Blood, sweat and tears


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Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap
May 14th 2012
Published: May 22nd 2012
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Donating blood at the Children's hospital
Our journey to Siem Reap was less eventful than our previous, other than the fact that our lift to the station didn’t materialise and so we almost missed our early morning bus. However, when we did get on board, we kind of wished we had missed it, as we were trapped in a hot bus with broken air conditioning and sealed windows all day. Things did pick up at sunset, when we changed buses and cruised the last few hours of the journey in cool style, in an actual VIP bus.

Tired from our three day trek and the previous day’s long journey, we took a day off from sightseeing, and slowed down the pace with some light shopping, and a trip to the Children’s hospital, where we both decided to donate a pint of our finest blood. Just in case the prospect of doing some good for the local children wasn’t enough, they also plied us with biscuits, Coca-Cola and a free T-shirt.

The following three days were spent exploring Angkor’s famous temples in the very humid, near-40°C Cambodian heat. It was so hot and humid that showering hardly made any difference, as within minutes we were covered in sweat again. The temples were incredible and very atmospheric, especially Ta Phrom, with its giant tree roots and trunks towering out of the crumbling ruins. No wonder it made such a good movie setting for Tomb Raider.

As well as the striking beauty of the temples, another aspect of our visit to Angkor that remains with us, is the groups very young children at every site, selling postcards and souvenirs, all for $1. They all knew a few key phrases in several languages which they used to charm tourists from every nationality with. For example they told us London was the capital of England and our Queen was Elizabeth. Their little faces were so cute, that you couldn’t help but want to give in to theirs pleas and buy something from them. However, it felt like the wrong thing to do, as we thought these children should be at school, not out selling things in the street. At the same time we realised that their families were so poor that they probably relied on the money that their children brought home. They definitely proved that this was an effective sales technique, with us buying 30 postcards and various
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Anyone for dried fish?
books and trinkets. The youngest seller we met even challenged us to a game of noughts and crosses to determine whether we had to buy something from her. True to our word, we did buy something, when we lost to a 4 year old…

We also visited the Cambodia Landmine Museum set up by Aki Ra, a former child soldier, who was forced to plant landmines and has how now cleared over 50,000. Initially single handedly with no safety equipment, he now has a team of staff that work every day of the year to clear mines and other ordinance in Cambodia. We were stunned at the extent of the US secret bombing campaign in Cambodia and Laos (which is apparently the most bombed country in the world), during the Vietnam war. Despite the number of landmines and bombs cleared, the number that still remain is staggering, and the number of people still being killed and injured every year is even more shocking. Aki Ra’s story is truly moving, and the work that he and his organisation, the Cambodian Self Help Demining group, undertake is outstanding.

We went back to the Children’s Hospital for an evening concert being put on by the hospital’s director. It was an amazing presentation and discussion about the hospital, and four other Children’s hospitals set up by him in Cambodia. The facts that were presented about the poverty of the Cambodian people, the after effects of the civil war on the country’s health system and prevalence of diseases such as TB, and the World Health Organisation’s stance on delivering healthcare in developing countries were mind boggling. Furthermore, the progress made and number of lives changed and saved is astounding. This had such an impact on us, that we could (and have to many people) talk about this for ages. However, if you are interested, here is the foundation’s website: http://www.beat-richner.ch/

It wasn’t all tears for us in Siem Reap, we also had some great nights out with Alessa and Marie, including a rather drunken evening when we treated ourselves to our first wine in months, and followed it up with $1 tapas and cocktails!


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Recognise this guy?
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One of Angkor Wat's libraries
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Angkor Wat in all it's glory
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700 metres of intricate carvings
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A depiction of punishment in hell and an actual torture technique used by the Khmer Rouge
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A carving illustrating the myth of the churning of the ocean of milk, when Gods and evil spirits are said to have churned the ocean for 1000 years to produce the elixir of immortality
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Bullet holes from the Civil War
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One of the five gates in the walls surrounding the city of Angkor Thom
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The Bayon temple at the centre of Angkor thom
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54 towers adorned with large carved faces on each of their sides
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Terrace of the Elephants


7th June 2012

Wow - a life in 2 and 80 days!
What an amazing trip you've had. Thank you for sharing it with us. We were so sorry to hear about your mishap in New Zealand. But glad it wasn't life- threatening. Looking forward to seeing you when you finally get back. xx

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