Cambodia Is Just Better 🛺 And Already Living In The Future 👨‍🌾

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(Edited)

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I sit down to talk about why life in Southeast Asia, specifically Cambodia, is just more efficient, social, and freer than life in the west.

It's Just My Opinion 🙅‍♂️

     In this ultra-woke modern world, I feel my first words after such a title should be "it's just my opinion." That being said, after having lived in the USA, Jamaica, Suriname, and Ecuador, and also having traveled western Europe, I can say that life is fundamentally very similar in all these places, and the western world in general.

     Common themes are a life consumed by debt, being overworked, a huge gap between the rich and the poor, little or no freetime to spend with friends and family, constant feelings of stress and worry, and I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. Another thing that bothers me in the west is that individualism is taken to the extreme, and selfishness and ego are encouraged at the state level and by the fabric of society.

     Even simple things like conversation, a thing Cambodians use to understand one another more clearly, is actually competitive in the west. I always forget how hard it is to have a conversation and stay on topic in the west, because often times one person is just waiting for the other to shut up so they can push their agenda.

     So many times in the west I've had one-way conversations that lasted hours, with me only having asked a few questions, and the other person rambling the whole time. This has never happened even once in Cambodia (with Cambodians) because they are always full of questions for each other, and that's what makes conversation interesting and engaging. There is even a little thing lost centuries ago in the west, but it's still alive and well in Cambodia, and that is the follow-up question, something slowly dying around the world.

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23 comments
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Hi my friend,

I am so happy that you and your family will be in Cambodia soonish. It sounds like a lovely place. I loved your description of the ( old ladies at the ) markets out there.

I can totally relate to what you say about the West ( also Europe ), although I think it's mainly a ( big ) city thing. Here in the centre of Portugal, pretty much the countryside it's a little different.

People are more community minded and quite social. We actually do our best to make time for others.

I am an exception though, not owning a car. I walk half an hour to a small village shop / café. Sometimes I cycle there.

To get groceries and do things in town, I ask friends or neighbors and, in exchange for this, I help them with other things, like kid sitting or crypto.

I really hope I can actually be one of the exceptions and visit you and your family some day, preferably if traveling becomes less complicated.

Big hug!

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I think you would be a very welcome(d) visitor in Cambodia. We'll be hopefully in the countryside or a tiny provincial town with only a few hundred people, we are pretty much ready to check out after his whole stranded abroad experience. Buying land and having a basecamp now seems more important than ever.

You walk almost as far as I do to get groceries in Suriname, and I live in the capital. It reminds me of the user-friendliness of Cambodia. Nothing needed is ever too far. The rules for entry to Cambodia are getting easier every month.

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Hi hi.. Justin.. hahahah.. very funnily written but it is definitely true. Especially those who can keep going on non stop rambling and if that person has spoken even for an hour and just that one question I can ask, it is a form of "not listening" hahaha..My sister is like that. My brain explodes from inwards listening to hours of a looped sentences.

Hahaha.. yea.. Western world has more individualistic beliefs. Collectivism Asians always put family first, money second. Even many businesses have to have the whole family involved. hahaha... I am not used to calling westerners who have high ranks by their name. I met a couple while I was studying at University here. The professor I met asked him to call him Mr Brown instead of Sir.

I read the part about Cambodian conversation. That is absolutely the best way of conversing with a person. Sometimes, just sitting there doing nothing but with the person's presence is good too. There is no follow up questions? wahhaa.. that would make the conversation dull in a way. For me, I am more of a thinker and speak less but only speaks when needed. Not sure if that is good or bad.

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Even in Cambodia I have many friends who like to talk and talk, not listening too much, but the big difference in Cambodia is that this person is not trying to be competitive with me or coerce me into sharing their world view. When teaching Cambodian classes to foreigners, the first thing I always mention is not to ask about hobbies and sports, passions, when meeting Cambodians for the first time.

This a western mindset, instead ask about family, how many brothers, how many sisters, ages, etc. This seems boring to a westerner, but family is everything, so questions about it come long before questions about how one spends one's freetime.

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hahaha.. I never knew that type of questions came first for a westerner. yea. it stinks to have someone who constantly wants to change the way we view the world with a forced idea of how they want us to view it. I guess maybe because in the Western society, everyone is more independent. In Malaysia, 20 years olds are still treated as babies by their parents. In Sarawak, the native people known as the Ibans have very strong family bonds, everytime they have festivals, the whole family gathers in a long house. The long house has a really really long hallway with no barriers or walls and rooms for each family at the side. They gather around and drink tuak "rice wine" and dance all night long. Very nice people.


