Thursday, June 22, 2006
hey all! i am back from siem reap, cambodia! visiting countries that are not as developed as your own always gives you a brand new perspective on things..
dusty paths that leaves you shrouded in a cloud of dust whenever a vehicle passes by ( 30km/h can hardly be called 'zoom')
the sweltering heat with no fan or air cons in sight for the locals
roads without adequate drainage system so that the roads become mini lakes with ankle-deep muddy suspension when it rains
fanciful hotels that look so beautiful from the outside, but are so far from reach for the locals
lovely restaurants that sell wonderful food, which are again, out of reach for the locals
children ambling along the streets, clutching pirated guide books, scarfs, woven handicrafts, t-shirts, or post cards etc, following tourists persistently for up to half an hour, just to get them to buy something from them for a miserable usd 1
why arn't they in school?
where are the schools even?
tuk-tuk drivers vying for your attention
seeing children and adults sleeping on the streets at night, without a mat or blanket, if they're lucky, with a mosquito net, with swarms of insects like mosquitos and cockroaches around them
inadequate health care services
heck. i wish there was something i could do.
i wonder how the locals feel. do they wonder where these hoards of tourists come from? why are they so fascinated with their own little town? do they feel bored of their town? do they wonder why the tourists have so much money? why do the tourists have beautiful clothes and get to eat nice food and they don't? what are the other countries like? why was there this disparity in the standard of living?
as we walked along theit national route #6 and saw the vehicles speeding by, i wonder where they were speeding to, i couldn't figure out the other sources of income besides the hotels, restaurants, roadside stalls etc, taxi drivers, tuk-tuk drivers.. i wonder how they get by their daily lives.. rows and rows of stalls selling essentially the same things.. there was an oversupply of the same things, and not enough buyers.. and even if there was business, the things they sold would only increase their wealth by a few usd.. from what i see, there were many people passing by and stopping to admire the handicraft, but not many were reaching into their wallets to buy things.. how do they manage the rental? do they pay rent at all? even though the daily necessities are not as expensive as singapore, but i have my doubts about whether they make any profit, after subtracting rental charges and the amount they have to pay to purchase their goods..
i wonder what the people do in their leisure time.. maybe i got my answer when i saw them crowd ard a tv set in a coffeeshop..
no pool table, no bowling alley, no cinemas, some houses dun even have tv, no libraries, no shopping malls..
what do they do during their holidays? where do they go during their hols? weili cleverly suggested that they went to angkor wat.. haha.. its just like us? going to sentosa every holiday..
do they even get the chance to venture out of their little town?
do they even have the motivation to earn more money to get them out of their vicious cycle? from what i see, even if they had more money, there was no where they could have spent it.. nothing really interesting to buy or do.. no property for sale.. there, it is enough to just have enough money to get by their daily lives..
these thoughts got me slightly depressed. if i brought a few of the kids out of cambodia to singapore, how would they feel? i am sure they will be overwhemled by the high-tech traffic lights, the hygiene, the numerous shops, the high rise buildings, the whole modern setting, the streetlamps, the paved roads, the nice clothes, the comfort of city life, just about everything..
if they got out, would they want to go back to where they came from? i know i will be very reluctant to.
makes me think of how pure, uncorrupted communism is such an ideal state.. but because this world is flawed, this idealism can never be fulfilled.. the flaws of humanity.. sigh.. why is life so unfair? life isn't fair, but why is the difference further than heaven and hell? they did not choose to be born there and then, they did not have a choice.. maybe that explains their belief in thevarda buddhism.. they didn't do enough merit in their previous lives, so now, they have to accumulate enough merit to break out of this vicious cycle and reincarnate into a better family.. better still, attain enlightenment..
which then brings me to another absurd thought..
we always see the heaven deities dressed in ancient attire.. all the wayang stuff.. and they say that a day in heaven is 10 or 100 years on earth.. so... if people attain enlightenment now, do they ascend to heaven and wear their modern clothes or will they find themselves in those ancient clothings? wow. heaven must be such a wonderful fashion parade.. in the course of a day, you get to see how fashion evolves over so many places over so many years.. :)
the thing which stuck with me from this trip was the visit to kantha bopha children's hospital.. it is set up by this swiss doctor who has worked there for over 30 years.. lobbying for equal medical attention for those in third world countries.. he is really a noble man.. he gave up his comfortable life in switzerland to live in a country whose standard of living is a far cry from what he's been used to.. no income, no facilities, battling the skepticism of the "civilised world" that these poor countries are also entitled to the same level of medical care as them.. it piques me to think that medicine that has been banned in the civilised world because of horrendous side effects are being distributed without second thoughts in the underdeveloped countries.. in the civilised world, these medicine would have given the doc who prescribed them endless lawsuits and made him a bankrupt and immoral person, but no one cares when factories manufacturing these drugs spring up in 3rd world countries..
being born in a third-world country doesn't make your life lower class than the rest.. similarly, being born in a developed country doesn't make your life more precious than others. life cannot be sorted into classes and levels. life is something sacred that should not be subjected to any discrimination. but why is this still happening? maybe we should throw the world's money into a giant incinerator and burn it.. maybe then the world will be a better place.. went to the UN volunteer website and to MSF website to check out what i can do.. well.. nothing..
it was a rather surreal feeling to come back to the tall buildings, nice clean roads and comfortable serenity of singapore in the afternoon when in the morning, i was living in a totally different world.. what a huge difference.. i found myself gaping and thinking if i was dreaming as i sat in the coffeeshop in singapore that afternoon.. look at that wide array of food! my goodness.. look at the spotless surroundings!
with all that we have, what are we complaining about?
i pray i will not get caught up in the maze of capitalism as i venture further into adulthood.
i guess you are most vulnerable to the assault of your hidden emotions when you least expect it. i am waiting patiently for time to give me answers to what i am seeking. even if the results are not favourable, maybe even regrettable, at least i know that i know for sure, and i'm not living in a pool of what ifs. life is always so unpredictable, only a few decades ago, cambodia is ahead of singapore and malaysia in terms of medical care.. look what time has done to it.. if large entities like countries, even continents, are vulnerable to the effects of time, who knows what drastic changes it might do to the lives of powerless individuals like us? but still, time. the eternal enemy of man.. speaking of which, i really love the advertisement for the mercedes e class.. the one which talks about time.. :)
ok, enough rambling :) pictures!!
