Where do you take 19 Japanese tourists in Phnom Penh? The dump, of course!
I now have another job that I can add to my ever-expanding list of professions that I really really don't want to do - tour guide. The stress and the weight of expectations is exhausting - even one day is too much, even if it was successful.
Our work had 19 Japanese visitors over the weekend and somehow it became Bek's and my job to look after them on sunday. Our destination - the dump. That's right, the rubbish dump. It's not the most obvious tourist attraction, but our visitors wanted "exposure", so that's what they got. The dump is a squalid, smelly mountain of garbage, and is the home and livelihood of many hundreds of people. When the trucks dump a new load, there is a mad scramble as the kids attack plastic bags with metal hooks to find cans, scraps of metal or plastic - anything that can be re-used or recycled. The cliche "one person's trash is another person's treasure" is truer here than anywhere else.
We took our guests in a 4WD and a van. I drew the short straw and had to drive 13 people in the old, beaten-up 2WD van. It has been raining a fair bit lately, so the good news was that the smell wasn't as bad as I was expecting. The bad news was the road was insanely muddy. How we managed to get through it I'll never know.
Our guests had a mixed reaction to the scene. Some jumped in enthusiastically, cameras clicking madly, while others hung back with their hands over their mouths and attempted the impossible task of walking through mud without stepping in it. Somehow, both reactions were very Japanese.
Our friends also came prepared to fend off swarms of insects. Again, in characteristically Japanese fashion, they did it with technology. All of them had these little electronic devices with mini fans, constantly filling the air around them with odourless insect repellent. They wore them around their necks, on their belts and on their wrists, and they wore them with pride. Not just at the rubbish dump, mind you, but in the city as well. Ok, so there's a few mosquitoes around, but they're not that bad! Bek took a photo of a wrist one (on the left), and had it thrust upon her as a gift, despite her protestations that she didn't need it.
At the end of the day, there were no big dramas and they were happy. We were just tired. I'm glad I'm not a tour guide.
Our work had 19 Japanese visitors over the weekend and somehow it became Bek's and my job to look after them on sunday. Our destination - the dump. That's right, the rubbish dump. It's not the most obvious tourist attraction, but our visitors wanted "exposure", so that's what they got. The dump is a squalid, smelly mountain of garbage, and is the home and livelihood of many hundreds of people. When the trucks dump a new load, there is a mad scramble as the kids attack plastic bags with metal hooks to find cans, scraps of metal or plastic - anything that can be re-used or recycled. The cliche "one person's trash is another person's treasure" is truer here than anywhere else.
We took our guests in a 4WD and a van. I drew the short straw and had to drive 13 people in the old, beaten-up 2WD van. It has been raining a fair bit lately, so the good news was that the smell wasn't as bad as I was expecting. The bad news was the road was insanely muddy. How we managed to get through it I'll never know.
Our guests had a mixed reaction to the scene. Some jumped in enthusiastically, cameras clicking madly, while others hung back with their hands over their mouths and attempted the impossible task of walking through mud without stepping in it. Somehow, both reactions were very Japanese.
Our friends also came prepared to fend off swarms of insects. Again, in characteristically Japanese fashion, they did it with technology. All of them had these little electronic devices with mini fans, constantly filling the air around them with odourless insect repellent. They wore them around their necks, on their belts and on their wrists, and they wore them with pride. Not just at the rubbish dump, mind you, but in the city as well. Ok, so there's a few mosquitoes around, but they're not that bad! Bek took a photo of a wrist one (on the left), and had it thrust upon her as a gift, despite her protestations that she didn't need it.
At the end of the day, there were no big dramas and they were happy. We were just tired. I'm glad I'm not a tour guide.posted by Brett at
9:42 pm
2 Comments:
Hahaha, at least you guys had some fun. Did you two find something interesting among the piles? How long do you have left in Cambodia? How many more exciting adventures left? Keep us informed :)
By
Llewellyn, at 8:04 am
Hey Brett
Oh oh it's fun. I really want to see your photo on the van with 19 japanese at the dump. Love to read your story Brett.
By
Anonymous, at 1:41 pm
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