Tag Archives: Thailand

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Bribes and Scam on Cambodian Border Crossings

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The very first local I encountered upon my arrival in Cambodia stole my pen because it had a laser pointer on it and he decided he liked it. It was the only pen I had readily available on me so when he said something was missing on my arrival card, I pulled it out of my camera bag and filled the missing information in. He then took the pen out of my hand and took the card along with my passport to add his notes, signature, a stamp or whatever it is they are supposed to do with those cards on it. He then went to get something else done by standing up from his desk and walking up to the opposite counter and when he came back, the pen was nowhere to be seen. I asked if I could have my pen back yet he insisted he gave it to me previously. Needless to say, this was the last time I have seen my pen.

I had only been in Cambodia for two minutes, and this was the very first Cambodian I had to deal with and I already got my pen stolen and was lied to straight into my face. He was the perfect reflection of what awaits a visitor inside the country. From the moment you’re in until the moment you’re out, there will always be a plentitude of locals looking for the ways to scam you out of your money or possessions.

Because the Cambodian government took measures to prevent scamming by anyone other than their befriended individuals, immigration people at certain points of entry (such as the Siem Reap or Phnom Penh airports) can no longer directly request bribes from foreigners who’d just arrived. That doesn’t however mean that they will miss out on other opportunities to enrich themselves at your expense.

Similarly, many overland points of entry are still major bribery hubs so if you fly in to Cambodia and continue on with your travels overland like I did, then you will be subjected to scam from the very first person you encounter to the very last (and virtually everyone in between). Similar open requests for bribes at overland border crossing will await you when entering and exiting Laos (on both Cambodian and Lao sides), but from my experience, this is not practised by Thai or Vietnamese immigration officials.

When I went I went to Thailand, scamming ended with the very last Cambodian I had to deal with. It goes without saying that he DID insist on a bribe but it was a breath of fresh air to come to the Thai side and be processed without any scam attempt. It works similarly when entering Cambodia from Thailand whereas Thai officials would process you without requests for bribes, but as soon as you come over to the Cambodian booth and start dealing with Cambodians, it gets to be a whole new story.

Vietnam doesn’t offer visa on arrival (or visa free entry) when entering overland from Cambodia (October 2009) so you have to apply for it in advance with the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh (at least if you’re a bearer of a Canadian passport) but as is the case with Thailand, open requests for bribes will end with the last Cambodian you end up having to deal with.

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Cambodian Girls

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Everybody seems to claim that Cambodian girls are very pretty, but is there any truth to that? The short answer would be “Yes” – most Cambodian girls in their 20′s are in fact beautiful and a pleasure look at, but there is a catch to it. However let’s not get ahead of ourselves and take a look at it all in order.

Photo: Beautiful Cambodian Girl

Photo: Beautiful Cambodian Girl

Cambodian Girls – The Most Beautiful in SE Asia

After having been to practically every country in SE Asia, I must in fact confirm that Cambodian girls are the most beautiful of them all. Vietnam gets a lot of buzz about the near-perfect beauty of its girls and there definitely are some ridiculously hot girls there, however they are an exception, rather than the rule. Vast majority of Vietnamese girls are not much. By walking the streets of Vietnam, you will encounter thousands of below average looking girls before a model material comes to view. When you do encounter a beautiful Vietnamese girl, she’s typically super pretty, but again, for one pretty Vietnamese girl, there are thousands of not much girls so if you think you will come to Vietnam and all those beautiful girls will come hurling from all directions on every corner, you will be disappointed.

Cambodia on the other hand is not like that. Vast majority of girls you encounter – without looking for them, by just randomly walking down any street – will be very pretty. On average, you will see many attractive girls before you see one you would consider “not much”.

Thailand seems to be the magnet for men looking for young girls, yet Thai girls are far away from anything I would call attractive. You will from time to time come by an attractive Thai girl, but they are a rare breed. Oddly enough, most Thai prostitutes come from the Isaan area because for one – there isn’t much economy there so they don’t have many options to make money, but mostly – Isaan is close to Cambodia and girls from there have that Cambodian feel which is very attractive.

Cambodia definitely wins when it come to pretty girls, even though it has nothing on Eastern European girls but that’s a whole different story.

Prettier Than They Seem

Most Cambodian girls are prettier than they seem. Many have long, raven dark hair and near each of them wears it in a silly ponytail. Since I spent most of my time in Cambodia with the locals, I was around during the everyday home-care tasks and when these girls got home and let their hair drop loose, they instantly gained two solid points on a beauty scale.

There is also something to be said about the way they dress which often takes away from how tight their bodies really look, but when you catch them with an outfit that supplements their slender figures, the only word you can think of is… perfect.

Where Is The Catch?

