A Tryst Arranged

One quiet evening, Francois’ brother played Mendelssohn on the balcony of our Phnom Penh guesthouse, and he played it well.

Francois is a writer, two young children, separated. The brother is an artist and musician, living in Cambodia, getting by. The kids are skiing with their mother. He is in PP with a friend.

It is a little after midnight, the brother is long gone, and Francois and I are talking French on the roof terrace, as the staff sleep behind their screen.

His friend, he tells me, is déficient. He cannot read. He cannot write. He needs help to cross the road.

They are in Phnom Penh for one week. Then Bangkok for five days more. It seems a tough couple of cities for someone who struggles even in Limoges.

Francois shrugs. His friend likes it. Although the Skytrain in Bangkok makes life easier than here.

A door opens. A pretty, curvy, tiny chick in scarlet lipstick, scarlet corset, hot pants and high heels emerges.

“Bonsoir, Madame,” she says to me, definitively. Francois looks a little embarrassed as the clack of her high heels recedes down the cast-iron stairs.

A friend of your friend? I ask, politely.

Kind of, he says. We acknowledge our mutual euphemisms.

But, yes, Francois says. He did “arrange his tryst”.

Like most things, it sounds better in French. But it seems kinder, more equal, somehow, than the more aggressive transactions I have seen.

6 Responses

  1. Tai says:

    I just came to Cambodia and I’ve never been to Thailand but this phenomenon did surprise me here. I guess it’s all more complicated and there is a good story behind it. I don’t know if there were any documentaries or even good journalism on aging sexpats in Cambodia, but this is something so pervasive here it takes time to get used to. And then if you think of a bigger picture of a country pretty much for sale. I mean the US dollar is like an official currency here. I just saw a Lamborghini passing by in S’ville among stray dogs and people selling food in the street for 1 dollar. Actually it feels like this country is under continuous human experiment Not that it’s unique in this but just the openness of everything and this strange mixture of decadence, roughness and at the same time innocence and enthusiasm.

    • Theodora says:

      The income disparity in Cambodia is horrific, isn’t it? Phenomenally corrupt country: Hun Sen is a disgustingly hypocritical individual, even by the standards of developing world dictators, and the children of the regime make the children of Chinese politicians look like models of restraint.

      I have a feeling, also, that a lot of Cambodian sex tourism is paedophile-led: as Thailand and Vietnam tighten up, they’re moving into poorer regions.

      So glad you discovered this post. I’d completely forgotten about it…

      • Tai says:

        Yes, lots of pedophiles, armed robberies, muggings on the beach, burglaries. Now after the elections it seems people get really desperate here. Can’t blame them really. If I were a young Cambodian boy I’d probably also want me an iPhone after walking every day seeing all this luxury, Hun Sen’s palace in S’ville, foreigners buying large chunks of your home country to turn them into luxury resorts. Reminds me of Russia in the 90s a bit. There is gonna be a spike in gang violence here, I think. It’s already happening actually. In S’ville I heard lots of stories about muggings, burglaries, people walking armed in the streets, road rage incidents with shootings. and yet most Cambodians you meet have this very soft innocent presence about them. It’s uncanny.

        • Theodora says:

          Have you read A Dragon Apparent, by Norman Lewis? It’s pre-Khmer Rouge, and his observations on the gentleness of Cambodians, coming so soon before the genocide, are awe-inspiring. Stunning piece of travel writing, and one for the Kindle.

          • Tai says:

            NO, haven’t heard about the book. Thanks for the tip. I’ll have a look as I am always looking for good travel literature. It is a strange and strangely exciting country. The crazy travellers and all sorts of fringe dweller expats you meet there also endeared me to this country. The language, though, at least the phonetics is a bit challenging 🙂

            • Theodora says:

              I think you will love Kampot. Crazy expat central. Kep’s also very nice, I hear, but Sihanoukville rather put me off the beach…