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Published: March 10th 2006
Steph and I arrived yesterday in Cambodia. We did not do much for the day. We did take a walk around the town to take a look at some of the sights. Apparently, it is unforeseen for tourists to walk. Nobody does it. And, the trick to crossing the street is really quite interesting. There is no real trafic control, people turn when they want and drive where they want. When you cross the street on foot or on a moto, the trick is to just go, look straight ahead and don't look a driver in the eye. If you do, they think you will move for them. It is quite the thing to cross the street with five motorcycles heading toward you. So far so good though! We stopped at Wat Phnom and saw tones of monkeys hanging around. Apparently, you have to be careful about your food 'cause they just snatch it out of your hands. We then took a walk to the Central Market which was a nightmare. It was absolutely huge and we could not even fathom where to begin. We lasted a whole, ummmm 10 minutes! Anyway, we are staying at a quaint little guesthouse on
the side of the lake. No rats, but we do have mice.... I can handle that. Last night we watched the sunset over the lake and ate dinner on a quaint rooftop patio! Today, Steph and I hired a tuk tuk driver to take us to the sites. Our first stop were the Cambodian Killing fields. One of the pictures that I have put up is a white building filled with body parts of those they have unearthed to date (not even half of the bodies). It is quite disturbing, as you are walking through the fields clothes are still stuck in the ground. They have wooden placards indicating how the people were killed and how many they have found. It has truly been an eye opener. Our next stop was to a local market to buy stuff for an orphanage. Our driver tried to make me pay 15 U.S for a 10 Kg bag of rice. it was insane. I refused and he ended up being quite upset at us for the rest of the day. Obviously, he was going to get quite a cut off the rice purchase. We ended up buying 40 kg of rice from another
vendor for only $10 U.S and then headed over to the Lighthouse orphonage. The place is run by volunteers from abroad who teach and play with the children all day. It was absolutely amazing. These children were so friendly and so loving. they were so excited to see us. I am determined to come back and teach at that orphanage for a couple of weeks. While I only stayed for 1 hour, these kids have touched me forever. They were unbelievable. I only wish I had more time here to spend with them. Steph and I left what was a pittance in money for us but amazed the locals who were there taking care of the kids. Hopefully, I can do more next time. Next stop was the Cambodian Museum for the Genocide. The stuff that happened to these people is indiscribeable. The pictures are unreal. Each person has a look of absolute despair, confusion, exhaustion and death in their eyes. It was very disturbing to see what was done to these people during the Khmer Rouge regime. Children, women, men, monks and foreigners were held captive and tortured at an old school in Phnom Pehn. I left sadened and
angry. Our final stop for the day was to the local market where they sell Gap, Abercrombie, Nike, Puma, etc for dirt cheap. It is hard to go in there and take all of that in after you have seen an orphenage and a genocide. Maybe I will feel better once we are in Siem Reap. Wednesday, Steph and I will head to Siem Reap to see the beautiful Angkor Wat. I am really looking forward to it. Enjoy the pictures... I wish I could put them all up but, I will have to save them for my return.
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Sharron
non-member comment
from down the street in Russell
Carolyn, from your descriptions, I can certainly understand how these experiences would indeed change you forever and give you proper perspective on what is important in life and what isn't. Your value system will never be the same. More of the world needs to bare witness to this part of history. Sharron