Cambodia doesn t leap to mind as most people s idea of a dream vacation spot, but it does have all the summer essentials in spades and then some. Okay, it does rain a hell of a lot in the monsoon season, but I never thought of reaching for a pair of wool thermals. In fact, the weather there is normally so damned warm that wearing clothes at all is primarily a means of keeping people from staring at your genitals. Cambodia has several reputations, most of them bad. Stories of sex, drugs, and violence precede Cambodia wherever it goes.
People stare at Cambodia yet try to avoid eye contact.
The whole country is like the kid who after school did weird things which nobody ever really saw yet couldn t resist talking about with perverted glee. But some people, many of them former or current problem kids themselves, dive right in for a look-see. I knew I had to go there. Though I m not exactly a problem child, I do have a fascination with sex, drugs, and violence. Coming from New York, which is also a place with a wild reputation, I suspected that many of those crazy stories about Cambodia were probably half-true and had perhaps gained a lot of their drama from Hollywood, sensational media reports, and overeager imaginations.