Angkor in 14th century was likely passed forever. It suffered from a long violence, chaos and wars. One particular part of the tragedy is the Pol Pot regime and the Khmer Rouge during 1975-79. People are now still conducting a tribunal. Many people died at that time inhumanly.

Usually the one who treat you the worst is you.

Corruption, bureaucrazy, insufficiency transparency are the characteristics of the Cambodian government. Cambodian People Party (CPP) and the FUNCIPEC party form the coalition government, while the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) led by Sam Rainsy remain the biggest opposition group. Nonetheless the SRP yet sometimes has interest conflict involved CPP. In our acknowledgement Sam Rainsy is one of the corruptive people as well, yet he was awarded as a recognition of a fighter for independence and freedom - it is irony.

There are two English papers in Cambodia - the Cambodia Daily and the Phnom Penh Post (PPPost). I started to be an intern reporter in PPPost on 15 May, and ended on 29 June, which is around 7 weeks. The PPPost is published bi-monthly, and most of the readers are foreigners and international subscribers. I've done two big story about the garment industry and the license system of Cambodia's tourism.

Weird things happen everywhere in Cambodia, regardless of the government or local people. However it is still very interesting to stay in Cambodia, particularly because the people there are kind and agreeable. Certainly there exist a lot of bad people. A distinguishable difference can be found there.

It is well-known that Cambodia is a less development country. People are poor and many of them are homeless. The government is poor due to severe corruption. The education remains weak that it could be said that an degree does not mean anything at all. The state also lacks technology to develop various production, even though the country has tremendous potential.

The popular currency in Cambodia are the US dollar and Riel. A rough exchange rate between the US dollar and riel is 1:4000. The living standard there reveals a great difference between the rich and the poor, and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) shows the expensive living in this country. The unemployment is unclear because the statistic is hardly found to be convincing, which is varied from 4% to 50%. Nevertheless it is obvious that job is scarce.

The main transport in Cambodia is motorbike. Motorbike taxi is found everywhere, and also the tuktuk. Tuktuk is similar to the transport of dukduk in Thai. The carriage is capable of carring 4 people, and tightened to a motorbike. Cars could be found but most of the luxurious vehicles are owned by the government officials or high-ranking people in society. Related to the transport gasoline is an essential element. It is very expensive for the Cambodian people and much of it is smuggled. Corruption happens in the price of the gasoline imported. Therefore the transport in Cambodia is expensive.

- to be continued -