Blessed with Hospitality

Just one day before my arrival at Phnom Penh, I received an email from a Hong Kong missionary. Her email said that her co-worker has rented an apartment but will not come back until next year. But it is not close to the riverfront. With this brief message, I did not know where exactly the place is, what it looks like and how much the rent would be. I carried her cell phone number to Phnom Penh, with my fingers crossed that perhaps her apartment would work out.

When I arrived at Phnom Penh, however, I totally forgot about this contact. Instead, with the help of my colleagues and my Cambodian friend, I went flat-hunting with some travel agents. The expatriate community here has certainly pushed up rental prices; $250 a month would be considered cheap. But this amount would not cover cable TV ($10), electricity (~$15) and water (~$15). Some landlords would even charge tenants for security guards and trash pick-up.
During my first weekend, I finally got in touch with this Hong Kong missionary and visited the place. Thank God, the place is just $140 a month. Although there is no air-conditioning, the apartment has everything -- seriously, everything. There is a bike and helmets, detergent, hangers, TV, cooking utensils, laundry basket, books, CDs, etc. What’s more can I ask? So I moved in on my fourth day.

My initial hesitation about this apartment is that the location is quite far from work. But soon my doubts were erased. My neighbor, a Singaporean missionary, is very nice. During my first week here, she brought me and another Singaporean student all over Phnom Penh. We ate Khmer beef stew, coconut and durian ice-cream (inside a coconut shell), hand-made Chinese noodles, (half-priced) pastries and drinks at five-star hotel and the best iced coffee and Vietnamese pho at the Russian Market. I could not believe my luck in finding such a great neighbor.

What’s more, because my apartment is a bit far from the touristy districts, everything is cheaper. It is cheaper to make telephone calls, get motorbike rides, buy groceries and even park bicycles. Also, despite being “far” from work, my bike ride is only 15-20 minutes; there is also a sports stadium and a modern (air-conditioned) shopping mall within biking distance.

I also feel so blessed with my landlord here. He is an agricultural specialist and is currently employed under a UNDP contract. In his work, he provides technical advice for self-help groups and farming cooperatives in the Battambang Province. While he often stays in Battambang during the week, whenever I see him in the weekends, he would make me sit down and talk about my work here. He would then enthusiastically tell me why agriculture is so important and what he wants to do for his country when his contract with UNDP expires in less than half a year. (Recently, he said he got a grant from the UK to continue his work with farming communities. I am so happy for him.)

Just last week, he took his annual leave and brought his family (his mother, wife and children) to a northern province. After he returned, he called up one evening and said he had souvenirs for me. He excitedly talked about the natural scenery of a part of Cambodia which he had never been to. In the end, I retreated upstairs holding a bundle of ramudan (“guai-lo” ly-chee) on my left hand. On my right hand, I held several tropical fruits unknown to me and some Cambodian sticky rice stuffed in bamboo.

Cambodian hospitality is surely not confined to my landlord and my encounters with missionaries. Just yesterday, I met up with my Singaporean friend and some of her friends for a farewell party. At her guesthouse was a woman by the name of Mrs. Lam. She was originally from Guangdong Province and spoke Cantonese. Together with her seven sisters, her family owns almost the entire Street 294, also called the Golden Street in Phnom Penh, and runs a guesthouse business. In our conversation, I asked of what fruits are best-buys in Cambodia. She immediately threw out many names and asked her daughter to take out “samples.” That night, I left with a Cambodian-growth sour mango. She insisted that I come back for more when the chance arises.

Also just yesterday, I spoke with a friend about her visit to Siem Reap the week before. She said, “Siem Reap was great, but I felt homesick – “Phnom Penh”-sick. Now I echo with her. When I have to leave in the future, I will surely cherish these blessed memories.