by Paul Cradle » Wed Sep 01, 2021 8:38 pm
I think the only thing that really invokes a feeling of nostalgia is the girls. The guns and ganja, I mean, who really cares about that? If it weren't for lots of cheaply available girls who would "go with you," what would the draw of those times be about? It never really had much to do with Cambodia itself. Cambodia's poverty at the time was just a delivery mechanism to get to the girls. The presence of that many readily available females screws with the male brain to signal that something very important is happening here. I mean, most of Africa still has that kind of poverty, but there's no "Off the Rails" written about Africa, as far as I know. Most foreigners just aren't that interested in the girls there.
I was in PP for a month in 2006 as a tourist. I read "Off the Rails" then. I bought it off one of the kids by the river back when they followed you and begged you. Sadly, I thought I was reading about present times, but there was a girl in my room at least as I was reading it, who generally resembled what the book was about. It had already been 8 years since it was published, and those times were melting away fast, what with roads starting to get paved and all of that. When I came back in 2016, I thought it would be like it was in 2006 (or like I *thought* it was in 2006). It's just a lot harder to have a good time these days. Foreigners are not nearly as impressive as they were. There are large financial sector skyscrapers up. My $20 just doesn't impress anybody. Back in 2006, I gave my tuk-tuk driver, who waited for me for hours outside bars just to take me a home, a $20 tip, and it was an amazing amount back then. This guy had wanted me to remember his hat for the privilege of driving me back from Heart of Darkness of Sharky's for $2. The road by the river had so little traffic. It was so quiet. Being a foreigner was so amazing.
I would say I don't care, but to be honest, it has bothered me a lot. I have moved on in life. I have my own things going on. But I will say, very few people have had the experience like I have, of a whole place changing that fast.
To be fair, Amit Gilboa does not once even consider the idea that Cambodia would no longer be like that soon. In those times, it really did seem like we were learning all about what Cambodia was like, as in, what it would always be like there, at least for a long long time. If you'd counted on Cambodia to be like it was for any sizable part of your life, you'd be sorely disappointed. It's hard to imagine most foreigners being pleased with how Cambodia has changed. I know how horrible that sounds, given that it's of course better for the Cambodian people. But to be fair to the typical foreigner, he really is less impressive in PP than he used to be. I mean there still are impressive foreigners, it just takes more to be one. Yeah mostly I just mean more money.
I think the only thing that really invokes a feeling of nostalgia is the girls. The guns and ganja, I mean, who really cares about that? If it weren't for lots of cheaply available girls who would "go with you," what would the draw of those times be about? It never really had much to do with Cambodia itself. Cambodia's poverty at the time was just a delivery mechanism to get to the girls. The presence of that many readily available females screws with the male brain to signal that something very important is happening here. I mean, most of Africa still has that kind of poverty, but there's no "Off the Rails" written about Africa, as far as I know. Most foreigners just aren't that interested in the girls there.
I was in PP for a month in 2006 as a tourist. I read "Off the Rails" then. I bought it off one of the kids by the river back when they followed you and begged you. Sadly, I thought I was reading about present times, but there was a girl in my room at least as I was reading it, who generally resembled what the book was about. It had already been 8 years since it was published, and those times were melting away fast, what with roads starting to get paved and all of that. When I came back in 2016, I thought it would be like it was in 2006 (or like I *thought* it was in 2006). It's just a lot harder to have a good time these days. Foreigners are not nearly as impressive as they were. There are large financial sector skyscrapers up. My $20 just doesn't impress anybody. Back in 2006, I gave my tuk-tuk driver, who waited for me for hours outside bars just to take me a home, a $20 tip, and it was an amazing amount back then. This guy had wanted me to remember his hat for the privilege of driving me back from Heart of Darkness of Sharky's for $2. The road by the river had so little traffic. It was so quiet. Being a foreigner was so amazing.
I would say I don't care, but to be honest, it has bothered me a lot. I have moved on in life. I have my own things going on. But I will say, very few people have had the experience like I have, of a whole place changing that fast.
To be fair, Amit Gilboa does not once even consider the idea that Cambodia would no longer be like that soon. In those times, it really did seem like we were learning all about what Cambodia was like, as in, what it would always be like there, at least for a long long time. If you'd counted on Cambodia to be like it was for any sizable part of your life, you'd be sorely disappointed. It's hard to imagine most foreigners being pleased with how Cambodia has changed. I know how horrible that sounds, given that it's of course better for the Cambodian people. But to be fair to the typical foreigner, he really is less impressive in PP than he used to be. I mean there still are impressive foreigners, it just takes more to be one. Yeah mostly I just mean more money.