I’ll be based in Phnom Penh for the next 6 weeks to join a friend of mine on an exciting project. It has taken a leap of faith into the fearful unknown, especially after being coddled by Singapore’s safe and cosy surroundings, but at this point of writing after arriving a mere 3 days ago, I’m in a happy space.
1) The city invokes intrigue and fear
When I mentioned to colleagues, friends and family that I was moving to Phnom Penh, their reaction was a mixture of ‘Wow, how interesting! Have you been?” (The answer was no) or “You’ll be in the most dangerous place in Asia”. Personally, I felt pretty scared before I set foot on the plane to come here and was somewhat agitated and worried about whether I had made the right choice. Right now, I’m pleased that I’ve so far I’ve been supported by the people around me who have made me feel quite welcome and safe!
2) The people are helpful and earnest
The people I’ve met have been very friendly and helpful, and about 50/50 of local Khmer folk and foreigners. Half of this country’s population is under 25 and anyone over 40 is considered ‘old’. As for local professionals, the young people are smart, have a fair-to-good command of English, and have a thirst and desire to learn, be creative and excel. They are in need of good, senior level people to coach and develop their professional skills – even supposedly ‘senior’ folk have superficial knowledge of their domain of expertise as even they have not had time, resources or ‘competition’ to develop full mastery. This presents a great business or career opportunity for anyone with deep expertise to establish a solid foundation from scratch and make visible impact and/or experiment in a small market. The professional environment feels relaxed yet busy and productive, and folks start relatively early, about 8am, and leave their offices about 6pm. They do get to enjoy 28 days of public holiday this year on top of their annual leave entitlements!
Generally, the Khmers are a quiet, respectful people who are approachable, may look at you with a mild curiosity but will also let you mind your own business. The locals I met seem patriotic and proud of their country and heritage, while having the humility to listen and learn from others.
3) Few people carry bags
Majority of workers and professionals have stuff in their pockets. When they do carry bags, it’s either a backpack, a canvas bag or a cross body sling bag which they clutch close to their chest. You will not see anybody carrying designer handbags. This is because the streets are rife with bag snatchers on bikes. People who live here advise that these thieves are opportunistic and not violent – for example, if your bag is hung on the side of your body or you leave it next to you in a tuk tuk, they’ll grab it, and a few people I know have had their bags snatched in these scenarios. But apparently they will not smash car windows or forcibly take your bag from you. Still, it’s wise to be vigilant at all times.
4) Everyone is on a vehicle
The streets of Phnom Penh are a far cry from streets in more developed countries, with puddles, rubbish, uneven pavements covered in soil and dirt; a very poor walking experience with few pedestrians. There are many tuk tuks around and a fair amount of cars – and although they complain a lot about traffic, I don’t feel as hemmed in as say, Jakarta or Bandung. No one drives particularly fast and about 70-80% of the drivers obey the traffic lights; you’ll see a few bikes and tuk tuks trying to forge along despite oncoming traffic. Refreshingly, I see a fairly even spread between women and men on bikes – here it’s quite common for a woman to ride motorbikes to commute and travel from place to place. At this stage I’m still scared to cross the road – I managed to do it on my first day here because I was clinging on to a very kind local colleague!
5) There are pockets of excellence
I have been so privileged to be given a chance to stay in one of the developments by Urbanland, a high-end developer based in Cambodia. The apartment is built to very high quality using interesting materials, one of which is a concrete-looking tile with a porous surface which is warm to the touch, combined with very tasteful and complementary furniture. Another example is Brown coffee which is far better than its famous American competitor that shalt not be named, as well as a couple of great local artists.
6) This place forces me to live simply, essentially
Everything that I take with me as I leave the house has to fit into my two pockets, and as I was considering what to bring with me in the mornings, I realised that in the developed world, we tend to indulge in a ‘just in case’ mentality – I better bring that umbrella ‘just in case’, or that pen ‘just in case’, etc. There is no space for ‘just in case’ here and more about ‘what essential things do I really need to get through my day’. Even as I was standing in the supermarket wondering if I should buy disposable kitchen towels, my thought shifted to ‘is this really essential’ as I already had a cleaning cloth. In Singapore I would just buy it for convenience. I have been less wasteful here too – even a used paper cup and a spare wire hanger have been turned into a wind-proof ashtray, and plastic containers reused as drying racks or bowls. I’d rather not fill my temporary apartment with unnecessary stuff and just focus on what I need to do like eating, connecting with my friends online, doing some research, relaxing. My mind is unencumbered by errands and admin ‘to-do’ lists which is so refreshing.
I have a very limited view of Phnom Penh so far as I’m still fairly cautious about exploring and getting around, but so far it’s been a good and enjoyable experience thanks to the people!
