Cambodia 2008

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May 11th 2008

Published: May 15th 2008

Hey Everyone! So I arrived in Bangkok with Commerce Cares Cambodia on April 29th, and spent one night there. That night, we went to Khao San, a street filled with vendors, restaurants and bars full of backpackers from all around the world. The next morning, we flew from Bangkok to Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh is so different from Bangkok! The city is a lot smaller, and you don't see very many high rises. Because the city was abandoned during the Khmer Rouge Regime in the late 1970's, it is just slowly being rebuilt now. Everywhere you look, there are construction sites.
After our morning flight into Bangkok, we went straight into our tour around Phnom Penh. Our first stop was at Tuol Seng, the Genocide Museum. It is situated at an old school that was used as a prison by the Khmer Rouge. It's a hard place to visit because there is so much sadness and the brutality that occured resonants in the building; however, it is definitely a sight worth seeing because it has such a huge impact on Cambodia's history.
Afterwards, we went to the Russian market. Although it actually doesn't sell any goods from Russia, it's named as the Russian market because when Cambodia had relations with the former USSR, a lot of Russia businessmen shopped from that market. Today, it is a tourist market filled with scarves and other knick-knacks for souvenirs.
Next, we went to the Killing Fields. After the Khmer Rouge detainees were tortured into confession at Tuol Seng, they were transported to the killing fields. Today, there is a stupa erected in memory of the people who died there, and their bones were dug up from the 86 mass graves and placed in the stupa. The mass graves are marked, and one can still see the clothing of the people who died there.

The next day, we headed into our orientation with Tabitha Cambodia, the organization that we were working with to build housing in Cambodia. Jan, the found of Tabitha Cambodia told us all the do's and don't's of house building. Now, none of us are expert housebuilders (and some may have never even used a hammer before), but the orientation wasn't about how to build, but how to act when we are building. There are certain customs that we have to abide by, and most of all, she told us to remember that we are not doing this for ourselves, but for the people who live there. Kindness dealt with a sullen face is not kindness at all. Because many of the families are very religious, we were not allowed to interact with young children because they believe that if you commented on how cute a baby is, they will be punished by the gods. In the past, certain families have refused to move into houses when these customs are broken because they believe it is cursed. In addition, she told us touching stories about the Tabitha employees, who are all widows from the Khmer Rouge regime. Because the stories were so personal, you suddenly realize how real it was, and how recent the tragedy occured. Even today, many people in Cambodia still suffer from the effects of the Khmer Rouge Regime.

That afternoon, we headed down to Kep, in Southern Cambodia, to build the houses. Kep is a gorgeous sea side town, and pretty much as remote as you'll get in Cambodia. There were very little tourists other than us, and the town is very tiny. We started building the next day. It was so exciting and fun to be building houses and knowing how much impact we are actually making. The families currently live in hut made from dried leaves that are not sturdy enough to withstand any storms. The houses we built on tin houses on stilts. They are by no means the houses we see in North America, but it is a sturdy and safe shelter for them. It is amazing to see how little people actually need to survive. All the families are extremely friendly and laughed at our terrible hammering skills. At lunch time, we played duck duck goose with the children, and the villagers got a kick to see us running and scrambling around. We finished all ten houses that we planned to build over 3 days in 1, and it was so rewarding to see the families move into their houses.

During house building it had rained (which was good because it kept us from over heating), but the next day it was gorgeous and sunny, so we decided to spend our last morning in Kep by the beach. It was a pretty little beach with golden sand. In the afternoon, we headed back to Phnom Pehn.

After Phnom Penh, we headed over by bus to Siem Reap. It is a 5 hour bus ride to Siem Reap from Phnom Pehn, and we stopped at a couple of sights. The first one we stopped at was at an old Khmer Temple. The caretaker was very friendly, and spoke french! Afterwards, we stopped at "Spider Village", so-called because people actually ate spiders! Being very curious, we bought a cooked spider from a street vendor, and I actually had a leg! In case you are wondering, it is rather crunchy and salty, and doesn't taste like much. Next, we stopped at an old Khmer bridge before heading into Siem Reap.

In Siem Reap, we woke up at the crack of dawn (literally) to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat. It is a sight that you definitely have to just see for yourself! In addition to Angkor Wat, we also visited a temple that was used in Tomb Raider (the first one!). Our guide, Fin, knew exactly where Angelina Jolie had stood! I had to skip out on a couple temples because I was not feeling well, and I also had to miss the hike to Phnum Kulen. However, Steph and I (the sickies) got to tour Siem Reap for an extra two days. We went to many different markets and also the National Museum.

We headed back to Bangkok from Siemp Reap, and spend one last night at Khao San before the group departed for Canada, and I stayed behind to meet up with Emma and Erin.

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