poverty | setiawanphoto

One interesting thought for tourists about visiting a developing country like Cambodia is whether to choose touristy activities that show the best that the country has to offer (and may ‘shield’ the visitors for the dark reality of being in a poor, developing country), or to expose oneself to the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ parts of the country. I can understand that for some, going on ‘vacation’ means going on a ‘trip of a lifetime’ perhaps focusing on the places like Angkor Wat or going to white sandy beaches in Thailand, and during that time, not thinking about the troubles and realities of the world. However, I think it’s important to not purposefully turn a blind eye on these realities or be shocked when you see such things during your travels.

When we went on the trip to visit the floating village of Chong Kneas, our boat ride towards the floating village passed some very poor villages along the river. From far away, these places look like slums with shacks, unpaved roads, and even some naked little children running around on outside the homes. It was definitely unexpected sights to see during a ‘tourist boat ride.’ Our tour guide Vanna said that these are the realities in many parts of Cambodia; a lot of tourists who stay in isolated tourist destinations like downtown Siem Reap would never see these scenes. And when you compare the GDP per capita in the last four years in Cambodia (around USD $900) to the United States (around USD $47,000), it puts things in perspective how rich and fortunate we are in the United States.

That brings interesting questions as I thought about that experience. The government of Cambodia tried to promote the visit to the floating village in Chong Kneas as a unique cultural experience that foreigners can take. The question is, should they try to ‘sanitize’ and clean up the surroundings to give a brighter, happier look at the people of Cambodia, or leave things as is and show the reality, even if it may mean ‘shocking’ some visitors?
Then, as a visitor, what should your reaction be if you do encounter such scenes? I found an interesting account from a visitor who came to visit Chong Kneas as tourist when I did search on Google.

The photo below was taken from our boat as we passed one of the villages. You can see some of the homes where people lived, and there was a little naked boy in the distance standing near one of the homes.

When you’re visiting a developing country, especially one that had just emerged from years of civil war like Cambodia, you’re likely have to deal with the reality that many local people are struggling economically. I had read in the guidebooks and on people’s travel journals about encountering poverty in Cambodia, with many children begging for change from tourists. But I wasn’t really prepared to experience this personally.

After finishing our tour of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, we continued the day with a visit to the National Museum of Cambodia that is located pretty close from the Royal Palace. When we arrived there, I went to the ticket office to purchase tickets. As I stood in front of the ticket counter to wait for our tickets, I felt a gentle tug on my shirt. I looked down, and under the ticket counter there was a little boy, looking at me with a sad face, asking for some change. This caught me off guard. I ended up looking back at the little boy, shook my head to say no, and walked away. He stayed there and waited for the next visitor to come.

Many guidebooks suggested to tourists not to give money to the child beggars, as in most cases, the children actually wouldn’t benefit from the money as they were taken advantage of either by their own parents or by other adults. They suggested donating through other means, like by supporting Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that work with the street children to help them out of poverty. Logically that made sense, but emotionally it’s still hard to just walk away and not do anything for the little boy.

I took the photo below few minutes later from a little distance. The little boy stayed there at the ticket counter, and asked for money from the next visitor coming to purchase ticket. The person at the ticket counter didn’t do anything and let the little boy stay there.