Cambodia
Fast facts
Population: 14.5 million
Life expectancy: 62 years
Infant mortality rate: 55 per 1000 births
Adult literacy rate: 76.3%
Number of monks in Cambodia: 60,000
Bombs dropped on Cambodia: 539,000 tonnes
Number of psychiatrists in cambodia: 26
We arrived to Cambodian land after a three day beautiful journey on the Mekong Delta from Vietnam.Along with our two new friends Jesse and Dan from Melbourne we haggled our way into our first Cambodian tuk tuk to find somewhere to stay. My first impressions of Phnom Penh was that it was chaotic yet charismatic and actual quite beautiful for an Asian capital city. Our journey in the tuk tuk was no longer than five minutes, yet my senses are on over drive. I couldn't help notice how much quieter it was compared to Vietnam. Of course there was still traffic surrounding us but we able to have a conversation and hear ourselves think!
We searched around for accommodation and found a lovely place to stay called Longlin. The standard of accommodation was definitely lower than in Vietnam. It more similar to Malaysia, as the majority of places had shared bathrooms.
As soon as we had checked in, we headed out to explore. The people were overwhelmingly welcoming, big smiling faces shouting "hello".
That evening Berwyn had I went to a recommended restaurant called "Friends" good cause dining. Friends is a brilliant restaurant. Not only is the food the best we'd had in Asia but its a fantastic idea. The
'friends' charity offers former street children a helping hand into the hospitality industry. The waiters were students and the chefs too! Next door to the restaurant was a 'friends' shop, 'buy stuff...change
lives'. The shop sold beautiful jewelry that the Cambodia parents had made out of newspapers. The parents making and selling these items was allowing their children to be on school. 'adults earn...children
learn' concept. Which is a huge campaign running throughout Cambodia.
Fast facts
Population: 14.5 million
Life expectancy: 62 years
Infant mortality rate: 55 per 1000 births
Adult literacy rate: 76.3%
Number of monks in Cambodia: 60,000
Bombs dropped on Cambodia: 539,000 tonnes
Number of psychiatrists in cambodia: 26
We arrived to Cambodian land after a three day beautiful journey on the Mekong Delta from Vietnam.Along with our two new friends Jesse and Dan from Melbourne we haggled our way into our first Cambodian tuk tuk to find somewhere to stay. My first impressions of Phnom Penh was that it was chaotic yet charismatic and actual quite beautiful for an Asian capital city. Our journey in the tuk tuk was no longer than five minutes, yet my senses are on over drive. I couldn't help notice how much quieter it was compared to Vietnam. Of course there was still traffic surrounding us but we able to have a conversation and hear ourselves think!
We searched around for accommodation and found a lovely place to stay called Longlin. The standard of accommodation was definitely lower than in Vietnam. It more similar to Malaysia, as the majority of places had shared bathrooms.
As soon as we had checked in, we headed out to explore. The people were overwhelmingly welcoming, big smiling faces shouting "hello".
That evening Berwyn had I went to a recommended restaurant called "Friends" good cause dining. Friends is a brilliant restaurant. Not only is the food the best we'd had in Asia but its a fantastic idea. The
'friends' charity offers former street children a helping hand into the hospitality industry. The waiters were students and the chefs too! Next door to the restaurant was a 'friends' shop, 'buy stuff...change
lives'. The shop sold beautiful jewelry that the Cambodia parents had made out of newspapers. The parents making and selling these items was allowing their children to be on school. 'adults earn...children
learn' concept. Which is a huge campaign running throughout Cambodia.
Our first full day in Cambodia we booked a Tuk Tuk for the city tour. The city tour consisted of S21, The Killing Fields, Royal Palace and Museum.
The first stop was S21 museum. This was a school, but in 1975 the Khmer Rouge turned it into a prison and renamed it 'Security Prison 21'. The classrooms were converted into tiny prison cells and torture chambers. Most rooms still had torture tools lying on the ground for everyone to see, and they'd kept some bed sheets that still blood stains on.
Outside there was a rule board, one rule was ''Whilst getting lashes or electrification you must not cry at all' number 6.
Opposite the board was another torture area. The frame was used to hang the victims until they were unconscious, then the prison officers would dunk they in water and begin questioning again.They were forced to name family members and where they were living. Then they would go and be brought into the prison. The prisoners were living through hell. They couldn't even try to kill themselves. Around the prison were fishing nets, so if prisoners try to jump off the building they wouldn't be able to die. The majority of prisoners who were brought to S21 were teachers, doctors, anyone academic. They brought anyone with soft hands, wearing glasses or could speak another language. They wanted all the intelligent people dead. And all the others they worked to death in the rice fields. An estimated 17,000-20,000 were imprisoned at S21.
