Arriving in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

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Arriving in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Here we are again in an amazing Asian city. It’s a year after our time in Sri Lanka and we can’t help but compare and contrast the two places. They both are vibrant, multilayered, exciting cities. What struck us most as we drove into Phnom Penh from the Airport on Wednesday night was the lack of traffic compared to Colombo, Sri Lanka. It’s a city of slightly over 1 million people but, there were no trucks, no buses (there is no public transportation in Phnom Penh) and not that many cars. There are lots of motos (motor bikes) driven mostly by young men in their late teens and early twenties. There are bicycles, and tuk-tuks (you may remember our stories of the harrowing drivers we had in Colombo last year).

We were amazed at how young the population seems to be (no doubt caused by the war and the flight of the middle and upper classes before and during the war). The people are amazingly sweet and kind. Even the way they drive is so polite and caring. While the motos weave in and out of traffic, they give way to pedestrians and other drivers, which is a good thing because there is a total lack of traffic lights or street crossing areas. As a pedestrian, you just plow across the street and hope for the best.

On Thursday, we got our cell phone organized, found an apartment to rent, went to an art gallery opening, and went out to dinner with another volunteer with our NGO and a staff member. It was a wonderful dinner. The food here is so delicious and so cheap. And, as I said to David as we left the (as we call it, merely) OK guest house, where we stayed the first two nights, this way of traveling could get addictive. On the night of our arrival, we were introduced to one of the teachers at the Foreign Language School (one of the 5 major projects of our NGO). He can’t afford to continue teaching English because he only makes $40 a month as a full time instructor. He’s rented a tuk-tuk to attach to his motorcycle and, for the past three months, he has become a driver. His Khmer name is Samnang, which means Lucky. He’s turned into our all around guide and helper taking us to shop for the basic necessities for living in our sparse accommodations (towels, plates, spoons and, yes, toilet paper) and intervening on our behalf with myriad vendors. It’s been wonderful having him show us around the city and act as a translator with everyone from our landlord to the guy selling us a hair dryer. He’s taken us to the most amazing markets (labyrinths of narrow walkways with overflowing kiosks of every item imaginable on both sides). We wouldn’t have been able to accomplish so much in so little time without him.

There are so many more non-Asians here than in Sri Lanka that I'm constantly startled to see westerners. And while it might be tempting to hang-out with people whose language I actually understand, that's not why we are here. On the other hand, we had a terrific lunch in a restaurant that is run by a Canadian from Montreal who said that they have a once a month get-together for Canadians that we (because of our living in Nova Scotia 5 months a year) would qualify for. The next one is on February 9th and we’re definitely going to be there.

Tomorrow is our first meeting with our NGO and we're chomping at the bit to get started. We have the barest of outlines of what we and they have committed to working on but that may very well change as we dig into the realities and hear for ourselves what the Executive Director wants to accomplish. So far we've met some great people associated with the ngo who either run various programs (Foreign Language School) or are volunteers with associated donors.

We wish you all were here with us relishing the beauty of the city and it’s people and enjoying the magnificent cuisine.

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Comments

[Sam]

snow
I am sitting in the middle of winter with snow on the ground here in Wisconsin. Reading the blog is a bit surreal! How incredible to think of you two in Phnom Penh. Thanks for blogging - it opens my world. I cannot wait to hear about the gallery opening... pictures?