German emigrants in Cambodia: happiest at six o'clock in the morning

"When I go to the sundeck at about six o'clock in the morning and hear the monks sing their morning songs in the temples of the villages, I am happy, these moments make me realize how well I am here in Cambodia, living for more than four years I'm in the capital Phnom Penh and work as a hotel manager for river cruise ships.

It took me early in the world: When I was 21 years old and studied sociology and cultural studies in Bremen, I wanted to spend half a year on the Cayman Islands. That's been three years.

At first I cleared tables in a restaurant and set up a comedy club with the owners, which I was even allowed to moderate after the three years. I dropped my studies, stayed in gastronomy, worked on the high seas in South America, London and Berlin.

About a Hamburg company for ship catering I came to the river navigation a few years ago. First I drove on the Rhine, then the company sent me to Asia. On the ships that were there, there were no western managers and we should make sure that the standards are met and the guests are well supplied with everything.

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When I got back to Germany, I moved to another catering company and now work as a hotel manager for its luxury ships in Phnom Penh. In the past, I was only on the ships that sailed on the Mekong, now I work a lot out of the office in Phnom Penh, but I always like to take on vacation replacements.

In August we get a new ship, now I have to hire and train people. This includes making sure that everyone can swim. Otherwise, I will take care of everything that has to do with ships on the ships, such as the plates, the glasses, the menu and the wine selection. It would be bad if a guest on holiday got a wine, which he knows from the local discounter.

Guests vary widely, from Broadway producers to sheep farmers from New Zealand - and many are very demanding. One night on one of our ships costs several hundred euros. Everything is inclusive, even a butler. And if someone wants a non-alcoholic beer, which does not exist in Cambodia, then it is brought to the emergency with the night bus from Bangkok.

When I work on the ship, seven days a week, 12 to 14 hours a day. Sometimes several weeks at a time. I get two days off a week - which I take when my job on the ship is over. That sounds exhausting, but I always get used to this rhythm quickly. And I do not have to worry about anything else at this time because the crew cooks and washes for me.

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I get up at six-thirty on the ship, talk to the guests, see if everything is alright. Then discuss the day with the individual teams, schedule events, greet the guests as they return from their day trips, talk to the tour guides, and see that the five-course meal works well in the evening. The job I find not monotonous, even if many tourists tell the same thing, from time to time someone is there, with whom you can talk really well.

After several weeks on the ship my body usually goes down and I need rest. I often drive to a beach. Only my friend, who has accompanied me from Croatia to Cambodia, then comes along.

My remaining vacation I always lay around the school holidays of my twelve-year-old daughter, who grows up in Germany with her mother. I usually pick her up and visit with her Asian countries such as Indonesia, Japan or Thailand. During the Easter holidays we are traveling in Malaysia.

But my base is Phnom Penh. Here I live with my girlfriend. As a woman, she often does not have it that easy because the country is quite patriarchal. She runs a bar in the city and is often not taken seriously.

In Phnom Penh, I do not have that many friends, it's hard to make contacts in this industry because you travel so much. For club types, that would be nothing. Unfortunately, I do not speak the local language, so I can only speak in English. I'm just not that gifted.

Generally I find life here pretty chaotic. There are hardly any rules on the road and sometimes I have the feeling that the red lights are just for city decoration. A life seems to be worth less here than in Europe. Hardly anyone is interested in all the road deaths that exist every year.

It took us a long time to find an apartment in Phnom Penh that has a secure staircase, is not too dark and not too small. Now we live right on the river, have 100 square meters and pay about 600 euros rent for it - including cleaning, the cleans three times a week with us. I earn quite well, but I have to take care of my pension and health insurance privately.

Mostly I miss good dairy here. 100 grams of cheddar here cost about seven euros. When I'm in Europe, I usually bring cheese with me.

At the moment quite a lot is being built in Phnom Penh and because this is too much for the power grid, sometimes in one part of the city in the morning and in another part in the afternoon the power is turned off.

Otherwise, the country is very advanced. We order all food online and they are delivered directly to the kitchen. When I arrive at the airport, I have my suitcase within five minutes and I'm already at home after an hour's showering.