On 22nd Nov 2018, I landed at the Phnom Penh International Airport.
It was a sunny day with light breeze, hot and humid air welcomed me to this country as I step out of the cabin.
Foreign languages apart from English are seen almost immediately at the airport, showing how strong its tourism is and at the same time how it's influenced by other countries.
The arrival card is in both Khmer, English and Chinese.
What interests me is the most are Chinese advertisements and signs, as Chinese is my first language. The first and most surprising one was seen at the immigration, suggesting "No tips" shall be given to immigration officers. It implies two possibility: first, Cambodians like asking tips from Chinese, or second, Chinese loves giving tips. Well, Chinese don't have a habit of tipping, so I would believe it's the first one: officials used to ask for tips from tourists, and now it's working hard to crack it down.
Although the immigration process seems organised, with e-visa and arrival card, my card wasn't collected at the end.
The second surprise was the overwhelming number of property developer advertising written in Chinese. Big shopping malls, residential areas and office buildings will be in here and there they suggested. While I'm happy to see Chinese characters in a foreign country and feeling proud of China for its success in OBOR initiative, I'm also worried if this would disturb the lives of local residents.
But as my "Tuk Tuk" ride took me closer to the city of Phnom Penh, I start seeing many other foreign languages. French, Japanese, Korean are some frequently spotted languages among all. As I explore this country, I started to find more and more trace of foreign influence, not just from colonial era but modern days. It's hard to judge whether this is good or bad, but I can tell this country needs them very much. From motorcycles to gasoline, these are all supplied by foreign brands.
