Come to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Netizens said that if you are used to the fact that white people who are not in this world are preferred, think about occasionally experiencing the taste of Chinese people being preferred in a foreign country, come here.

From the first day of arrival, Johnson felt a strange atmosphere that he had never experienced in any country before. As the plane went to the hotel, the shops on the road were filled with Chinese characters.

The taxi driver's audio kept playing domestic popular songs. When the singer who listened to the most was Mao Buyi, Johnson realized that the behavior of the taxi driver was not worthy of surprise. He had never heard of Mao Buyi.

In the following exploration of Phnom Penh, I found that the city is full of construction sites of all sizes, and many high-rise buildings that do not match its economic level are rising or have been built. The outer edges of most of the high-rise construction sites are written with the names of domestic construction companies.

What makes people even more strange is that on the construction site fences under vigorous construction, even the slogans of the property are in Chinese. The Chinese real estate advertisements spread all over the city make people feel like they are in the magic city without any sense of incongruity.

Come to the best university in the country, Royal Phnom Penh University. The construction of the entire university is dull, and the name of the road at the door is very interesting, called the Russian Federation Avenue...

Because it was the Khmer New Year, there were not many people in the school. An international cultural festival was being held on the playground of the campus. There were many foreign food stalls on the scene. I felt that domestic universities often organized such activities. I also saw a group of young Khmer meat holding hands and playing games.

The deepest impression of this university is that the scene of China, Japan and South Korea competing for hegemony everywhere is actually more obvious in other Southeast Asian countries. For example, Myanmar and Vietnam, which are vigorously innovating and developing, are also vigorously opening their arms to welcome investment and aid from foreign countries, especially East Asian countries.

But what can be clearly seen in cities between Myanmar and Vietnam is the fierce competition and competition between enterprises in East Asia, China, Japan and South Korea. China does not have the advantage. In many cases, Japan and South Korea may be more common, and it is definitely not one-sided domestic capital like Phnom Penh.

In Southeast Asian countries that are experiencing rapid opening, you can see the love and fight between China, Japan and South Korea everywhere. Motorcycles are made in China, with the languages ​​of the display screens in Chinese, Korean printed on large buses and buses, the guidebook of the National Museum, and the in-site layout instructions are included in Japanese, except for English and Burmese.

The entire museum was built by island countries, and in relatively wealthy Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia and Thailand, there is not such a clear picture of East Asian capital occupation. East Asian faces come to Southeast Asia, and they still feel intimate. They are relatively cheap to consume, and they are all asian. When they meet Westerners, they even feel like they are landlords.

Does it feel similar to Western Europeans traveling to the relatively poor Eastern European back garden? If you travel more often to South and Southeast Asia, you will be a little proud of being an East Asian.

When I walked into the street vegetable market, I found that the general currency here was actually US dollars?

A regular meal at a small street restaurant costs 4 US dollars, which is RMB 28; an average price of McDonald's is US$5, RMB 35; a bottle of mineral water with a 0.33 liter bottle is US$0.42, about RMB 3; a box of ordinary milk with a content of 1 liter costs US$2.24, RMB 16. This price is not much different from the Beijing Demons, right?

Is this the poorest country in Southeast Asia in legend?

I thought Cambodia was as rich as Thailand, but I was shocked again. Fruits are the most expensive food in Phnom Penh. Not only can I find fruits produced locally, but I also have to buy imported fruits at a high price.

Cambodian food is imported, and fruits are no exception. A pound of bananas is $0.7, RMB 4.9, apples are $1.6, RMB 11, and the better ones are even $2.5, which is 17 yuan.

Traffic is expensive, there is no subway, and the public transportation system is very underdeveloped. A common bus is a motorcycle that can be stopped casually, with one way of US$2 and RMB 14.

It is equivalent to the starting price of a domestic taxi, but the mileage is not as far away as a taxi. Office workers use this tool to commute, and the commuting fee is 30 yuan a day.

