About Ankgor
Day 6 Continued
The jet-lag was really beginning to set in at this point. After landing in Siem Reap, the first thing we saw was a large destroyed structure in front of the airport. It was approaching the rainy season in SE Asia, and large storms were known wreak havoc on infrastructure, especially in Cambodia, where the storms got even worse then they did in Vietnam. My first reactions in Cambodia, having been in Vietnam for almost a week, were kind of excited, kind of nervous. Vietnam felt very safe and familiar enough to me during my time there. Not only that but I had become familiar enough with Vietnamese culture and customs that I kind of had a sense of comfort there. Despite having been a communist country not long before, in Vietnam the wheels of progress were turning enough to feel like home, to show promise of modernity and western lifestyle. Vietnam and Cambodia both share some common history: they both have Buddhist customs, were ruled by the French as part of the Indochina colony, and share a peninsula. But Cambodia is a country where they don't use the Latin alphabet, where they still have tuk-tuks, where the infrastructure is barely even started, where water isn't readily available to 60+% in some areas, where Hinduism still lingers and where modern ideas were barely being considered. Not but 30 years prior, the Cambodians had experienced a genocide of a similar scale to the Armenians at the hands of Poll Pot, a man who destroyed every bit of western ideals and entrepreneurship (which ironically was the trip's purpose). The two countries were really nothing alike, Vietnam and Cambodia. The cuisines, languages, customs, and current progress, and even the facial features of the people were completely different. No same-same.
We checked into our Hotel, Pavillon D'Orient, another Shang-Ri-La esque beautiful location with charming employees and amazing service (everyone studying customer relations needs to go to Southeast Asia, I swear). Then we spent a brief time at the Ankgor Night Market (where I bought some more beautiful artifacts and some great paintings.) We ate some Cambodian food quickly before returning to our hotel for some rest. The Cambodian food was ridiculously good, very akin to Thai food as we were closer to Thailand than we were to Vietnam. That meant it was more intensely spicy, more intensely sweet than the Vietnamese cuisine, which is more akin to South Chinese but with Indian, French, and Japanese touches. I ate Pad Thai, now one of my favorite dishes.
Day 7
We then visited what very well may be Cambodia's greatest asset, the ancient city of Ankgor. We came equipped with a guide and our own bus so we may navigate with ease. We started by experiencing the sunrise, a sunrise to put an end to all sunrises. It was amazing. From someone who lived half his life in North Carolina, a state known for sun rises/sets, trust me when I say it was the greets thing I'd ever seen. We then travelled through all of the temples and ruins in the ancient city. We interacted with many international tourists, a Japanese woman gave me her hat, I had a monkey climb all over my head, I got to see tomb raider where Angelina Jolie once filmed scenes. That was fun and very educational. Our tour guide helped us better understand both the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism (and their epic clash in Ankgor) as well as the overall history of Cambodia through the temples many carvings. The Khmer people, who are now the Cambodians, laid the framework for their society. I felt very spiritual at Ankor Wat, and for someone that is non-religious such as myself that really says something about the place. It not only draws people from across the world to witness the ancient relics, but it draws so many religious people as well. I was at several points surrounded by monks and I felt the need to pray there. I was impressed with the fact that Ankgor was actually a privately owned franchise. For a country that spent so many years in the marxist school of though, I found it interesting that the didn't own their largest tourist attraction and the inspiration for the Khmer Rouge. But in actuality, it was strategic. Private companies have done a better job at keeping Ankgor clean and restoring it then Cambodia's broke, corrupt government could. In fact, it India's government that is being most instrumental in restoring the property. The Cambodian Government just gets to reap the benefits of the high tax revenue it brings in. There were so many salespeople out there trying to sell their crafts. But what really broke my heart was seeing so many young children trying to sell books (obviously for adults who prey on their vulnerability). This was one example of exactly how poverty and development interact with each other. Instead of satisfying needs of customers through entrepreneurship they have implemented exploitation so they could cash on on the tourist craze.
In addition to laying by the pool at the lavish hotel, we also spent significant time at company visits to highlight some of the exciting new business ventures. The first was Artisan's D'Ankgor, which was played to one of Cambodia's strongest assets. The workforce in Cambodia is full of artisans that are skilled in making furniture, clothes, pottery and various other crafts. The UVP that the Artisans brings to the table, I found, was their commitment to making things true to the Cambodian identity. I found that preserving tradition was a great marketing concept and that with all of the tourists, there is a lot of draw to things that wield authenticity. From an operations perspective, it was classic assembly line. Not as much creativity as one would assume, but part of tradition is that it is set and it is repeated. Over and over.
Next, we went to the Senteurs D'Angkor, a place that is like a Cambodian Bath and Body Works. They manufacture soaps, fragrances, lotions, teas, coffees and other products with a preference towards traditional Cambodian things. They had a similar appeal to the Artisans in terms of marketing, and again that classic assembly line (What is job enrichment). One thing I noticed at the the senteurs was something that wasn't the norm in Cambodia as it was in Vietnam. That was a strong female workforce.
The last place we visited in Siem Reap was another example of an excellent social business. We attended an amazing dinner and show at the Cambodian Circus. The circus was created to help lift children of struggling families out of poverty. They are a non-profit and their message of giving back made me reflect on those kids earlier in the morning and how exactly we could help them. The circus was amazing; anyone of those performers could've been a stand-alone act. Their selflessness in giving back really showed and inspired me to use my talents in a way that can maximize good. From a marketing perspective, this is a great message and I think it draws in a lot of viewers. They did a wonderful job of incorporating the Cambodian experience into their message and even into their show which dramatizes the Poll Pott regime's impact on society. The crowd was so heartbroken, excited, laughing their asses off, holding on thinking someone was going to fall, all in one show.
At the end of the day I was beginning to understand Cambodia. They weren't going to be big stars like Vietnam and erupt overnight. They are a lot like my home in West Virginia. They lag and are full of social issues and poverty, yet a great work ethic and awesome tourism areas make for a lot of underutilized growth potential.
The Hindu architecture in Ankgor still remains, though the religion has been largely replaced by Buddhism.
Must do: Get up extra early and witness the sunrise at Ankgor Wat. This is one of the most mystical scenes one can ever see.
Beware: Monkeys are thieves and rascals. This was stolen from a girls backpack, that he unzipped himself!
Unfortunately for this monkey, I didn't have any food, but I did have a full head full of hair that he could rummage through.
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