Visiting S21 was extremely difficult. I couldn't comprehend how it all happened so recently, and how humans can be so disgustingly vile to even be able to create the tortures that they did. Every torture was unbelievably horrid. They mainly used pliers, they pulled off finger nails, teeth and women's nipples. Out of 17,000 prisoners, 7 survived as they were judged to have useful skills. 3 survivors are still alive today.
After a pretty silent tuk tuk drive the 4 of us arrived at the 'Killing Fields'. This was an area about 17k outside of Phnom Penh. Here the Khmer Rouge killed 17,000 people between 1975- 1979. Mass graves containing, 8,865 bodies were found here. The way the tour is laid out is excellent. Everyone is given their own audio tape for $5, available in many different languages. I thought this was a brilliant idea to explain such a dreadful place. The audio tape explained each different grave or site. The tape also had some survivors experiences. At this point in the tour you were able to sit in front of a lake on a bench and just listen. Taking in all the heartbreaking stories. It was a very sad experience. Many visitors had tears running down their faces. Including me. It was truly awful what went on in that field. They used farm equipment to kill the victims.
Towards the end of the tour I arrived at point 15. A tree. A tree where they killed the babies. They threw the babies against the tree until they were dead or some near dead and were left to die in the grave. That was the worst thing I had ever seen. The last section on the audio tour is a sample of Khmer music. This was played during in the killings to drown out the sound of the screams.
This was the first Christmas Tree for us to see! Very exciting...but strange as it was so warm!
On Monday we begun our work at ACODO Orphanage. Our friend in Bali had volunteered here before and said it was a really great place. I was quite weary about going. Expats in Siem Reap and some organisations have a big campaign happening at the moment trying to shut down some orphanages in Cambodia. I thought I might find it very difficult and especially hard if I didn't agree with how things were run.
We were met by two lovely volunteers Chris and Natalie from Bristol. Natalie was a social worker and Chris was a painter and decorator in their past jobs. They had volunteered a few things but this time had committed a minimum of a year. They love it!
We gradually met all they lovely children and learnt some of their shocking history.
After the rota was completed it was decided that I would teach the intermediate class and Berwyn would help build a new floor.
Everyday we had a delicious lunch with all the children and the staff- the food was great. All the children can go up for food as much as they like!
The children have 3 nannies who are Khmer and one cook- called 'mummy cook'. Who is married to the president. The staff are very hardworking and love the children so much.
There are 74 children in ACODO from 1 years old to 21 years old.
Teaching was a great experience. They were so willing to learn and excited for new topics! In my first week of teaching I was teaching from their class book which was kindly donated to them from a Singaporean School.
In the morning the children go to school. All the children have sponsorship for education which is fantastic! Recently they have all moved to a new private school called New York. State schools in Cambodia is free up until the age of 11. However, the schools are awful. The children are lucky if the teacher turns up. When the teacher is there they charge the children to teach them, and it costs huge amounts for a exam or test. So for ACODO having their children in private education is fantastic! A few of my students we showing off their school books to me- they were showing me that their work had actually been marked. As they had never had this before!
Every evening evening ACODO puts on a local Khmer dance performance. Some organisations don't approve of this any it could been seen as exploiting children. However, I am not a professional but what I saw was brilliant. They children were so happy. And each child only performs twice a week. When it isn't their night to perform their sitting in their sit wishing they were on stage! Some children in ACODO are quite shy and don't do very well in lessons because they are way behind on learning and many haven't been to a school until arriving to ACODO. Some of the children become so confident on the stage and really begin to shine!
Many tourist restaurants have local Khmer dance shows, so they children learning this dance is also giving them a trade for later life- and its one of the best paid jobs in Cambodia.
And of course the children that don't want to dance...don't!
ACODO has recently invested a lot of money into the farm. The farm is situated 60k outside Siem Reap. They hope that one day ACODO will be self sufficient from the farm, selling fish, rice, crops etc.Therefore, it won't have to reply on donations and they show will not need to be on every evening.
One weekend we visited the farm with older children to help with the rice harvest. It was a brilliant experience! They children loved escaping from the city for the weekend and we all had lots of fun!
The cave was now in a very peaceful area. Surrounded by beautiful temples. We had a lovely guide called V who was 12. She showed us around the mountain- with the cave and temples. She made what could have been a very sad experience really enjoyable. Her nature was beautiful. She played hiding games with us, constantly jumping out and trying to scare us. And pretending to be a monkey hiding in all the trees! I will miss her.
Our last couple of days arrived so quickly. We got a bus from Battanbang to Phomn Penh, as we had a flight a catch to Bangkok, Thailand.
