Some of my very well-travelled friends told me a while back “the Chinese are taking over the world”. At the time, I wasn't sure what that meant, and I must have labelled it as a conspiracy theory of sorts. Now that I've visited Cambodia and Laos it became clearer what that statement referred to: when driving around Sihanouk Ville, where the main port connecting the Southern islands is located, I saw countless skyscrapers either empty, partially built or abandoned; in recent years, this city turned into an assortment of casinos, foreign banks, and concrete ghosts in decay.
When searching for answers to this scenery, I was explained by an expat that Chinese “invest” in real-estate to conceal money from online gambling, illegal in countries like Macao, and often never finish properties as a building under construction isn’t subject to taxation. Furthermore, many largescale development projects (such as road building) are also financed by Chinese enterprises, who negotiate interest rates that countries won't likely be able to meet, a form of leverage that could be described as modern colonialism, consented by corrupt governments.
To complete this sinister picture, as soon as I arrived to the island Ko Rong Sanloem, I noticed dates in red graffiti in several resorts, including the bungalows I was staying at. When I enquired my host, he explained that Cambodian high-level figures came to the island, backed up by Police, to slowly force local businesses to close, just so that the properties can be taken over for residential projects in exchange for... nothing. No compensation or alternative location. To protest, many locals are now opting to resist recurring summons and threats, which explains why so many of these illegal “eviction” dates were overdue (and new ones added).
Surely there's more complexity to this bizarre and disgraceful state of affairs. Regardless, one layer can be empirically grasped – it is heart-breaking to see how “foreign investment” is changing the landscape of cities and islands, and how this money could be used differently, transparently, to benefit the local communities too, especially in a country whose development has been severely impaired by tragic recent history, from the Secret War to Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.
Aside from this “reality” check, the stay was rather enjoyable and full of activities. For the first time, I saw luminescent plankton under a night sky so crystal clear that when swimming faced up, I couldn't distinguish the stars from the plankton. It's as if I was immersed in liquid universe, dark matter, and countless bright dots. The magic was such that afterwards I caught myself thinking “there must be a higher entity, the Universe can't be this vast, beautiful and mysterious out of pure... Nothingness”.
I did have another “transcendental” experience, for different reasons, when I went kayaking in the open ocean. The current was too strong and, to make matters worse, there was a tiny hole in the kayak that slowly gave way to water on the inside. Three hours later, half of the kayak was submerged and started sinking… I eventually ended up overboard, having to wave and use the life jacket's whistle to get the attention of nearby boats. Locals were prompt to help, probably watching this scene unfold for a while, patiently waiting to come on a “rescue” mission motivated by the expectation of the lofty tip I gave them in the end.
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