By Kent Elliot
The Georgetown Voice (Wash. DC, USA)
It’s the cardinal rule of traveling: never store your valuables anywhere except your front pant pocket. What’s more, the Lonely Planet guide for our host country of Cambodia explicitly warned us against the insecurity of backpacker guesthouses. So I shouldn’t have been surprised when my Swedish roommates jostled me awake and asked if I, too, was missing money. As soon as I discovered my missing cash, I knew it was gone and would never come home. We had broken the rule and our disregard had cost us $350.
Theft victims rarely regain their losses even in developed countries; in Cambodia, the chances of compensation are negligible. The state police extorted us from the moment we crossed the Thai-Cambodia border and we expected that they would have little interest in a pro-bono investigation on behalf of four wronged tourists. We were certain that a staff member of the guesthouse was the perpetrator; the average Cambodian in Phnom Penh earns $20 a month, so the motive for theft was clear.
Unfortunately, our dispute pitted the word of a wealthy Cambodian guesthouse owner against that of four grungy barang, foreign, backpackers. We were frustrated and exhausted, though, and determined to pursue some sort of justice despite the obvious futility. One of my travel partners called his Cambodian friend to act as a Khmer-English translator. Together, we walked downstairs to inform the reception desk of what had occurred.
The owners of the guesthouse lived in an ornately decorated apartment on the ground floor. After the receptionist, the owners’ son, nervously went into his parents’ bedroom, his mother ominously marched into the lobby, like a dragon slithering out of its cave. She shot us an icy glare as she sat down in a gaudy wooden throne. The first words came out in a scream, and her voice never lowered in volume nor frequency for the rest of the evening. We expected that she would be irritated by the disturbance, but had no idea she would be the angriest person in the room. Our Cambodian told us that her rage focused on our general uncleanliness. The four of us were confused and irritated by this seemingly irrelevant criticism, but she continued to screech with flamboyant hand gestures about our general repulsiveness.
As the night progressed, the rest of her family and staff became involved in the argument, as well the esteemed Cambodian police. Yet no matter how many parties entered the mess, this woman’s ferocity never subsided and never strayed from her main point: our cleanliness. She showed our room to the police, gagging emphatically upon entrance. The room was in mild disorder, but such controlled chaos was inevitable, considering the room was inhabited by four backpackers in Southeast Asia.
We didn’t get our money back. And despite her demonstrated insanity, I don’t believe that the matriarch of the guesthouse was responsible for the crime or knowledgeable about the identity of the culprit. Her aggression still mystifies and, on some level, bothers me. Perhaps she simply felt disdain towards young white travelers for their stereotypical drunkenness, sexual impropriety, and general exploitation—maybe our “messiness” have indicated these qualities.
Perhaps when she said foreigners, she actually meant Americans and her disdain was grounded by different qualifications. She had only seen my passport and knew that my home country was the USA, the nation which killed hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, through illegal bombings in Cambodia. Did she consider me, and my Swedish friends by association, perpetrators of mass murder? Did she see those bombings as a catalyst for the rise of the Khmer Rouge and hold us partially responsible for the genocide of approximately 20 percent of the country’s population? As an American in Indochina, I can never know, or even expect, that resentment will not exist for these atrocities. Our loss of $350 was certainly not fair, regardless of how many beer cans were on the floor. Yet, as a U.S. citizen traveling in a land that my country ravaged, how clean am I?
Theft victims rarely regain their losses even in developed countries; in Cambodia, the chances of compensation are negligible. The state police extorted us from the moment we crossed the Thai-Cambodia border and we expected that they would have little interest in a pro-bono investigation on behalf of four wronged tourists. We were certain that a staff member of the guesthouse was the perpetrator; the average Cambodian in Phnom Penh earns $20 a month, so the motive for theft was clear.
Unfortunately, our dispute pitted the word of a wealthy Cambodian guesthouse owner against that of four grungy barang, foreign, backpackers. We were frustrated and exhausted, though, and determined to pursue some sort of justice despite the obvious futility. One of my travel partners called his Cambodian friend to act as a Khmer-English translator. Together, we walked downstairs to inform the reception desk of what had occurred.
The owners of the guesthouse lived in an ornately decorated apartment on the ground floor. After the receptionist, the owners’ son, nervously went into his parents’ bedroom, his mother ominously marched into the lobby, like a dragon slithering out of its cave. She shot us an icy glare as she sat down in a gaudy wooden throne. The first words came out in a scream, and her voice never lowered in volume nor frequency for the rest of the evening. We expected that she would be irritated by the disturbance, but had no idea she would be the angriest person in the room. Our Cambodian told us that her rage focused on our general uncleanliness. The four of us were confused and irritated by this seemingly irrelevant criticism, but she continued to screech with flamboyant hand gestures about our general repulsiveness.
