How will a mixed American be treated in Cambodia?

I cannot see any problems. Just treat them as you would wish to be treated. You will get locals staring at you but this is just curiosity.

Thank you. I had read some pretty shocking blog information. I do realize each individual has their own personal experience yet I thought I had better ask.

Thanks again, Niko J.

I think you will be OK here Niko.

All the best :-)

Thank you, I appreciate your answering.

Generaly speaking; they've the same respect and politeness typical of all asian countries.

You should be fine, as I have seen many tourist of color traveling , my daughters are half West Indian , they will be staying in Phnom Penh for a month, hope that goes well. People in Cambodia are generally very, very nice

Thanks, I've been here coming up on one month and you're correct. The people are very friendly.

Throwing my hat into the rink of technology is a bit of a chore yet it will happen.

Once again, thanks.

I think at 6:5 you will be stared at for your size , embrace the difference, my experience is the Cambodians will be interested in your size , but will not discriminate against you because of color. Good luck I'm arriving for a four month stay end off June , I love Phnom Penh !

Unfortunately, like many other Asian nationalities Cambodians tend to have a negative view of people with darker skin complexions.  This applies to locals and foreigners alike. 

In your case I don't think your race is much of an issue nowadays as there are so many foreigners of various races and nationalities in Cambodia.  I certainly wouldn't worry about it at all if I were you.  Your "reddish" skin tone is not going to matter nearly as much as how much "green" you have in your wallet.  If you find people staring at you, it's probably more of a curiosity than anything else.

As for the Vietnamese, well, that's a different story.

The Vietnamese? You've peaked my interest, please continue.

*I've been treated very well, I'm a businessman and conduct myself as such yet as for dating. That's pretty much a closed door when compared to Nicaragua.

The historical animosity of Khmer people towards Vietnamese (and to a somewhat lesser extent Thais) goes back centuries.  One could write a book on this topic.  I don't believe it has much to do with a sense of Khmer racial superiority or anything like that, as it does with the threat that Khmer people feel about their own survival, territorial integrity, and national sovereignty, in the presence of much more powerful, land-hungry neighbors.  If you look at how the Great Khmer Empire has been reduced to the tiny, weak country that is Cambodia today, you'll see how Khmer people might feel a bit suspicious of their neighbors.

Recently, the Cambodian opposition political party has effectively used anti-Vietnamese demagoguery to gain popular support and political power, in much the same way that Donald Trump has used his anti-Mexican, anti-Muslim, and anti-whatever rhetoric to rile up the Republican base. 

Personally, as a minority in America who had experienced much racism, I'm not a fan of such divisiveness and demagoguery at all, even if I don't have a drop of Vietnamese blood in my veins.  To be fair, however, as bad as the opposition party's anti-Vietnam demagoguery is, the tactics of the ruling party is much, much worse.  But that's all Cambodian politics, and it doesn't really concern you or me.

...nicely written.

After only being here a month I have yet to see it. It took almost 2 years in C America to grasp a better picture of the gov't / people's relationships with each other and how they viewed foreigners.

Being older I can clearly see that there's always going to be a bit of misery to spread around and it, in most instances, will be for a profit of some sort by some group.

It's a shame.

The one thing that I do like is that I looked up all the religious followings here and "on the surface", they all appear to get along.

That whole Hillary / Trump thing, whew....boy o boy. I liken it to, "Do I want to wear tight boxers or do I want to wear tight shoes"? I really don't wish to wear either for 4 years.

I've been following American politics for over 30 years now and like you, I'm not too fond of either candidate.  America is such an established democracy that it really doesn't matter-- certainly not to the little people like ourselves who are just sheep and mules in the grand scheme of things-- who wins the White House, despite all the bluster and fireworks coming from the candidates. Having survived the Khmer Rouge and spending many years in Cambodia, however, I must say that Trump's temperament reminds me a bit of those third-world dictators whose regimes I've had the misfortune of living under. Still, I don't think he's going to start World War III or even build that wall like he's promised. I follow the race more for its entertainment value than anything else.

As for the other race topic, I think you'll find racism everywhere you go.  It just manifests itself in different ways.  The racial dynamics and politics of Cambodia are very different from those of America, so it's best not to view racial incidents we experience in Cambodia the same way as we did back in the states.   

This is a very different society where people have a very different mindset, and like everywhere else, they often go by stereotypes when dealing with outsiders.  Even as a native Cambodian I have experienced many racist incidents in Cambodia.  For instance, many years ago I was interested in becoming an English teacher at one of the top international schools in Phnom Penh.  Although I had many other, more lucrative options at the time, I wanted to use my bi-cultural and bilingual background not only to teach English but to connect with the young Cambodians and perhaps instill into their young, impressionable minds things like critical thinking, moral and ethical reasoning, civic duties and all the other good stuff I've learned from abroad. 

