The Way Things Work Around Here

We had a couple of object lessons in the Cambodian modus operandi whilst in Angkor. Neither of these events was a big deal, but I think they illustrate the differences in the way things are done between Cambodia and Western countries, and also why Western visitors can fall in love with, and be frustrated by South East Asia in roughly equal measure.

So, to story number one - the "love" story ! After a long day looking around temples, we had found a good spot to watch the sunset on the steps of an old library at Angkor Wat. We'd run out of water and it was about time for a beer, but we still had half an hour to wait until sunset and there were no vendors to be seen. From out of nowhere a teenage kid on a small red bike rides up and asks me if I want a beer. An angel sent from heaven. After replying that i'd love a beer, off he rides. Five minutes later he's back with an ice-cold can of Angkor (my country, my beer) which he sells to me for a buck. He probably bought it for seventy cents, a tidy little profit and a great example of Cambodian entrepeneurialism. This stuff is going on everywhere here, if you're not sure if you can do something, or how to do something, just ask around. The chances are someone has thought of exactly that before, and is making their livelihood doing just what you need. I love Cambodia.

Story number two...the "mindless bureacracy" story ! The next morning Emma & I are riding out to the Temples for the day in our Tuk-Tuk. We stop at the ticket booths to have our ticket stamped. When Em unzips her bag to take out her ticket, the zip snags the corner and tears off a very small piece of the ticket. The missing portion doesn't contain any serial numbers or important information. No big deal, right ? Wrong. After carefully examining the ticket, the inspector calls over a supervisor. Lots of discussion ensues. Disbelieving but concerned that we may have to pay another $40 to replace the ticket, we tease out the ripped portion from the zipper and hand it over, explaining what has happened. More discussion ensues. By now there are 5 Sokimex staff standing around our Tuk-Tuk. After more careful consideration, the supervisor tells Emma she won't have to pay for another pass (lucky as I don't think Em was even remotely considering paying and was preparing to spark up), but she will have to walk over to the ticket booths where the staff will selotape the corner back onto the ticket. It was a good repair job, but really not necessary. Excessive red tape and bureaucracy are a legacy of the colonial era here and are to be found pretty much any time you need to make more formal transactions, deal with the government etc. In this case the colonial villains are the French, although the English have left a similar legacy in former colonies such as India, so I guess we really only have ourselves to blame. Patience and good humour are the way to deal with these obstacles, but it can be hard to keep your cool. If all else fails, a bribe will usually get you out of trouble.

Now i've written it, I really feel as though I should have finished this post with the beer story as the bureaucratic headaches, although painful, are infrequent...and that kid on the small red bike riding up out of the setting sun offering me an ice cold beer...ah happy days !