As the night progressed, the rest of her family and staff became involved in the argument, as well the esteemed Cambodian police. Yet no matter how many parties entered the mess, this woman’s ferocity never subsided and never strayed from her main point: our cleanliness. She showed our room to the police, gagging emphatically upon entrance. The room was in mild disorder, but such controlled chaos was inevitable, considering the room was inhabited by four backpackers in Southeast Asia.
We didn’t get our money back. And despite her demonstrated insanity, I don’t believe that the matriarch of the guesthouse was responsible for the crime or knowledgeable about the identity of the culprit. Her aggression still mystifies and, on some level, bothers me. Perhaps she simply felt disdain towards young white travelers for their stereotypical drunkenness, sexual impropriety, and general exploitation—maybe our “messiness” have indicated these qualities.
Perhaps when she said foreigners, she actually meant Americans and her disdain was grounded by different qualifications. She had only seen my passport and knew that my home country was the USA, the nation which killed hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, through illegal bombings in Cambodia. Did she consider me, and my Swedish friends by association, perpetrators of mass murder? Did she see those bombings as a catalyst for the rise of the Khmer Rouge and hold us partially responsible for the genocide of approximately 20 percent of the country’s population? As an American in Indochina, I can never know, or even expect, that resentment will not exist for these atrocities. Our loss of $350 was certainly not fair, regardless of how many beer cans were on the floor. Yet, as a U.S. citizen traveling in a land that my country ravaged, how clean am I?
6 comments:
Kent Elliot,
We're sorry to hear your bad experience in Cambodia. Even I'm Cambodian myself who live in DC area needs to be cautious when travel in third world country. My wallet is always in my front pocket and my money is in my travel pocket and below my belly and inside my pant. You can get that pocket from Target store.
These Cambodian woman and her family don't know how to do business. She should apologize and instead she used anger. Based on your story I doubt her son committed the stealing. In the states, she will be sued for that.
Let's know what is the name of that guesshouse. Make sure we avoid that place also.
We all have a bad experience when travelling to the third world country.
YOUR PROBLEM MAY NOT THE FIRST ONE AT HER GUEST HOUSE.
HER MOOD MAY NOT BE STEMMED FROM HOW CLEAN YOU ARE OR OLD WOUND OF VN WAR BUT RATHER FROM HER PERSONALITY TRAIT. THE CHARACTERED MOTHER OF ALL SERVANTS AND GUESTS. I WAS WONDERED WHO IS HER DAUGHTER OR SON-IN-LAW.
LEARN FROM HER FAMILY STRUCTURE. MAY BE HER HUSBAND HAS HELPED TO CREATE HER STYLE.
THE MONEY YOU LOSE IS THE WISDOM YOU GAIN TO EASE THE PROBLEM MAY BE EXISTED FOR YOUR NEXT JOURNEY.THERE ARE ALWAYS SOME ELEMENTS OF SURPRISES AHEAD OF YOU.
Staying at guest house is like almost playing russian roulette. I'm sorry you had bad experience in cambodia. But please don't let this experience represent the entire country. Most business owner in cambodia are foreigner who speaks khmer. Most khmer are warm friendly people, always ready to invite stranger to enjoy a meal with them. This guest house owner doesn't realize that TOURIST, Backpacker are her "bread and butter" in her case its "rice and water". I'm guessing that she's of Chinese descent. You have better luck if you have contact in cambodia next time. In a Lawless land , where every offical is corrupt, every level of government is corrupt, your better off visiting Fargo.
There are two points:
1. Because the povery has instructed Cambodian people to earn money in anyway regardlessly of correct or incorrect...this culture is spreading from the top to bottom..from the most powerful men to the very weak men..
2. Because you don't respect Cambodian culture that guesthouse is not only for aliens but for their family too. You should clean or express appropriately through dresses as you are descending to live in Cambodian family. Next time consider to clean shoes or wear appropriate shirts before entering guesthouse, may be not hotel.
My observation, many foreign tourists wear only bra and short, especially women, this action is really vulgar and decentless to Cambodian people especially the elders...
A cent of tip!
The lady may have understood that she have been accused for your misfortune
Backpacking is a nice way to travel when you're young. But they often also show a serious disregard for local customs. The outrage displayed was nothing but embarrassment and a diversion from the actual event. So not to worry about this. Crime happens, and the U. S. is not really known for its safety when it comes to crime. Even backpackers need to cautious, and they aren't really liked abroad because they don't spend a lot of money. But $350 is a lot of money for the average Cambodian.
A Khmer in Cambodia
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