Quote:
Originally Posted by vegan19
Ummm, you mean to tell me that people didn't understand what he meant when he mentioned capitalism and western culture?
There so much inequality in the USA(among other countries) and these guys can't understand the beauty of a small country not yet totally overtaken by starbucks, coca cola and mcdonalds?
sigh. Clearly you've never been to Cambodia. Please, go, discover what real inequity and poverty is (but yes, you will find Coca Cola there).
That said, I absolutely can understand the appeal of "getting away from it all" and a simpler life... and being able to live well on what we consider very little money.
There's a reason why you can live so cheaply there; the standard of living is much lower. Of course you can have a hell of a time vacationing in a country where the poverty line is defined as
people making less than 45¢ per day. And 35% of the population lives on that.
My only point has been that I don't think OP has been in-country long enough to truly understand what life in Cambodia is like, beyond the warm platitudes of a postcard sent home.
Crime is absolutely a major problem in Cambodia, as is corruption and gangsterism. Of course, if you live in the gilded castle of a vacation resort while there, you won't run into it quite as much (but you will also be an obvious target).
I've met and known so many people like OP who just gush and gush about various third world countries they've vacationed to, when they've barely scratched the surface. Vacationing is not living; reality is not a postcard.
Living in a hotel at a beachfront resort in a town that caters to sex tourism and tourism in general is naturally going to lead to a distorted view of the country.
You can be quite sure that the average Cambodian would happily trade their "simple life" for your horrible, dreary Western existence. By in large, they are not living simply because they want to, they are doing so because they have to. I just think it's supremely patronizing to glamorize and glorify this, and all from a few weeks vacation.
Try living it. I know a number of people personally who have.
Last edited by moki; 04-03-2011 at 06:55 AM.