Village Kids

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Rhonda and Kathy, the Australians that bailed us out on the Vietnam/Cambodia border had recommended a pretty special trip that departed from town each Sunday and we'd decided to stay on in Phnom Penh for most of the day to make sure we could get a spot on the minibus. A local expat group called CHOICE took tourists put to one of three poor villages to do activities with the local kids in return for a donation. We were looking forward to this day from the first time we heard about it.

I scoffed my breakfast down, the bacon sandwich and omelette were no match for me after a dinnerless evening. We then packed our gear, separating our souvenirs from our clothes, so that we could leave one bag at reception for collection the night before we fly back to New Zealand.

Our laundry wasn't ready to collect because of the previous nights rain so we decided to head to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda a few blocks from our hotel in Central Phnom Penh. The complex would have had at least ten functioning buildings scattered around the manicured gardens. There were several no-go areas (the king was in residence) that doubtless had many more. Most were done in the eastern style of heavily sloped roofs that flare back up in the corners but some of the solid terracotta and rock sculptures were in the Khmer style - similar to some of the temples at Ankor Wat. It was only just after 0800 but the temperature must have been in the 30s and the rain from the previous night made it muggy. We walked between the buildings seeking shade wherever it was available.

Around 0930 we met Rhonda and Kathy at Nordic House where we replenished some fluids before getting on the minibus that would take us out of town with Ross, the organiser, and about a dozen other tourists

It took an hour or so to get to Angela Village*, forty or so wooden shacks lining a one lane dirt road with no power or running water. As our van pulled in we drove past smiling and waving parents and kids. We were mobbed by around thirty kids aged from around 2 to 11 when we stopped. Jo, Kathy, myself and another bloke - a New Zealander based in Cambodia got out while the rest of the van went on to another village. Kathy had bought some nylon and small coloured beads with her and we set up mats right there on the road to show the kids how to make bracelets.

They all loved them, the smiling faces were fantastic and each of us was surrounded by at least five children, all grabbing onto us like we were Santa.

The fun hadn't run out even half an hour later when the beads did. Paper and colour pencils were produced and while most of the kids drew, a boy of around 8 or 9 grabbed my arm and pulled me over to the river beside the road. He had seen my camera and wanted me to take photos of the rest of the kids jumping into the stream. All the youngsters waited for a nod from me then jumped in to the water. They didn't hang around there for long as they ran up to me to see their photos on the camera screen. The process was repeated... and repeated.... and repeated.

Another young boy who was obviously the village clown took some time out of jumping onto Jo's back every time she stood up to make me swing him around by his arms until he (and me) were dizzy. Plenty of the other kids saw this and decided they'd like a go too. I did as many as I could before my brain turned to a dizzy mush.

After a few hours the van returned to collect us and we packed up. As I got into the van, the kid that had taken me to the river side knocked on the window. I opened it and we shook hands. Before I knew it I had half a dozen kids wanting to shake hands also and as the van pulled away they all chased us - waving and yelling. We'd picked up another couple of passengers also, one of the women from a nearby village had given birth the previous week and was having complications. She and her baby got a lift back to Phnom Penh to go to the hospital.

It was an incredible experience. Ross gave me his card and I will post it here when we get back. If anyone wants a real village trip without the touristy rubbish - this is the place to go. Hopefully our US$50 donation will help keep the kids smiling a little bit longer.

We had lunch at Nordic House (same, same - Monterrey Chicken) with Kathy, Rhonda and Sara, the Australian we'd had dinner with in Chau Doc before starting a slow walk back to Landscape Hotel.

On the way we stopped at the Foreign Correspondents Club for a beer and spent a while looking out over the waterfront. Phnom Penh was far from the smoggy, big city I had been expecting. In fact it was a friendly city with plenty of vibe. We were going to miss it.

We collected our laundry and waited at Landscape Hotel for the tuk tuk driver who the agency had booked to take us to the bus station. We arrived a few minutes before the 1730 bus to Siem Reap.

Which is where you find me now, 6 and a half hours into a supposedly 6 hour bus ride with no city in sight and the prospect of who knows how much more time on a cramped but air conditioned bus. The rutted roads are making sleep almost impossible and any real chance to doze off was ruined by the B-grade Kung Fu Movie that was blasting through the speakers. Curiously only three quarters of it was shown before Cambodian Karaoke hits came on to offer a new type of audio hell.

But don't worry folks - I can still type (sort of) so you'll be kept informed of progress from what has just ticked over to the new day on the next post.

* Ross explained that he never gives out the actual name of the villages as if tour groups or unscrupulous individuals find them, they could easily destroy CHOICES years of hard work within the community.

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