Man-o-gram #30

I’m casting off.

Tonight’s my last in Cambodia, tomorrow I cross into Vietnam and head to HoChiMinh City. Back into the urban steam and noise of concrete, commerce and scooters, sure to wake up the senses.

I’m a crap planner, I just turn up, deliberately really. A bit of a junkie riding the high in sorting stuff on the fly. I get how that might disarm more organised peep’s, but 4 me it’s a bit like a reliving that first time on magic mushrooms. No idea where it might take me, part grounded, part floating. I’ve never really been a spreadsheet man.

The tuktuk ride from the airport in Phnom Penh totally popped my senses. Fresh off the boat, 50% foetal position, 75% right in there (I’m crap at maths) and 25% brave. I get to lose my virginity over and over again 🤡. It’s wild.

Looking back I couldn’t have foreseen what I’d come across or how I’d respond.

I’d love to dive deeper into what really goes on here, but times up and anyway, poke around too much and the eye of Sauron can fix on you.

The Barry’s in Kampot just glaze out into the streets with their ‘Happy Shakes’ – $7 for a weed infused smoothie that according to reports will take you through to tomorrow. In fact the powers that be would prefer you get wasted than ask Qn’s. I’m more a clear-head question man at the mo. Bugger.

Arriving in the rural town of Stung Treng was another out of body experience. Off the beaten track, the only foreigner in town for 4 days, no english anywhere, save a few lines from Mr T on the police chief’s party deck. I hung on every word, it was like gold after days of being lost in the supermarket with just my questionable mime.

There’s Bunlang, the owner of the one-bed hostel in Battembang, sleeping under the stairs, if he even slept at all. Using every minute of the day and night to try and hustle a business out of it, feed his wife and new-born.

The hit and miss van/bus rides that might or might not get you there, where buying a ticket is a bit like having a crack at the pokies. First prize goes to the father/son team sharing the driving on one of those runs, Dads on pedals and his phone, son’s on his lap (cos all other options to squeeze in elsewhere are exhausted), doing the steering. What a team, never flinched, no one died. Skimming that jammo cracked windscreen shitbox across the broken roads like an america’s cup foiler.

What you can’t fit or tow on a scooter…. most honourable mention 5 monks, all wrapped in orange. 5 baldies in a row, from tail light to handlebar on a 125 Honda Dream – no helmets, you don’t see buddha with a helmet on.

The non existent health and safety, linesmen up poles in jandals, the hard manual labour on building sites, builders and their families living on-site in shanty’s.

The khmer family team providing a family vibe for backpackers in Siem Reap, their warm welcomes and farewells. Sergio who ran bars and massage tables on Pub St, where tourists would flock, bodies sore after walking all day around Angkor Wat. “All beeesnisses ver doing well until fckn covid – everyone go, maybe only 15–20% come back”.

My ukelele band on Koh Rong that’ll just have to wait. Totally cool khmer peep’s trying to come back from shit online ratings for their beach shanty guesthouse, host to my pet rat ‘Staunch’ and no doubt a pack of others roaming the place.

The green ladies and the burgundy ladies pulling dance moves by the river. Me being invited in.

And here at Jungle House, a backpackers hosted by two fab women and their collection of chums. One of these, my guitar student and tuktuk driver Soem-nang, hopes to one day be taken seriously as a wedding singer. He’s the guy I mentioned we have to get to Womad. It’s a big jump from driving a tuktuk to making the wedding market – Weddings are big here, no matter you rich or poor, you’ll save up for yrs and people will show. To gig at a wedding here is a high honour.

I’ve omitted stuff from my posts, gone back and taken content out, both to cover my own arse and block any negative comeback on the people that live here, should the online surveillance teams clock any questionable narrative. I’m just passing through, I need to tread with care.

A khmer chum said to me a few days ago that Cambodian people know what is happening materially in their country.

They are aware of what they can and can’t influence. Not much, unless they have money, which most of them don’t.

And then my chum gave me the wisest most graceful synopsis. “We see money bringing greed and unhappiness, and it is not what we want. Our love is to be happy with our children, friends, family, to sing, dance, be kind and generous, even if we have little. Rich people get sick, rich people die, money is no escape, we don’t put our minds and hearts there”.

Bingo.

Cos that my dear friends, pretty much sums up what I have found here in Cambodia. A beauty in those with materially little. Knowing something of their tragic recent history, maybe it’s even because of that, they seem to me a higher presence of humanity. Like they’ve evolved beyond C21st western aspiration. They calmly observe and delight in each breath, from their dusty roadside shanty’s. Quite something.

Ok i’m painting it floral but there’s something in the chill and acceptance of their lot that shines. I love these people. I hope that in my time here I have added to the tapestry or at least not taken from it or trampled on it. Scooter hire man exempt.

Tonight pancake boy pulled up on his scooter cart down on the beach and made me a banana special with chocolate, no weed. 5,000 riel (about $2) It’s round 9pm, crowds are thinning but there’s a handful of kids night swimming. It’s hot and the Gulf of Thailand is one big warm bath.

I had no idea I was going to write blogs when I started out, it just happened when I began observing and making notes. My trusty iphone 11 has taken the pics and my thumb punching it a million times. It’s booked tickets, accom, gps’d me out of trouble, written the blogs, it’s been my everything. I’ll keep U posted on my impressions of Vietnam, this’ll b my last post on Medium as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) ban this platform… too many opinionated writers 🙄🫣😂

Till next time :)