See, Air Laos isn't so bad after all...

So,

Today we arrived in Phnom Penh, having survived not one, but TWO trips with Air Laos. The reason for this relief is the slightly tarnished international reputation of Lao Airlines, due mainly to their hesitance in releasing public safety records. hmmmm... However, with a fleet of four planes you can't really afford to crash anyway.

We left a friend called Michel from Holland in Vientiane yesterday, which was a little sad. We had travelled through quite a bit of Lao with him, and his dry sense of humour had become a nice addition to our little party.

Yes, people from Holland do have a sense of humour. I was surprised too.

We had an amazing ability to run into Michel actually, having met up without prior plans in Sapa, Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and Vientiane. He is heading to the south of Lao, which sounds amazing. Unfortunately, I have some sort of uni-like commitment that i have to get back for (yes Mum, I know I have to come home).

Phnom Penh reminds me a lot of the big cities in Vietnam: densely populated, lots of interesting food being cooked on street corners and persistent but polite motorbike taxi riders at every turn. We are staying in an average guesthouse on the banks of an amazing river, with the guesthouse bar stretching out into the lake. While in moments of heat induced lunacy this river has seemed almost appealing, the murky slime has worked wonders, quashing any dreams I had of going swimming.

In comparison to the other cities we've travelled to the people seem to be struggling a lot more here. Beggars are more frequent, and to be frank more unsettling. As a nerd, I find this interesting given Cambodia's vastly superior GDP in comparison to Laos. Turns out GDP shouldn't be the only measure of development. Clive Hamilton was right after all! The city also feels quite unsettled. Perhaps this is in part due to the massive rebuilding that seems to be going on everywhere. While Laos is quietly rebuilding roads so they can drive without flying out of their seats, Cambodia is pulling out whole suburbs. We discovered upon reading the paper today that the entire precinct (lakeside, for you homey g's) we're staying in will be bulldozed, with no plans devised as yet to relocate the hundreds of people who'll be affected by this decision nor how recompense will be paid to those who will lose their businesses.

I've also found the ghosts of the Khmer Rouge hard to push from my mind. I keep imagining the city being emptied, an almost inconceivable notion given the pace of this place. I keep imagining the jubilant victory celebrations sweeping through Phnom Penh after the communists won the war, thoughts that remind me of stories of the audible roar that swept across Melbourne as people celebrated of the end of world war II. How quickly Cambodia's happiness turned to utter despair. Such a tragic turn.

Despite all this, Cambodia is an incredibly hospitable and lovely place. For the first time we met nice immigration officials at the airport! crazy! And everyone, even the most persistent tuk-tuk drivers, is friendly. Thailand is the self-proclamed land of smiles. Fittingly, Cambodia's tourism authority has plagiarised the title, and for my money they deserve it more.