Gem...or Jam as he calls himself
We met a guy name Gem. I found Gem very interesting, and not only because he continually urged us to call him Jam.
Gem is a tour guide for Capitol Tours, a well-known tour company in Cambodia. He was quick to chat us up the minute we sat down to drink our beers outside a snack shop.
Gem told us many things. His rags to riches story of how he went from a tuk tuk driver to a traveling gentleman who has girlfriends in various parts of the world. How he has a son with a Japanese woman. And the many languages he knows (5 no less). But really, Gem is really a gem. He is part of the nouveau riche who rode the tourism train all the way to the last stop.
Gem told us all about the transformation of his attitude in working in the Siem Reap area. At first, he was like anyone else: "I was like, fuck it, give me the money." Now, after years of working in the tourism industry, Gem only works for people he likes. He's selective with his clients and he has political affiliations. He has some kind of personal work ethic.
"You know," he said. "I know so much about Cambodia and that's why I don't do business with certain people. You know our history? No more business with Thais! No more business with Chinese! And no more business with Vietnamese!"
He's of course talking about all the countries that have invaded Khmer territory in the past. I was almost shocked that in this impoverished country, you can find people like Gem who does business with politics. Something you don't really see in modern cities in the world these days. Most of us just say, that's history. We've got to work with them anyway.
And that's good. Because that's how we forget grudges. Business makes us cooperate instead of being independent states because we can't function that way. We need each other to be efficient.
Another thing I found funny in Cambodia is how people live as though they can afford lots of leisure time. In Hong Kong, where my friends work until 10 pm and on Sundays too, leisure is a great luxury. In Cambodia, it's mandatory. They work hard, but they also relax a lot. As one tuk tuk driver told me: "You know I work for a day, then I can take three days off and I just drink and play!"
You know, that kinda sounds familiar. Sounds like one of the catchphrases of my generation.
We met a guy name Gem. I found Gem very interesting, and not only because he continually urged us to call him Jam.
Gem is a tour guide for Capitol Tours, a well-known tour company in Cambodia. He was quick to chat us up the minute we sat down to drink our beers outside a snack shop.
Gem told us many things. His rags to riches story of how he went from a tuk tuk driver to a traveling gentleman who has girlfriends in various parts of the world. How he has a son with a Japanese woman. And the many languages he knows (5 no less). But really, Gem is really a gem. He is part of the nouveau riche who rode the tourism train all the way to the last stop.
Gem told us all about the transformation of his attitude in working in the Siem Reap area. At first, he was like anyone else: "I was like, fuck it, give me the money." Now, after years of working in the tourism industry, Gem only works for people he likes. He's selective with his clients and he has political affiliations. He has some kind of personal work ethic.
"You know," he said. "I know so much about Cambodia and that's why I don't do business with certain people. You know our history? No more business with Thais! No more business with Chinese! And no more business with Vietnamese!"
He's of course talking about all the countries that have invaded Khmer territory in the past. I was almost shocked that in this impoverished country, you can find people like Gem who does business with politics. Something you don't really see in modern cities in the world these days. Most of us just say, that's history. We've got to work with them anyway.
And that's good. Because that's how we forget grudges. Business makes us cooperate instead of being independent states because we can't function that way. We need each other to be efficient.
Another thing I found funny in Cambodia is how people live as though they can afford lots of leisure time. In Hong Kong, where my friends work until 10 pm and on Sundays too, leisure is a great luxury. In Cambodia, it's mandatory. They work hard, but they also relax a lot. As one tuk tuk driver told me: "You know I work for a day, then I can take three days off and I just drink and play!"
You know, that kinda sounds familiar. Sounds like one of the catchphrases of my generation.
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Friday, October 05, 2007.
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