Most people in Thailand know a few things about Cambodia but few understand the country the way Nuttavudh Photisaro does. In a country where many diplomats consider one posting to be enough, he is now on his third, this time representing Thailand as ambassador.
"I'm very happy here. When I close my eyes, I can picture the geography of this entire country," the ambassador tells Asia Focus at the Royal Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh. "If you talk about this particular road, I can see it. I have seen almost every corner of this country."
Working in Cambodia again, he says, has been an enjoyable experience because he has been able to tap into the well-established networks he has built over past postings. When he meets Cambodian government officials, he's dealing with many familiar faces.
"I know who are friends or enemies, I know what they think, and I know why they make certain decisions," he says. That should not come as a big surprise since he can read, write, and speak Khmer fluently.
Mr Nuttavudh has been at the heart of efforts to keep the fragile and even fractious Thai-Cambodian relationship from disintegrating completely. He helped to restore relations in 1991 after the catastrophic Khmer Rouge era ended, and was in Phnom Penh again during another dark period in 2003, when rioters torched the Thai Embassy following false local media reports quoting a Thai actress as claiming that Angkor Wat belonged to Thailand.
Then there was the perennial hot potato of Preah Vihear. Mr Nuttavudh cut short his ambassadorship to Israel to help the Thai team that was taking the territorial dispute to the International Court of Justice in 2013. His expertise has been invaluable to Thailand, but at 58, he is approaching retirement and is thinking about what he might do next.
"I will definitely find something to do, something that can benefit the public, maybe academically, but not business for sure," he says.
"I think I have a lot of experience in this [diplomatic] field, especially with Cambodia, that I can help to contribute, but there should be a work-life balance."
He expects to emulate his father Jamnong Photisaro, who worked until age 85 by entering politics, at open point serving as a deputy commerce minister, after a long career at the Royal Forestry Department. Mr Nuttavudh says he wants to continue contributing as long as his mind is sharp, and until his physical body resists.
UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
Cambodia was Mr Nuttavudh's first international posting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and it will also be the last of his 30-year diplomatic career. "It's a good feeling to conclude where it all started," he says.
A career in diplomacy was not something that crossed his mind when he was young, although he did his undergraduate degree in political science, majoring in government administration, at Chulalongkorn University. He followed that with an MBA in information systems management from the University of Dallas.
His parents, like many Thai parents, wanted him to become a doctor. "I was afraid of seeing blood," he says.
After returning home from the United States, Mr Nuttavudh started working at Bangkok Bank as a credit officer. Young people who graduated from the US were in high demand in the financial industry and there weren't many of them at the time. "I was already happy there," he recalls.
Mr Nuttavudh might be sitting in a high-rise office somewhere in Bangkok today, but a reunion with some old friends set him on a different path.
"Life is funny. Most of my friends from Chula, they were working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but I'd never thought about it," he says.
They convinced him to apply for the ministry's entry examination, which was just two days away. "Then I thought I should give it a try. Nothing serious." He went in unprepared, he admits, but he later got an offer and his civil servant parents were extremely pleased.
"I told them the pay was very low, but they still insisted they'd support me," he says with a cheerful laugh. "And I didn't expect that I would come this far."
The first posting to Cambodia in 1991 came with a big mission, as first secretary to what was going to be a new embassy. After decades of conflict and bloodshed, a peace agreement had been signed with the help of the United Nations, bringing an end to the disastrous Khmer Rouge regime. But things were still far from peaceful in Cambodia, and economically it was a disaster zone.
"Nobody wanted to go to Cambodia. I was the first name on the list, given that my boss told me to make the decision within five minutes … and he didn't tell me it was going to be rough," he chuckles again. "But I wasn't disappointed."
It was the first time in history that the UN had taken over the administration of an independent state. Yasushi Akashi, the special representative of the UN secretary-general, was the supreme leader of the country in 1992 and 1993, supervising peacekeeping operations and later helping to organise and run an election.
The circumstances were challenging indeed, but they also presented Mr Nuttavudh with the opportunity of a lifetime. "It was a good experience working in both bilateral and multilateral areas," he says, adding that there were many "underground" missions as Cambodia was still highly militarised and a sense of war persisted.
