Etiquette - The Definitive Guide to Moving to Southeast Asia: Cambodia - page 91

Another time, we were attending the Water Festival celebrations in Phnom Penh, where a
coupleofmillionpeopledescendedonthecity.Whilewalkingalongtheriverside,wecame
upon a large tented area with seats facing the finishing post for the races. It was reserved
“For Foreigners.” We decided to keep walking as it felt wrong to us - as guests in this
country - that we should be encouraged to occupy prominent comfortable positions when
everyone else had to stand outside in the blistering heat.
Since Cambodia is an extremely poor country, there are likely to be a number of disturbing
sights you'll encounter while walking around the towns. Landmine victims often beg for
money or sell handcrafted items, tiny brown-eyed children loiter in touristy areas selling
photocopied books or jasmine wreaths, and impoverished families sometimes live in cor-
rugated cardboard shelters on the street. While a small number of street people may be
scamartists,we'vefoundmostofthemtobelegitimatelyunfortunateCambodianswhoare
strugglingtoekeoutaday'sliving.Givingmoneytochildrenisdiscouraged(likein“Oliv-
er Twist,” there's usually a Fagin running the scheme), but we often give to handicapped,
blind, or impoverished people who receive no support from anywhere else.
As an example of the heartbreakingly incongruous, there's a disfigured man with no legs
who sits on the riverfront every day with a bathroom scale, offering people the opportunity