Life Of Two In Asia. Day 8. Trip To Phnom Penh.
We left Siem Reap and headed to the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, by bus. There isn’t much to say about travel means. Our bus mates were ok, we didn’t get the chance to exercise any anger management or meditation techniques. The bus was clean, AC, they gave water and some small snack. Nothing to talk about here, so I will move along.
Looking through the window at the Cambodian countryside there is one thing that strikes.
Plastic. It’s everywhere. You might remember I mentioned this about Bangkok. They sell soup in small fine plastic bags; there is an abundance of straws and plastic cups. Everywhere you look, it’s all plastic. I think they do a better job of gathering it all in one place in Bangkok. It was pretty clean. In Cambodia, what we have seen so far, especially in the less touristic regions, there are fields of plastic.
As Alin well pointed out, this is the time before the monsoon, when all garbage lies in the open. Once the rainy season will start, all of it will be washed away into the ocean. And this is, ladies and gentlemen, how we get the Pacific garbage patch, in case you were wondering.
What can you do?
As a tourist, the only way I can help is to try and not use so much plastic. We have started to refuse the complimentary water that is given on the bus, or say ‘no straw’ when buying a drink. The problem is that not everybody speaks English and it’s really hard to explain.
As a local, it’s really hard for me to imagine how life really is here. I can imagine that people here have it hard. We found out that, as a waiter, salaries go up to $180/month plus tip, which, in some cases, doubles your salary. I think that when life is mostly about survival, you don’t really care about plastic and the Pacific garbage patch.
That was all for today. We got to Phnom Penh in one piece and we are looking forward to exploring the city and finding out more things about the vicious Pol Pot.
Good night, friends, wherever you are!
PS — For more pictures, check out our Instagram.