A visit to Cambodia can give you the sense of existing in several centuries at once. Angkor Wat will transport you to the 12th century with its majestic display of architecture, art, history, and religion. But the languor and charm of rural Cambodia, from the cows meandering near a farmer’s house, to an elderly man using a pole with a skiff, could also well be scenes from centuries ago, except when you notice an electric wire going to the farmer’s house.
When you get to Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, there is no doubt you are in the 21st century, with their bustling middle-class, honking buses, shops, restaurants, and smartphones. I used to follow Cambodia closely because my son spent two of his high school summers volunteering for the Halo Trust, helping them clear mines in the K5 belt, but I had not been back to Cambodia since Covid.
I returned in September when I visited with The Asia Foundation (where I am a Trustee) to spend a week in discussions with civic and developmental organizations as well with Cambodian and foreign government officials, similar to my earlier visit to Bangladesh. Here are three personal takeaways from these discussions.
In full: https://www.forbes.com/sites/franklavin/2024/09/30/cambodia-is-moving-the-right-way-three-takeaways/
