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Published: February 8th 2017
It took 34 hours from door to door, but I made it half way around the world. Our stops included London and Kuala Lumpur before landing in Siem Reap. Despite taking many hours, travel was uneventful.
Our hotel in Siem Reap was reasonably nice with a pool out back. Our first dinner out begun our culinary exploration of Cambodia. I had a fail with my first dinner, chicken on sugar cane, in that it was coated in a curry sauce which I don’t like. No big deal, I think I was fed 50 times on the flights.
Everyone who arrived on Saturday was exhausted, so it was early to bed for everyone. The next morning stated earlier as two team members arrived by bus from Phenom Pen at 5:30 in the morning. We spent the morning at 2 different tourist destinations. The killing fields and the war museum. Recent Camobdan history (the last 50 years) is complex to say the least. For me, the war museum tour really brought to life the atrocities plagued upon the Cambodian people. Our guide was a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime and the genocide they committed against their own citizens. The stories
of boy solders, land mines, invading armies and starvation were tough to listen to. It is still hard to believe this was happening during my lifetime. I am grateful to have been living my blessed life in the USA and not in Cambodia during that time.
By lunch time, all of our team members had arrived from their travels and we headed out the road to Battambang City. Battambang is Cambodia’s third largest city. Unlike Siem Reap and Phenom Pen, it is not a tourist destination. The three hour drive provided an opportunity for tram members to chat and begins getting to know their seat mates on a more personal level.
In the evening the Habitat staff lead an information and orientation meeting. We learned a little about our partner families and the projects we would be working on. Everyone is excited to begin work tomorrow but still lagging a bit from the travels.
By blogging is being slower down by bother exhaustion and the fact my keyboard broke while travelling, forcing me to type using the touchpad. I will do my best to keep you all up to date as possible.
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Melanie Rankin
non-member comment
Hello from the other side of the earth!
Michelle---I'm so proud of you and think you are so cool! Thanks for sharing your adventures! Stay Safe!