Kampong Cham and Phnom Penh

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I’m settling into Kampong Cham nicely. It’s a small river town along the Mekong and a nice contrast to Phnom Penh. I’m renting a place for $100 for one month which gets me a whole floor of a building. More than I need, but cheaper than staying in a hotel. And I get to practice my Khmer with the family that lives downstairs. My vocabulary is limited and my pronunciation confounds them, but somehow we manage.

My first weekend in K. Cham, my coworker Elaine and I headed to Wat Nokor, an ancient temple in Kampong Cham. We were driven there by Gideon, the tuk-tuk driver. If you need something, just ask Gideon. He found my house for me. He showed me where to buy a bike. And he was our tour guide at Wat Nokor. Elaine and I were both amused at his interesting views on Buddhism as a born-again Christian.


At KAPE, I’ve been working on a training module for multicultural education. The training, which is next week, will help teachers expand what they teach and how they teach to include students from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds.


I’m working with a team of Cambodians, two of whom are Cham Muslim women. It’s interesting getting their perspective on being an ethnic minority in Cambodia. My work mostly consists of coming up with activities to get people thinking about culture and why diversity is a good thing. And once we’ve covered that, giving teachers the confidence and the tools to make changes in their own classroom. The work demands creativity and I’m really enjoying it. And the 15 minute bicycle commute, 4 times a day, keeps me in shape.


Last weekend I went into Phnom Penh to send off some good friends (Philip, Chelsea, Jake and Sach) and welcome some fun visitors (Wendy and Sam). I met Wendy last year at the Vientiane airport in Laos and we traveled together for two weeks. It was great to see her again and reminisce about our travels last year.


Sam is Jake’s identical twin brother. Both of them are great guys and loads of fun together. To celebrate Sam being here and Wendy’s birthday, we hit up the Korean restaurant and drinks at Rick’s Place in its new location.


The next day we toured the Royal Palace before chilling and rehydrating at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club. Then we set sail on the Mekong for a sunset cruise.


Wendy and I headed to Romdeng for dinner. Romdeng is a restaurant that trains street kids everything about the restaurant business and serves great Cambodian food. Afterward, we met up with the rest of the crew for drinks at Sky Bar, a roof top bar overlooking Independence Monument.


Last weekend I had some errands to run, so I hopped on the back of a motorbike taxi and asked the guy to take me to the Russian Market. He nodded his head and started driving, but it became clear that he hadn’t understood me and didn’t speak English. I couldn’t remember the Khmer name of the market, so I finally said in Khmer - I’m a foreigner, so I want to go to the market that foreigners like and gestured wildly in the direction of the market. He laughed and took me straight there.


I love the Russian Market. It has pretty much everything you need, without being overwhelmingly big. I had a dress mended for 12 cents. DVDs sell for a couple dollars. It’s my favorite market and after many visits, I can navigate my way to the yummy rice dumplings in coconut milk broth, over to the trendy messenger bags made from rice sacks, and back to the silver bracelets and silk purses before jumping back on a motor taxi and heading home.


These moments of familiarity are my favorite, when something that was so strange a few months ago becomes old hat. These are some of the things I’ll miss:


- Finding exactly what I need in the Russian Market
- Nights out on the town in Phnom Penh
- Eating delicious mashed potatoes by the river in K. Cham
- My bicycle commute to work
- $1.20 for 12 amazing dumplings at Chinese Noodle


The little things have become routine and have slowly helped me make a place for myself here. For my last few weeks in Cambodia, I plan on savoring the little things that make life sweet here.

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Photos

K Cham Dinner
Dinner with coworkers in Kampong Cham

Wat Nokor
Old and new temples intertwined.

Sunset cruise on the Mekong
Jake, Wendy, Sam and Teal as we set sail.

Me and Wendy
Reunited for more SE Asian adventures!

Wat Nokor main hall
Elaborate murals everywhere were for sale. Cost was determined by number of people in the mural.

K Cham Family
This is the family that owns and lives in my building.

Wat Nokor back archway
Elaine, who works at KAPE, kept me company at Wat Nokor with our trusty born-again Christian tuk-tuk driver and guide, Gideon.

Where the buffalo roam...
Buffalo on their way to graze.

My house in K. Cham
I have the 2nd floor of the middle building. Long and narrow, it's more than I need.

Pagoda
at the Royal Palace

White Elephant Place
Having a moment with the white elephant.

Sunset cruise
Looking back at the people looking at us on the shore.

Farm at Wat Nokor
BSDA (Buddhist Social Development Association) has their center and farming program here.

Karaoke
Entertainment was provided on the boat. Cheesy 80s ballads? Yes please!

Night fell
Heading back to the dock.

Independence Monument
This was taken from The Place's Sky Bar on the 9th floor.

Comments

[Mom]

Russian Market
I want to go to that market! Great blog, Megan!

[muslimc_cham]

hi/ hello, nice view nice pics !! thanks for sharing us the kingdom of wonder(cambodia). i am muslim cham (cambodia) nice to see your page and tell us about our culture. please add new pics i migth come back again bye...........have a nice day.