Krakor. Over five days here, this is only the second sign in Vietnamese I've seen. Except in Phnom Penh, Vietnamese in Cambodia keep a low profile. One Vietnamese told me that on a scale of 1 to 10, Cambodians' dislike of Vietnamese is at 8, but it was 11 not that long ago. Recent Chinese immigrants have provoked much irritation from Cambodians, thus lessen their animosity towards Vietnamese. Though there are many Vietnamese merchants at the central market, most speak Khmer even among themselves.

A third of Vietnam used to belong to Cambodia. During Vietnam's war against the Khmer Rouge, many Cambodian civilians were also killed. The Khmer Rouge itself had a lot of supporters. On the other hand, Vietnam had a huge hand in the reconstruction of Cambodia, with hospitals and roads built, and thousands of Cambodians in all fields trained in Vietnam. My hotel's owner in Stung Treng called his adopted family in Vietnam so I could talk to them. He loves Vietnamese and Vietnam.