Off the Rails in Phnom Penh
What was traveling in Cambodia is like and to hear what the travelers talk about Cambodia. One of the famous book that is called “Into the Dark Heart of Guns, Girls, and Ganja (Paperback)“, written by Amit Gilboa viewing the though of traveling in Cambodia.
Time Magazine, February 1, 1999. By Jeffrey Ressner
As a literary genre the travel narrative is often genteel to the point of yawn-inducing boredom. Maybe that’s why first-time author Amit Gilboa’s recent book, Off the Rails in Phnom Penh, is causing such a stir in Southeast Asia. Just one glance at the subtitle–”Into the Dark Heart of Guns, Girls, and Ganja”–tells you his hellish holiday in Cambodia will unfold more like a gonzo rant from Hunter S. Thompson than an erudite essay by Paul Theroux.
Gilboa spins a fascinating if somewhat fractured tale about a beautiful country whose people have been ravaged by decades of turmoil.
With its mix of random jottings, bizarre character sketches and diary entries, Gilboa’s account plunges readers into the center of the Khmer storm.
Joseph au Cambodge express his interest about the situation and what was saying in the book as:
I was nevertheless taken aback by the chapter entitled “Khmers”. There are interesting remarks in that chapter on the character of Cambodians but the tricky part is the idea that no foreigner could ever understand nor get to know intimately the Cambodians. Just because it has never been done (among Gilboa’s acquaintances) doesn’t prove that it cannot be done!
More seriously, the way it was put, was shocked. It’s true that for foreigners, in-depth intellectual contact is not easily made with Cambodians. Western and Khmer cultures have indeed very little in common. But even if very few people do so (I have probably met no more than four or five Westerners who spoke a perfect Khmer), it is possible to learn the language thoroughly and immerse oneself in the Cambodian culture.
Tags: Travels