THE EXTRAORDINARY NATURE OF EVERYDAY
ENCOUNTERS IN SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA
These are the lessons brought home to me,
during my four day stay in Siem Reap, second time this year 2014.
Give dignity to the other person
Be genuinely interested in what brought
that person to this place, far away from their home.
Be humble. During a short encounter, do
not waste the time boasting of what you have done with your life.
Let your demeanour speak for itself. “People
are kind to you because of the way you are”, I was told.
Discuss what the others are interested
in, and don’t dominate the conversation.
Brief description of some pleasant
encounters in Siem Reap
1. Japan holds a special spot in my
heart, for the fantastic education I received about Nutrition and respect for
food during my nine visits to the country in 2005.
Here in Siem Reap, I come across the shop
KRU KHMER, with Japanese style and thoughts
The lady in charge of the shop during the
evening hours had the surname of my favourite Japanese writer and we had a nice
chat about Cambodia, NGO work which produces the dainty things at display for
sale and of course Japanese food!
2. Who would have thought I would be
running into a Tamil adventurer and a history buff right here in Siem Reap?
He said: I am a Tamulian, because long
before there was India, there were Tamils and a Tamil Culture.
While sitting with him at the Indian
Restaurant opposite the provincial hospital, many people, tourists, residents
or visitors all from India, kept on dropping by our table. All of them were
favourably nationalistic about India, but they were not emptily boasting, like
one tends to hear from the Indians living among the Westerners. Perhaps these
Indians who are living in India are proud of their independence of thought and
not having to play up to anyone or anybody.
An IT person, who was in the employ of
TATA, was proud of his connection with the Communist Party, CPM. He wrote his
address in detail in case I happen to be in his neighbourhood!
Two archeologists based in Madras,
working on the rehabilitation of Tah Prohm temple on behalf of Archeological
survey of India.
3. A soft spoken lady from NZ, who was
doing her Khmer lessons and homework, when we began chatting at the Joe to Go café,
where the upstairs was calm and conducive to writing or studying. We had a nice
chat about everyday happiness, but did not have time to explore why she was in
Siem Reap.
Yes there is a difference between
backpackers who are here for two or three days, who strut around the ruins in
their tuk tuks, in contrast to many others who come here to give of their time
and expertise to bring a little bit of happiness to the others.
Here I was reminded of a great
conversation I had long time ago about Myself vs Others
Some people, in fact the majority in our
western world, is concerned about themselves, whether they are at home or
backpackers in other countries. A small minority is concerned about others and
usually end up much happier in their lives.
I have great respect for people who
sacrifice for others. By the way the concept of Sacrifice is very important in
most ancient philosophies.
4. At the airport, I saw a young lady
hastily devouring her sandwich at the security check point. She had bought the
sandwich a minute before, but the security people wouldn’t allow her to take it
on board! The surrealism of the conflict between the east and the west! A little
later I learned that she is Mexican, graduate of UTSA and now teaching English
in a smaller town in Sumatra. It was good to speak Spanish while waiting for
the plane to take us to KL!
And of course there were the usual Khmer
friends made over the course of years...
Truly felt richer for these every day
interactions with people with varying dreams!!