After presenting my credentials to my potential employer, he insisted that the position was intended only for a "native English speaker". I showed him that I was the valedictorian of my high school and had to beat out 1,200 native-born Americans in every subject, including English, for the honor.  It soon became clear that he wasn't just looking for a native English speaker, but someone who *looked* like one.  I interviewed at another school that offered only a teaching assistant position and yet another one whose administrator seemed more interested in figuring out if I was one of the Cambodian American ex-cons deported back home by the U.S. government than evaluating my qualifications. It was a thoroughly humiliating experience to say the least.

Suffice it to say that you'll find racism in every country, depending who you are and what situation you find yourself in.   Sometimes you get perks and privileges because of your race; sometimes you get mistreated because of it.  The Khmer locals, like most Asians, tend to defer to foreigners, especially Caucasians.  I'm not sure how they'll treat an Indian (Native American or Asian Indian?), Irish and Black with reddish skin tone, but at 6'5" you tower over like 100% of the locals, so your height might be more of a factor than your race

Anyway, good luck on your stay in Cambodia.  I hope you'll find it a very rewarding experience.

That was well written and to the point...LOL

I'll be just fine, I to have lived under some pretty questionable characters.

What do we do? We assess, make the needed changes and persevere.

I have 5 more months here to decide if I will make this my home away from home, no hurries, no worries.

I like it here, my place is brand new, nicely furnished and very secure. *I am told Takhmao Town isn't as rough as Phnom Penh.
Born in NY that doesn't scare me yet I have grown tired of taking precautions every time I leave my home.

I talk with my mom in our Florida home and the crime and violence is growing there as well. Cocoa Beach use to be pristine and virtually crime free except for a drunk surfer.

The racism, ethical and moral decay is all around us yet it really comes down to how I respond to it.

It's a little strange here, all I have to do is smile and say, "Hi" and the people light right up.
My conflict is that I'm a thinker and if you were to see me in public, I tend to look a little mean.

What had you mentioned about features being constructive or destructive "depending" on who, what, where and why?

I even use my stern look to my advantage yet I feel that's more for Nicaragua, Costa Rica or possibly when I go to Mexico.

I realize there are criminals everywhere in the world. Being x military and x DoD, I can sense when I'm being watched. Here? I simply turn towards the person, let my sunglasses drop an inch and stare straight back. In every instance so far, their look faded and their eyes dropped.

Enough of that, I came here to help with techy geek stuff and to simply get away from the American rat race and I think Cambodia is great.

I've visited NY a few times but have never lived there. I heard people are really rude there, but just like everything I hear about a place, I take that with a grain of salt.  It's just like Cambodia or Central America. I read that the crime rates in some South and Central American cities rival war zones in other parts of the world. That really spooked me...if I had to travel to a place like Nicaragua, I would probably posted a similar question that you did. But nothing you hear or read about a certain place can substitute being there.

Given your background Cambodia is really tame compared to the other places you've been.  It's funny that you should mention Cocoa Beach.  I visited that place once and really enjoyed it there.  In fact, I'm considering Florida the next time I return to America. 

It is actually an asset to display a "mean" exterior in this part of the world. I am just the opposite and have been burned so many times that it's not even funny.

...how do I say this using tact yet remaining brutally honest? My first opponents, for lack of a better label, were my parents.
It only got better or worse depending how you look at it from there.

Aside from my world of computer systems I'm also heavy into psychology.

My original question was only to get a general idea. I was very aware of the fact that each answer would depend upon each individual's perception.
I.e. A travel blog had a guy who claimed Nicaragua was the worst place on earth, I read on. Come to find out he had gone there with his American arrogance and bought some weed to which he laid out on a table at the beach and began rolling his joints.
Daniel Ortega has 0 tolerance for any types of drugs and this young man found out the hard way.

I have a question for you: Would you like a part time job with the possibility of it becoming permanent?

I own SystemsNicaragua.com and all my credentials and accolades are at the bottom of the home page.
When it comes down to the tech geeky applications, I stay on the cutting edge with a NY attitude. *That's a little scary in a good way.

I had wanted to talk with the head of law enforcement and the Ministry of Interior about upgrading existing systems and introducing them to the newest defense, surveillance systems in the US.

Semi autonomous defense systems: sa-defensesystems.blogspot.com/

My personal tech and info blog: sysnica.blogspot.com/

And of course, my website that conveys all the facets of what I do : systemsnicaragua.com/

If I can't reach someone of rank, this is going to turn into a big vacation. Not that I'll waste time. I have a line on a gentleman that works where they refurbish Rolex watches and have purchased 24K gold here.

The limit is $10,000 before they will apply exit taxes so that objective is pretty clear.

Let me know if you have an interest.

Hello everyone,

@ SystemsNicaragua, can you please drop a job advert in the dedicated section of the website if you have an offer ?

- Jobs in Phnom Penh

Thanks in advance,
Bhavna