Adventures and the march of globalisation, what a difference six months can make..
It has been six months since I was last in Cambodia. Back in September 2018 the weather was cooler and we visited the temples on the border with Thailand.
The markets in Siem Reap were in full swing and there seemed to be an energy about the place, music was in the air and everyone at least seemed to be doing well.
Coming back this time in March 2019 six months later, it does feel somewhat different, there seems to be change in the air..
The markets which used to throng with tourists, selling paintings, t-shirts and trinkets are closed. Vendors gone bust and many small locally run restaurants and stalls have closed down. In there place seem to be empty spaces or generic chain shops and stores.
I asked Pry about this and what was popular and his reply was that the Pizza Hut style place is now the most popular place to eat in town.
It only takes one to look at the Siem Reap Airport departures lounge to see a wider example of this. While old classics such as Artisans De Angkor are still there, even they, feel somewhat more commercial with stewards handing out baskets to unsuspecting tourists to fill up with overpriced items. A sign proudly announces spend $100 and you now get a free woven bag.. is this what it has come to. Maybe I am being nostalgic or over dramatic, however I miss how it used to be before when they had their small shop at the side of the departures hall. It is true the airport has expanded and modernised, now catering to the demands of mass tourism, however in doing so I feel it has somewhat lost its charm. An example of this is how you are now navigated after the security section through a weaving circuitous path of duty free, lined with perfumes, cigarets and whiskeys, items simply out of reach and touch with everyday Cambodia and local life. Upon arrival at the gate area, gone are the local brands like the blue pumpkin etc, the departure terminal is now filled with generic big names such as Burger King, Yoshinoya, Hard Rock and Levis. I mean who shops for Levis jeans in 37 degree heat! Gone are the artisans shops and the local “monument book store” where I would spend time browsing through the stacks of books lined with photos of old Cambodia. These seem to have been out priced by the big name generic brands imported from the west and east with little regard for the local environment or culture 15 meters beyond the airport fence.
Waiting to check my gate status I see a tour group of people fighting with each other at the gate for the flight to Qinhuangdao. Their guide is trying to calm them down, amongst the shouting and pushing over bags filled with big name branded goods. Stood next to them are two local airport security staff who seem to have seen this all before and some airline representatives. The fighting goes on for around 10 minutes and after some sharp words in mandarin and some shoving and shirt tugging, the situation clams down. However a local passenger translates to the guide “if they start again the staff say they will throw them out of the airport.” It is certainly the first time I have seen this in what has always otherwise been a very relaxed and chilled airport.
Maybe it is a wider sign of the times, as Cambodia marches towards globalisation and opens up to a wider and more diverse range of tourists, looking for different things such as global brands over local goods and produce. However to me, this seems a shame and at odds with the calm home grown entrepreneurial spirit which made me fall in love with this place so much 9 years ago.
I did however encounter surprises during my trip, a family restoring a vintage 1930’s MG car in the back of a garage lined with old engines and gear boxs, a passion project to restore a piece of history for the next generation.
A local artist showing his apprentice how to paint with oils and a knife to create wonderful paintings of the local scenery in a simple building at the side of the main road leading to the temples, proud of this craft and keen for the knowledge to be passed on.
This gives me hope and while the passion remains strong in Cambodia, it will be interesting to see how the next 6 months pan out. Will it be local Cambodian people and local businesses who prosper, or will it be large multinational brands and big money from the East which consume and strip Cambodia of the ability for locals to make and run their own businesses and enterprises. I hope not the latter, however, I await my return again in six months time to find out. Perhaps this is just a momentary blip on the long and winding road of Cambodia’s diverse and often troubled history.
Written on flight the back to Hong Kong 12/03/2019