Energy is also imported. The monthly water, electricity, and gas fee for a 85-square-meter house is US$85 per month, RMB 590. The Internet here is not developed and the Internet speed is slow. If you are connected, the Internet fee will be US$32 per month, RMB 200.

House prices are even more shocking. This infrastructure is just as high as China's fourth- and fifth-tier cities. House prices are the same as those in the first- and second-tier cities in China. Even if they are not as high as Beijing's Magic City, they can still be comparable to Hangzhou.

A square meter sells 15,300 yuan, a single apartment rents 3,500 yuan per month, and a family-style three bedrooms and one living room nearly 10,000 yuan. This capital of the least developed country has a very high degree of internationalization and a developed foreign community.

No wonder some people say: Phnom Penh is an international environment for Hong Kong Island, a fourth-tier county town in China.

The most French people are related to Cambodia's history as a French colony. The educated upper class can speak French, many tour guides can speak French, and there are many French cuisine and coffee shops in Phnom Penh. Many French people are engaged in the cultural and educational industry.

There are huge islanders and Korean communities, and the retail consumption industry is full of Japanese companies. Phnom Penh also has many treasure islands, Singapore and Malaysian investment companies, most of which are Chinese bosses who come to do real estate development.

But the most foreigners are still mainlanders. Various companies contract most of the infrastructure. Some private companies are booming in real estate development in Phnom Penh, and buyers from all walks of life are flocking to the crowd.

The local per capita income is only one or two thousand yuan per month, but the house is often 20,000 yuan per square meter, and the price is comparable to the magic capital. Johnson is very curious about what is the reason for this strange phenomenon?

First of all, there is a shortage of materials, and most of the daily necessities are imported. It is conceivable how expensive the imported products are, especially agriculture, the most important industry that concerns the national economy and people's livelihood. Even though Cambodia's population is mostly in rural areas, agriculture cannot meet the demand.

I met several island employees at the restaurant. They only ate seafood shipped from the local area when they had dinner, and did not eat local seafood produced in Cambodia. While speaking, the Cambodian waiter served Shanghai food and said in Japanese: This was just shipped from Japan this morning!

There was a flattering smile on his face. After seeing it with his own eyes, the member nodded with satisfaction.

Relying entirely on the US dollar, prices also increase prices in US dollars. Cambodia is open to US dollars, and local riels are dispensable. Usually, only change is paid for under 1 US dollar.

In fact, the currency has only been passed in Cambodia for nearly 20 years. In the mid-1970s, there was no currency in this country and banks were eliminated. This is the so-called radical economic policy of agricultural socialism implemented by the Khmer Rouge. It completely suspended market transactions and abolished currency. The urban population of Phnom Penh was deported to the countryside for forced labor.

After Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1979, the Han Sanglin puppet regime was established, and the currency began to appear slowly. In 1993, the US dollar was only available in Cambodia. This paper with the Franklin portrait was the master of Cambodia.

In addition to excessive dependence on international trade. Almost all core industries in Cambodia are open to foreign investors. The general US dollar is for the convenience of international settlement, and foreign exchange entry and exit are not regulated. This also explains the phenomenon of high prices in Phnom Penh, especially housing prices. Real estate has obvious investment value, including the US dollar accounting for foreign capital entry and exit without regulation, which not only can preserve value, but also a money laundering shelter.

Phnom Penh has a huge foreign community as potential consumers, and the influx of hot money has accelerated the growth potential of this city. Some people even compared it to the next Shenzhen. Cambodia's younger population is also considered to be the driving force for housing market consumption.

But where do real young people in Phnom Penh live? Are they really buying high-end apartments for getting married and starting a family, as real estate developers say?

In fact, the people who live in luxury houses in the center of the city are foreigners. Locals live in suburbs because they cannot afford high housing prices. The outside of the city is where locals live.

Walking on the streets of Phnom Penh, I saw a large number of foreigners appearing in the city center, but locals were doing low-end services such as servants, drivers, vegetable guides, etc. I couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Chapter completed!