After exploring the temples at Siem Reap and wandering through the cities of Phnom Penh, I was really looking forward to a relaxing time on the pristine white beaches of Cambodia. Sihanoukville, also known as Kompong Som, is supposed to be Cambodia’s premier seaport and beach resort. Unfortunately, I never found the tropical paradise that the guidebooks and websites have raved about.
Instead, I found what must have been a once beautiful beach now littered with trash. The water and waves are strewn with plastic bags and odd bits and bobs which make it very unpleasant to swim in, and it was the locals that I observed causing so much damage to the environment. Perhaps I was there at the wrong time of year. It’s Khmer New Year and everyone’ s in a party mood. I can understand that people want to have a good time. But, I was truly disgusted by the trash and lack of respect for the environment.
I like Siem Reap a lot. The local people I met there were fantastic. It’s a quaint little town with a lot going for it. For us, our best day in Cambodia was our first day. We visited a remote fishing village on Tonle Sap lake and the people were so welcoming and engaging, my heart melted immediately. I fell in love with that village and those people, and I mistakingly believed that the rest of Cambodia would be similar, despite the hardships and atrocities of the war. Sadly, I was wrong.
I have been harassed every moment of the day by beggars, fruit vendors, child hawkers, ladies peddling aesthetic services, amputees and pop can collectors. Yesterday I was approached by 38 people in the space of a few hours. Actually, it was more than that, but I lost track and finally gave up on keeping count of the never ending stream of people who want something from me.
We have given to someone every day and have been abused everyday by people who constantly want more, more, more. When we refuse, people become verbally abusive to us. They coax, they cry, they beg, they plead. They try to extract promises from us, try to cheat us and rant at us. God help you if you should buy from a friend of someone who has already approached you. Children flop on our lounge chairs and will not leave us alone. They want water guns, ball caps, and school uniforms.
I see the beauty that this country has to offer, and I respect the hardships that these people have endured, but this journey has been both physically and mentally draining. Two weeks was more than enough for me to see what I wanted to see. It was all the time I needed and I am more than ready to leave.
Tourism has increased dramtically over the past 5 years, and I’m sure that it will continue to get better and better. Cambodia is beautiful. It has everything one might desire on an adventure vacation. Spectacular temples, a rich heritage, lovely beaches and tropical islands will continue to bring travelers to your doorsteps, but if you want people to return, these things must change.
When I first entered Cambodia, I was utterly charmed by the people I met. I was fortunate enough to have met the acquaintance of some truly special people who only wished us pleasant welcomes and a safe journey through their country. Their kindness and hospitality are memories that I will carry with me when I go. I will also remember the further I traveled, the harder people became. Greed for American greenbacks can be seen in every desperate eye. For the most part, I observed most travelers doing their part. I have watched people give each day and I have watched the people here take each day.
This message I have for you. Show some respect towards your environment. Clean up your litter. Stop shoveling it into your water and onto the streets. I wish you could realize that people do what they can. We can’t possibly give to everyone. Stop harassing travelers and start enjoying what people of other nationalities can offer you besides money. Your youth are becoming jaded, hard-nosed and ungrateful towards the kindness of strangers.
To end on a positive note, as this post has been something of a rant for me, I would like to extend a heartfelt and sincere thank-you to the people who welcomed up us graciously and with open arms. Despite the hardships of this journey, we still met quite a few people who touched our hearts. We will not forget you.
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I know exactly what you mean, unfortunately the only way to get people to do anything is to pay them. This is why Sokha beach is clean. There is one exception further along the coast in kep, where a few of the guest houses, notably the beach house, have sponsored bins and beach cleaners…
I find this really sad. People should take pride in their home, especially if they want visitors to return. I do not like being seen or treated like a cash-cow.
hi.. i found your blog through your facebook page. i know this is an old post, but wanted to comment anyway.
i can understand your frustration with the poverty, lack of care for the environment, and lack of kindness towards tourists that you experienced while traveling through cambodia. being cambodian american and having spent time volunteering in cambodia and also visiting my family there, i too felt frustrated about many issues but realized that solutions for the problems there are far bigger, more complex than we realize.
for example…you write, “show respect for your environment…clean up your litter”- in the countryside, many khmer homes have plastic bags and plastic wrappers for everyday items they’ve purchased, but there is no such thing as trash pickup. there simply was no place to put trash. what can they do with the trash? can they bury it in landfills cluttered with landmines? nope. they have better roads now, but even a few years ago as you witnessed, the roads were horrible- how can they transport trash on trucks to dump at a landfill even if there was one? eventually they end up burning it b/c there is no place to put it, only releasing more toxins into the atmosphere. and if they are uneducated (as is most of the population) how would they know to take care of the environment? many cambodians lack basic things like primary healthcare, clean water, let alone education. without these things, how would they understand what it means to care for the environment when no one is meeting their basic needs for survival?
as for the street beggars and children who take advantage of the kindness of strangers, many NGOs recommend that if you want to give, the best way is to give to an NGO that provides the resources to take children off the streets and equip them with vocational tools and skills that can help provide a sustainable living. by giving money to children or amputees/ disabled on the streets, it enables them to continue doing it because they recognize it as a steady source of income therefore they do not pursue additional work/skills/training.
anyway, i think its awesome that your blog focuses on your experiences in asia, and i hope that if you go to cambodia in the future you’ll have a better time, more enjoyable time (i read about your poipet border scam. man, that sucks!)
Hi Kbok,
First of all, thank you so much for stopping by and commenting on this post. I hesitated in posting it, but not all travel updates are sunny and cheerful. My husband and I really enjoyed our time in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. Most of this post was written in response to the people and conditions that we saw in Sihanoukville. I understand that garbage disposal is a problem, especially in rural areas, but the trash that was thrown all over the beaches in Sihanoukville remains a mystery. There are restaurants and beach bungalows all over the place. Why do people throw things away on the beach and in the water? The water was so dirty after Khmer New Year, we weren’t even interested in swimming in it.
Your comment about street beggars and children who take advantage of the kindness of strangers is also appreciated. But again, this whole post was directed at what we witnessed in Sihanoukville. Two little boys hounded us the entire time we were there. They both wore gold jewelry, new clothes, and were obviously well taken care of. They complained when we wouldn’t buy from them, and one of them even went so far as to threaten to slit my mother-in-law’s throat when she asked them to leave us alone. We happened to befriend a beach hawker there, who told us that most of the children in Sihanoukville are well cared for and quite well off compared to the children we saw in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. These are the kids that I’m referring to with that comment.
Anyways, your points are all very well taken and I really appreciate you taking the time to write.