"At that time, I was the only person who completed a four-year term. Others requested transfers after two years. I never thought of moving. I enjoyed what I did.
"As the first secretary of the Thai Embassy, the position was quite powerful. Cambodia had to depend a lot on us [Thailand], allowing me to get to know many friends and senior officers in the cabinet."
After four productive years in Cambodia, Mr Nuttavudh went back to Bangkok to work at the ministry headquarters, followed by a spell as consul-general in Los Angeles. One day in 2003, the ministry's deputy permanent secretary rang him in Los Angeles. "There might be an opportunity to gain through suffering this time. Do you want it?" he recalls his colleague telling him before launching into an account of the destructive anti-Thai riots that were just ending in Phnom Penh.
"I had just bought a new set of furniture because I planned to stay a few years more [in the US]," he says. But destiny had brought him back to Cambodia "so I was here again, unexpectedly, to restore the situation".
His first posting, he says, had been aimed at helping Cambodia find peace and security, while integrating it back into the modernising world. The second involved repairing relations that had suddenly become strained again. Now, as ambassador since the start of 2015, Mr Nuttavudh is attempting to smooth out relations that had become frayed over Preah Vihear but have been improving in recent months. Prime Minister Hun Sen enjoyed a particularly warm welcome when he visited Thailand last week.
"Our [Thai-Cambodian] relationship is like a Thai soap opera in which they slap each other on the face and then kiss," he says. "We have had 65 years of bilateral relations, with diplomatic relations suspended twice, lowered many other times, and not to mention street protests.
"This time, in the new chapter as ambassador, I hope my 30 years of experience in Cambodia can help to build trust. I want to create a stronger foundation for our bilateral relations."
All the while that the ambassador has been telling his story, napping calmly next him has been his 12-year-old "special assistant". Pizza, a brown-haired Dachshund, has been travelling with the ambassador since 2003. The dog politely interrupts the conversation with a soft bark, signalling the need for a short bathroom break.
"Let's go to my house," says Mr Nuttavudh, leading his visitors to his private residence located in the same compound, as the conversation continues.
Mr Nuttavudh was part of a committee that chose the land where the current embassy is located. The front faces Norodom Boulevard, one of the capital's main roads, and the back used to be adjacent to the river, but now the area is reclaimed land with a new luxury housing development built on it.
"It wasn't this high back then," the ambassador says, pointing at the wall behind the residence which separates the embassy compound from its neighbourhood.
Thick concrete walls and rows of trees block the view of the embassy from outside, making it a formidable sight and reminding visitors of the troubles of a decade ago. But the ambassador believes it's the people-to-people relationship that matters more than any building.
"To be honest, the characteristics of diplomats had changed the second time I came here. There was much less intimacy between Thai and Cambodian officials," he says. "Many [diplomats] came here because they were forced to do so. They kept counting down the days until they could move, so they didn't see the necessity to build good relations … for what, for whom? But I don't want to blame anyone because it's a cycle."
His own mission, he says, is to welcome diplomats who volunteer to come to Cambodia. "Passion has to come first. You don't need to be super smart, but you must be happy and must not feel that it's a punishment to be here."
In the past, young diplomats were usually sent to neighbouring countries for their first international exposure, but today it's more common to find more senior and experienced foreign service professionals in places such as Cambodia.
"Neighbouring countries are very important postings, similar to houses with adjacent fences. And problems usually occur around the house," says Mr Nuttavudh. "Cambodian people know a lot about Thailand, but Thais barely know them. My job is to build mutual understanding.
"The Thai population is ageing, so we will have to rely on their workforce. We have to grow together, reducing inequality by upgrading trade. If Cambodian people have better livelihoods, problems such as crime along the border will also recede."
Cambodians, he says, admire the effort that Thailand has made to foster continuous economic development, and they can tap into Thailand's growth. The uneasiness of the past is now behind both countries, in his view.
"There is no truth in claims that Cambodian people hate Thailand, or else Thai investors couldn't be here," he says. "We should respect each other. If we collaborate well, both of us will surely benefit."
