Tuesday, March 20, 2018, Sihanoukville, Cambodia (2 of 2)

This post continues 1 of 2 with mostly pictures of our city market stop, visit to a Buddhist temple, and short cruise by a local beach.

Cambodia or Kampuchea, officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a sovereign state located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia.  It is 69,898 square miles in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

Cambodia has a population of over 15 million.  The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practiced by approximately 95 percent of the population.  The country's minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes.  The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, and cultural centre of Cambodia. The kingdom is an elective constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently Prime minister and the longest serving non-royal leader in Southeast Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 30 years.

Cambodia gained independence in 1953.  The Vietnam War extended into the country with the US bombing of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973.  Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, the deposed king gave his support to his former enemies, the Khmer Rouge.  The Khmer Rouge emerged as a major power, taking Phnom Penh in 1975 and later carrying out the Cambodian Genocide (our guide said about 2 million were killed outright and another million died of starvation, disease, lack of medical treatment; he indicated some of his family died during this time) from 1975 until 1979, when they were ousted by Vietnam and the Vietnamese-backed People's Republic of Kampuchea in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War (1979–91).

Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission (1992–93). The UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 coup placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party, who remain in power as of 2017.

The country faces numerous challenges. Important socio-political issues includes widespread poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of political freedoms, low human development, and a high rate of hunger.  Cambodia has been described by Human Rights Watch's Southeast Asian Director, David Roberts, as a "vaguely communist free-market state with a relatively authoritarian coalition ruling over a superficial democracy."  Larry and Diane are personally concerned about the influence China is having on SE Asia, French Polynesia, and Central America that we have witnessed on this world cruise.

While per capita income remains low compared to most neighboring countries, Cambodia has one of the fastest growing economies in Asia (largely by the economic aid by China) with growth averaging 6 percent over the last decade.  Agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade.  Cambodia scored dismally in an annual index (2015) ranking the rule of law in 102 countries, placing 99th overall and the worst in the region.

Cambodia also faces environmental destruction as an imminent problem.  The most severe activity in this regard is considered to be the countrywide deforestation, which also involves national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.  Overall, environmental destruction in Cambodia comprise many different activities, including illegal logging, poaching of endangered and endemic species, and destruction of important wildlife habitats from large scale construction projects and agricultural businesses.  The degrading activities involve the local population, Cambodian businesses and political authorities, as well as foreign criminal syndicates and many transnational corporations from all over the world.

Today Cambodia is primarily agrarian with 60% of the population producing 30 tons of rice for export.

On our way to the city market we noted the new buildings and construction, primarily supported by China.

Local furniture store.

After visiting the very basic fishing village, we continued to the Sihanoukville’s market to absorb some local color.  We took quick looks at stalls overflowing with fruits, vegetables, and countless other items that provide a glimpse of daily life here. 

Truck load of live chickens and ducks.

On our way to the Buddhist temple.

Note the signs in Cambodian AND Chinese.

Tuk-Tuks, the local taxis, similar to rickshaws.

Our tour guide, Kun, demonstrating how to balance loads on head.

Buddhist temple.

Crypts for cremated remains.

Monk living quarters.

Note Chinese characters on banner.

On our way back to cruise ship we slowed for these guys in a forested area.

Note the preening.

Trying to drink from a discarded aluminum can.