The first stop was S21 museum. This was a school, but in 1975 the Khmer Rouge turned it into a prison and renamed it 'Security Prison 21'. The classrooms were converted into tiny prison cells and torture chambers. Most rooms still had torture tools lying on the ground for everyone to see, and they'd kept some bed sheets that still blood stains on.
Outside there was a rule board, one rule was ''Whilst getting lashes or electrification you must not cry at all' number 6.
Opposite the board was another torture area. The frame was used to hang the victims until they were unconscious, then the prison officers would dunk they in water and begin questioning again.They were forced to name family members and where they were living. Then they would go and be brought into the prison. The prisoners were living through hell. They couldn't even try to kill themselves. Around the prison were fishing nets, so if prisoners try to jump off the building they wouldn't be able to die. The majority of prisoners who were brought to S21 were teachers, doctors, anyone academic. They brought anyone with soft hands, wearing glasses or could speak another language. They wanted all the intelligent people dead. And all the others they worked to death in the rice fields. An estimated 17,000-20,000 were imprisoned at S21.
Visiting S21 was extremely difficult. I couldn't comprehend how it all happened so recently, and how humans can be so disgustingly vile to even be able to create the tortures that they did. Every torture was unbelievably horrid. They mainly used pliers, they pulled off finger nails, teeth and women's nipples. Out of 17,000 prisoners, 7 survived as they were judged to have useful skills. 3 survivors are still alive today.
After a pretty silent tuk tuk drive the 4 of us arrived at the 'Killing Fields'. This was an area about 17k outside of Phnom Penh. Here the Khmer Rouge killed 17,000 people between 1975- 1979. Mass graves containing, 8,865 bodies were found here. The way the tour is laid out is excellent. Everyone is given their own audio tape for $5, available in many different languages. I thought this was a brilliant idea to explain such a dreadful place. The audio tape explained each different grave or site. The tape also had some survivors experiences. At this point in the tour you were able to sit in front of a lake on a bench and just listen. Taking in all the heartbreaking stories. It was a very sad experience. Many visitors had tears running down their faces. Including me. It was truly awful what went on in that field. They used farm equipment to kill the victims.
Towards the end of the tour I arrived at point 15. A tree. A tree where they killed the babies. They threw the babies against the tree until they were dead or some near dead and were left to die in the grave. That was the worst thing I had ever seen. The last section on the audio tour is a sample of Khmer music. This was played during in the killings to drown out the sound of the screams.
After seeing the Killing Fields we payed our respects at Choeung Ek memorial by laying flowers and lighting joss sticks. We then headed back to the hotel and didn't complete the rest of the tour. We had seen too much and just need to go and contemplate it all.
A few days later we arrived in Kratie after a 10 hour bus journey. Along with a stinking toilet and cockroaches. Kratietuk tuk ride through the beautiful country side of Cambodia. It was stunning. Hundreds of happy welcoming children waving and shouting for out attention.
When we arrived it was a tiny little harbour type area with no other tourists. It was so peaceful. Just a few local women selling a fresh sugar cane drink in bags. Very delicious and refreshing! We boarded our tiny fishing boat and quietly paddled through the still river water. Within minutes we were surrounded by the dolphins. Truly beautiful! Such a special experience we will never forget.
A few days later we arrived in Kratie after a 10 hour bus journey. Along with a stinking toilet and cockroaches. Kratietuk tuk ride through the beautiful country side of Cambodia. It was stunning. Hundreds of happy welcoming children waving and shouting for out attention.
When we arrived it was a tiny little harbour type area with no other tourists. It was so peaceful. Just a few local women selling a fresh sugar cane drink in bags. Very delicious and refreshing! We boarded our tiny fishing boat and quietly paddled through the still river water. Within minutes we were surrounded by the dolphins. Truly beautiful! Such a special experience we will never forget.
After spending 2 nights in Kratie we headed to Siem Reap. I assumed that we could just go directly across land as we were already half way there. However I was wrong. There was no through road. We had to go back on ourselves! So we prepared for another long and slow journey. The first bus was a mini bus with the locals. This was a great experience...the bus had its own DVD player which was playing 'domestic violence style' music videos, followed by Khmer Comedy...! The locals found it hilarious! The worst part was the volume was on full blast down my ear so I couldn't hear my iPod one bit, so I gave up and tried to enjoy the Comedy!!
Eventually we arrived in Siem Reap. We stayed in a brilliant guest house called 'Popular'. We loved Siem Reap. Lots of lovely markets and restaurants. Pub Street has a the good restaurants and bars on.
On the weekend we met up with Lucy as she was i Cambodia on holiday! Was great to see a face from home.
Eventually we arrived in Siem Reap. We stayed in a brilliant guest house called 'Popular'. We loved Siem Reap. Lots of lovely markets and restaurants. Pub Street has a the good restaurants and bars on.