Not photoshopped. - Along the way out of town, many long houses can be seen. They can span up to 100s of family. The modern long houses now are modern. This is one of the unique tribe characteristics of Sarawak that can't be seen elsewhere in Malaysia. The Ibans were knowns as the head hunters in the past for they kept heads of their enemies as trophies. No longer practised.

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Of course SE Asia isn't Shangri-La, and you mentioned the parents treating their kids like children into their 20s. This extreme doting on children is common in Cambodia, and it's not something I'm a big fan of. All-in-all though, I find the way of life much more pleasurable and stress-free.

I've lived in some pretty long rental room blocks before, but nothing like this building. And I used to think I knew my rental room neighbors, like family I could say, but not literally family like the Ibans. I am sure the rice wine helps to ease any tensions brewing within the "landship" (that's too long to be just a house).

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because often times one person is just waiting for the other to shut up

This and many other things are the reason why I am happy that I live a basic, but far more rewarding life in South East Asia. Here people are content with less and while I am sure the super wealthy do "keep up with the Joneses" I am very happy to be far removed from that lifestyle. I make considerably less money here than I would "back home" but then again I don't consider the country on my passport to be my home anymore anyway.

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I fully agree. On a sidenote, what's the worst is running into a foreigner from your own country that won't shut up, and has been living in a bubble for years, not learning any of the local culture or language, and engages in the same rhetoric that drove you away from your country. Luckily folks like this are easy to avoid.

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I think your experience with 'woke' conversations is an American thing.

In Britain the old rule of "don't talk about religion or politics" still applies to face-to-face interactions (though anonyn online interactions remain the wild west.

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Definitely us 'Mericans like to jam our opinions down others' throats more than most, but I've ran into some woke blokes here and there. This part of our culture isn't going away any time soon, so I just do my best to adapt and cater to "wokeness."

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Yohoo! Cambodia will be the home to soon for the wonderful family of @justinparke! 🥰
Living in Cambodia will be totally different than in the western countries.
Even it's too early, I will say WELCOME TO CAMBODIA! 🥰
All the way from Philippines.🥰

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It is hard not to be positive right now, but I feel almost certain we will be back in Cambodia together without any more massive bureaucratic hurdles. Thanks for the good wishes my friend.

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Yeah! Let us just pray for the best! 🙏🙏🙏

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Video couldn't play. Think my connection screwed, shall try again tomorrow at the office toilet with a different network. Anyway, read the words and I think my country sounded pretty near to the West. Nowadays when you start a conversation with someone, the next thing you hear from them is:

The other day I did this and that

I had this and that

My dog this and that

Are you sure you did it correctly? I did it this way and it worked out pretty darn well.

I mean, we do listen to opinion, but I'd like someone to hear me out. Instead of "I feel you bro! I totally get it. Last time though, I had the same situation and I did this and that blah blah blah...", I'd prefer "I'm here bro".

I don't know, may be I'm one of them. I just couldn't count how many I me and myself his this reply anymore.

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3Speak was down the other day for a bit, that might've explained your problems.

Nowhere in the world is safe from bad conversation, but some places are less safe than others. For the most part, I find Malaysians very stimulating in conversation. But I do the know the mentality you speak of. There is a class of Cambodians with a lot of entitlement, mainly the wealthy who achieved wealth solely through corruption, and "Me! Me! Me!" fills their brains 24/7. Things like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook haven't helped either.

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(Edited)

@justinparke What an interesting topic, I really think that in western countries the level of competition is so barbaric, that even in a simple conversation all this is evident, but I think it is intimately linked to the acquisition of capital that encourages selfishness the I did I have such a thing and highlight achievements to diminish others. I feel that as human beings we are part of our achievements and we can not subtract merit but we are much more than that and understanding it helps us to recognize what are the true purposes of our life. I love 😊 your publication.

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I agree very much, and something I've noticed from many foreigners who've worked in western office type settings, especially the USA, they have mentioned the corporate structure encourages them to compete against their co-workers instead of cooperate for a common goal.

This is even evident on the competitive team sports that we jam down the throats of our children, and nothing about the concept of cooperation is ever taught. I think that's the true concept of a village can almost never work in a western society.

I have experienced this eastern way of life as far west as Albania, but Albania is only geographically located in the west, it's culture is much more Turkish than European. Thanks for your kind words.

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