The conclusion is undisputable – Cambodian girls are dangerously pretty, however there is a catch. And because of that catch I would never consider marrying a Cambodian. You see, for some reason, even though Cambodian girls are in fact very pretty, they seem to deteriorate rapidly with age. You will find many ridiculously attractive girls in Cambodia, but not one half-decent looking MILF.

There is a certain age which seems to trigger sharp aging and rapid deterioration of beauty and it seems to start in a neighbourhood of some 30 years of age or so. All Cambodian girls in their 20′s are very attractive looking, but once they reach what I would call “productive age”, they lose all their beauty and turn downright butt-effin ugly. Good luck trying to spot one Cambodian woman (I’m not talking old, just not a girl anymore) who looks anything close to Cambodian university-age girls.

Think before you marry a Cambodian girl. She may be very pretty today, but how long will her beauty last?

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Siem Reap, Cambodia

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In native Khmer language, the meaning of Siem Reap is “Siam Defeated”. This is hardly the case anymore, as Kingdom of Siam, or Kingdom of Thailand as it is known today ultimately defeated the Kingdom of Cambodia and put both Siem Reap as well as entire Angkor area under their control. The name of Siem Reap remained, much to the dismay of Thailand as it’s become the most popular destination town in Cambodia, serving as gateway to Angkor temples so now everybody thinks the Khmer owned the Siam.

Location of Siem Reap on a map. The map is navigable and interactive:

Siem Reap and Angkor were under Siamese control from 1794 to 1907, until French troops came, conquered Cambodia and put it under their control. It didn’t take long before French explorers discovered the ruins of Angkor Wat temples and through them the buzz about the largest religious complex in the world had spread into Europe. Europeans soon started to flood Cambodia to see what the buzz was all about and Siem Reap quickly started to turn from a complex of villages centred around wats to a popular tourist hub.

Fast expansion of Siem Reap continued and come 1929, the town saw its first hotel – The Grand Hotel d’Angkor. Up until the late 1960′s, Angkor Wat remained one of Asia’s most popular tourist destinations, attracting the likes of Jackie Kennedy and Charlie Chaplin.

All has been put to an abrupt stop in 1975 when communist Khmer Rouge seized power over Cambodia and drove much of Siem Reap’s population into the countryside. This mass evacuation and prosecution of all who practised religious faith stopped the growing influx of tourists who saw Cambodia as dangerous destination for all travelers. On their crusade to eradicate religion, Khmer Rouge destroyed many of Siem Reap’s temples (though protected by its divinity, Ya-Tep Shrine was beyond the scope of their might).

Photo: Ya Tep Shrine in the Heart of Siem Reap Town

Photo: Ya Tep Shrine in the Heart of Siem Reap Town

When bloody reign of Khmer Rouge was put to an end, Cambodians started the process of rebuilding Siem Reap to its former glory. New temples were built in town, old traditions were dusted off and holy days of Buddhism were celebrated once more. The hit Cambodia suffered in the hands of Khmer Rouge took a while to recover from, though. International community did not regain its lost trust in Cambodia until mid 1990′s when first foreign tourists dared to re-enter the country.

Pol Pot, the mastermind behind Khmer Rouge died in 1998 and his death brought upon the new era of Cambodia. Siem Reap has been vastly rebuilt, Angkor temples made more accessible and tourism industry in Cambodia kept growing exponentially. When UNESCO designated Angkor Wat a World Heritage Site, putting it on the map right up there with the Pyramids in Giza, Machu Pichu in Peru or the Taj Mahal in India, Cambodia, and especially Siem Reap quickly spiked as one of the most coveted travel destinations. Nowadays, tourism is the life force behind Siem Reap’s growth that’s been inadequately faster than in the rest of Cambodia.

Cambodia receives more tourists than any of its mightier neighbours and it’s all only thanks to Angkor Wat. Millions of tourists who come to Cambodia only visit the country because of Angkor Archaeological Park. And since Siem Reap is the closest town with all facilities, virtually all of the visitors to Cambodia make it there.

If you are planning to visit Angkor temples, Siem Reap is where you will be staying, dining and getting entertainment. Full scale of accommodation options ranging from budget guesthouses to 5 star hotels are available in Siem Reap. Same goes for restaurants, bars and shops. However, Siem Reap’s rapid boom in an impoverished country comes with its ups and downs. As you read my blog, you will be introduced to all – the good, the bad and the ugly part of Siem Reap. I do not do urban legends. When something about Siem Reap or Cambodia is good, I will tell you it’s good, but when something about Siem Reap or Cambodia is bad, I will again tell you that it’s bad. My reports and reviews are painfully honest because I value you as a reader and would rather you to know the whole truth, even if political correctness dictates to leave some of the less flattering parts out. Welcome to the real Siem Reap!

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