On the weekend we met up with Lucy as she was i Cambodia on holiday! Was great to see a face from home.
This was the first Christmas Tree for us to see! Very exciting...but strange as it was so warm!
On Monday we begun our work at ACODO Orphanage. Our friend in Bali had volunteered here before and said it was a really great place. I was quite weary about going. Expats in Siem Reap and some organisations have a big campaign happening at the moment trying to shut down some orphanages in Cambodia. I thought I might find it very difficult and especially hard if I didn't agree with how things were run.
We were met by two lovely volunteers Chris and Natalie from Bristol. Natalie was a social worker and Chris was a painter and decorator in their past jobs. They had volunteered a few things but this time had committed a minimum of a year. They love it!
We gradually met all they lovely children and learnt some of their shocking history.
After the rota was completed it was decided that I would teach the intermediate class and Berwyn would help build a new floor.
The children have 3 nannies who are Khmer and one cook- called 'mummy cook'. Who is married to the president. The staff are very hardworking and love the children so much.
There are 74 children in ACODO from 1 years old to 21 years old.
Teaching was a great experience. They were so willing to learn and excited for new topics! In my first week of teaching I was teaching from their class book which was kindly donated to them from a Singaporean School.
In the morning the children go to school. All the children have sponsorship for education which is fantastic! Recently they have all moved to a new private school called New York. State schools in Cambodia is free up until the age of 11. However, the schools are awful. The children are lucky if the teacher turns up. When the teacher is there they charge the children to teach them, and it costs huge amounts for a exam or test. So for ACODO having their children in private education is fantastic! A few of my students we showing off their school books to me- they were showing me that their work had actually been marked. As they had never had this before!
Every evening evening ACODO puts on a local Khmer dance performance. Some organisations don't approve of this any it could been seen as exploiting children. However, I am not a professional but what I saw was brilliant. They children were so happy. And each child only performs twice a week. When it isn't their night to perform their sitting in their sit wishing they were on stage! Some children in ACODO are quite shy and don't do very well in lessons because they are way behind on learning and many haven't been to a school until arriving to ACODO. Some of the children become so confident on the stage and really begin to shine!
Many tourist restaurants have local Khmer dance shows, so they children learning this dance is also giving them a trade for later life- and its one of the best paid jobs in Cambodia.
And of course the children that don't want to dance...don't!
ACODO has recently invested a lot of money into the farm. The farm is situated 60k outside Siem Reap. They hope that one day ACODO will be self sufficient from the farm, selling fish, rice, crops etc.Therefore, it won't have to reply on donations and they show will not need to be on every evening.
One weekend we visited the farm with older children to help with the rice harvest. It was a brilliant experience! They children loved escaping from the city for the weekend and we all had lots of fun!
The next week we were meant to make our way down to the coast of Cambodia to Sinoukville- but we couldn't leave! We'd had the best week! And knew that a week on the beach just wouldn't compare! So we stayed!
Second week was great- I begun to teach my own lessons. I did poetry week! I taught them a poem about Cambodian history called 'Behind the Smile''. It was very beautiful.
Then the students tried some of their own. I thought this was great way to show the students that writing feelings down can really help and can even make excellent poetry. Some of the students did really well! I think they enjoyed learning about more interesting concepts rather than the work book they had, which had really irrelevant exercises in.
Berwyn did a fantastic job on the floor and even did lots of extra bits- they were so grateful of all his help. He was a lot more use than the rest of us volunteers!
Then end of the week approached very quickly! Too quick in fact.We bought the children and staff a lovely coconut milk and raisin cake- which they loved! We watched the last show on Friday evening and said our goodbyes. It was soooo sad. Much more sad than I had anticipated!
I promised the children I will return one day. I will not break that promise!
After Siem Reap we headed to Battanbang west Cambodia. Battanbang is famous for 2 things, firstly it still has a Bamboo Train and secondly the killing Cave.
We only had one day here so we hired a tuk tuk for the day. We went with our new friends Jamie from Scotland and Rosie from Australia.
In the morning we visited the Killing Cave. Where the Khmer Rouge threw thousands and thousands of people. Extremely sad. The clothes of the victims were hung up like flags in and around the cave. There were also 2 shed type things- one with babies and children's bones inside and the other with adults.
The afternoon was spent speeding though Battanbang's beautiful country side on a Bamboo Train. We loved it! We had so much fun- such a great experience,one of my highlights for sure!
Every time the train came head to head with other one we all had to jump off while the driver dismantled the train!! The other train passed and we all got back on! So fun!
Looking back over our time in Cambodia with many many smiles and found memories.
I have loved every single day in this country. The people have been to hell and back and still overwhelm me with they kindness.
Constant smiles, laughs and touching conversations will never be forgotten.This place is on the top of my list to return to.
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