Battambang is not an especially poor city or an example for the Cambodian clash of social problems. But I decided to publish these pictures anyway. There are buildings and offices in this town and you can really feel people starve to raise themselves to a new social level. On the other hand there are the cheap eateries on the river bank to find dinner for around 1USD per person.

This morning I happened to experience a really controversial situation. On one side of the street people arrived wearing what you’d call almost a suit with ties and what’s supposed to be nice shoes. They went into an office building of a company called Manulife. A Canadian insurance company that started to spread it’s operations to Cambodia since 2012. Supposed to sell insurances to the uprising people of Cambodia. Which feels strange. People that almost have their bare lives wouldn’t need an insurance from my perspective. But probably in some of the more elevated social layers there is a demand for it. On the other side of the river you could peek into the food stalls of the night market. After finishing their business in the night, they cover the whole stall with old rugs and tapestry and apparently go to sleep afterwards.

This slightly disturbing experience was to be crowned by my breakfast, a first class cappuccino and a perfect set of Eggs Benedict. Served in a local coffee shop that also donates part of the money to local organizations. I guess voting with money is the best thing you can do in southeast asia…