March 30, 2008
Today we arrived in Cambodia. Driving down the street from the airport to the hotel I tried to see what the main differences there were between Vietnam and Cambodia. Phnom Penh’s buildings are more spread out and a lot shorter, so it seemed quite a bit calmer. The colors were less intrusive and the people darker. It is less humid but overall it is hotter here. When we got to the hotel we were shocked by how majestic and fancy it was compared to the hotels we had stayed at in Vietnam. Those hotels seemed like 5 star hotels but The Cambodiana is incredible. We were also shocked and disturbed by the exchange of an aggressive white tourist and a submissive Cambodian prostitute right in our hotel lobby. When we got to our rooms and were able to discuss what we had seen, Nancy told a story that made me sick to my stomach. The first time she came to Cambodia, she requested that the hotel she would stay at not encourage and support prostitution. The Cambodiana, the nicest hotel in the city, was the only one. When she arrived here she wanted to get a neck massage. They took her down to a dark room underneath the pool area that she said was filthy and full of women sitting on bleachers wearing red undergarments. When they asked her to lie on a small and very dirty bed for the massage she said no and told them she wanted to sit in a chair. So they took her to a large room and as they opened the door she was taken aback to see rows and rows of reclining chairs, full of white tourists wearing nothing but open robes with women at their feet. After seeing what was happening to these girls right below the rooms she went to the management and complained. The next day when she went down to see the room, it was completely empty and the women were now dressed in navy blue suits. Now the hotel is on strict watch to make sure trafficking is not happening. Unfortunately, street prostitution sometimes gets by the staff because it is on a much smaller scale.
After we got to process what we had witnessed we went to our separate rooms. I switched rooms and now am rooming with a girl named Melissa. We immediately started talking and talked for a few hours before dinner time. We went to dinner at a restaurant called Java and it was the most familiar food I have had since being on this trip (pesto pasta with chicken.) We had dinner with Sherry and Debby, friends of Nancy’s who started an NGO called White Lotus in Cambodia that gives residency to girls who have experienced trafficking, prostitution, or any kind or threat of sexual abuse. After dinner we were all exhausted and went to bed.
Today we arrived in Cambodia. Driving down the street from the airport to the hotel I tried to see what the main differences there were between Vietnam and Cambodia. Phnom Penh’s buildings are more spread out and a lot shorter, so it seemed quite a bit calmer. The colors were less intrusive and the people darker. It is less humid but overall it is hotter here. When we got to the hotel we were shocked by how majestic and fancy it was compared to the hotels we had stayed at in Vietnam. Those hotels seemed like 5 star hotels but The Cambodiana is incredible. We were also shocked and disturbed by the exchange of an aggressive white tourist and a submissive Cambodian prostitute right in our hotel lobby. When we got to our rooms and were able to discuss what we had seen, Nancy told a story that made me sick to my stomach. The first time she came to Cambodia, she requested that the hotel she would stay at not encourage and support prostitution. The Cambodiana, the nicest hotel in the city, was the only one. When she arrived here she wanted to get a neck massage. They took her down to a dark room underneath the pool area that she said was filthy and full of women sitting on bleachers wearing red undergarments. When they asked her to lie on a small and very dirty bed for the massage she said no and told them she wanted to sit in a chair. So they took her to a large room and as they opened the door she was taken aback to see rows and rows of reclining chairs, full of white tourists wearing nothing but open robes with women at their feet. After seeing what was happening to these girls right below the rooms she went to the management and complained. The next day when she went down to see the room, it was completely empty and the women were now dressed in navy blue suits. Now the hotel is on strict watch to make sure trafficking is not happening. Unfortunately, street prostitution sometimes gets by the staff because it is on a much smaller scale.
After we got to process what we had witnessed we went to our separate rooms. I switched rooms and now am rooming with a girl named Melissa. We immediately started talking and talked for a few hours before dinner time. We went to dinner at a restaurant called Java and it was the most familiar food I have had since being on this trip (pesto pasta with chicken.) We had dinner with Sherry and Debby, friends of Nancy’s who started an NGO called White Lotus in Cambodia that gives residency to girls who have experienced trafficking, prostitution, or any kind or threat of sexual abuse. After dinner we were all exhausted and went to bed.
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