Prey Veng - our visit to the countryside

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This weekend we escaped the city to visit the other MCC office and staffers in Prey Veng. Prey Veng is the capital of Prey Veng province and is about 2.5 hrs away via bus from Phnom Penh.

The bus ride there was pretty uneventful. The highlights include 1. when our bus driver paid the police checkpoint/"toll" with bread and 2. crossing the Mekong River via ferry. (Visit our facebook pages for pictures.) Side note: the location of the ferry crossing (Neak Leung) is the location of the accidental - and very controversial - US bombings of Cambodia in 1973.

Prey Veng - according to most guidebooks - is a "sleepy town." With only 55,000 people, it's way smaller than Phnom Penh (2 million). However, we had a great time visiting with our fellow MCCers, biking along the town outskirts, enjoying the cooler temperatures, and practicing our moto driving with less traffic than we could even dream of in PP!

Interestingly, upon our return to PP on Sunday, we experienced more culture shock than when we originally arrived from the USA. The stark differences between the rural, agricultural and very poor province and the up-and-coming capital city are amazing. We have unending respect for our coworkers out in the province for all the luxuries they are able to live without.

However, we are jealous of the houses they have in Prey Veng. The 2nd floor in traditional houses are made of wood and have small spaces between the floorboards to let in extra airflow. However, with that comes additional "creatures," so maybe we actually do prefer our hot cement apartment!

This week it's back to the normal schedule of language lessons and exploring the great city of Phnom Penh.

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Comments

[anonymous]

I'm loving following your blog! I actually just watched the movie "The Killing Fields" so learned about the US bombing and the ruling of the Khmer Rouge. It was cool to learn a bit more about where you are living! Hope you're well! Theresa

[Dan Shether]

Awww
Good to hear from you and that you are having fun in the countryside. I miss you guys a lot and hope I can work in a visit before I leave Asia. Take care Dan

[Katie B]

Sounds like a great trip!

[Judy Moore]

wow
how very cool