That's right folks! Today, our last day in Siem Reap, we managed to watch the sun rise and the sun set over Angkor Wat ! How amazing! This day was terrific, even though we had to be on the bus by 5:30 in the morning. We all took some postcard worthy photographs with the sun casting the most beautiful reflections on Angkor Wat. The rest of the day, in between the sunrising and setting on us, was spent checking out some of the other Hindu temples in the area. These temples are over 1000 years old and absolutely spectacular. The bus ride between temples was very entertaining with a great deal of the group singing everything from "Buttercup" to the Backstreet Boys. Like I said earlier, our kids really know how to have fun. They even hacky sack at the temples and are just so genuinely happy to be doing it! Part of our last afternoon was spent at the pool with lots of swimming, suntanning and even a belly flop contest (just ask the boys)! Later, we headed back out to our last temple on the mountain to catch an elephant ride. Even though some of us were a little scared (me and Gabby), we conquered our fears and really enjoyed our elephant ride! The elephants took us to the top of the mountain to a temple where we waited to watch the sunset with a great view of the valley. Although it was cloudy, we were shown the most spectacular sight of a rainbow way up high in the clouds. It was truly one of the more beautiful things I have ever seen in my life, and once again, words do not to it justice. You will simple have to see the pictures to understand.
Tonight we are all a little sad, knowing that this will be our last night in Cambodia. Tomorrow we fly from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh and then onto Hong Kong. We are all marvelling at just how fast this trip went by. As much as we want to see all of you back home, we really don't want to leave. It will be hard for us to leave this place and the people we have grown to love so much. As well, I think we will miss getting to spend so much time together. You really get to know people when you spend this much time together and we really like what we have learned about each other. Let's hope these new friendship remain strong when we get back home. This certainly has been an experience of a lifetime, even for a seasoned old veteran like myself and a great deal of the joy I have experienced on this trip comes from your children. Seeing Cambodia through their eyes is something I will cherish! So thank-you, again, for trusting them to us! We as a group have really grown into quite the family and we will have to work hard back at home to keep these ties that bind us.
Ok, enough sappy stuff for one night, the kids would be teasing me and saying "awwww" if they read this.
Cheers,
Laurel
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Les Enfant de la Riziere Farm
What an amazing day! We had the opportunity to spend our day today with the children at Les Enfant de la Riziere Farm. Les Enfant la Riziere Farm is an small orphanage that houses about 42 children outside of Seim Reap. The difference between this orphanage and the last one we visited was clear, as they just do not get as much support being in a rural, poorer area. Everything about this day was magical, from our beautiful drive out to the orphanage taking in distant views of Angkor Wat and other Hindu temples, to the most warm welcome we received as we arrived at the farm. The children grabbed our hands and quickly introduced themselves as we set off to listen to them play traditional music. From there, they showed us how their farm (which grows mostly rice in the rainy season) operates. Evan and Katie even got a chance to work the plough behind an ox! From there we got out for the heat of the sun for a lesson on basket weaving. The children weave baskets that are sold to the local markets as one source of revenue for this small orphanage. Many of our students got quite good at making baskets and have them to bring home. Other students took this time to learn how to play the Khmer instruments and our morning ended with the orphans performing traditional dances and finally inviting us to join them to learn some new moves. By the end of the morning we were good friends and we had a hard time leaving to go for lunch but promised that we would return to have a football match in the afternoon.
After a delicious lunch, we returned to the farm to another terrific welcome. We took this time to give the director and children our gifts which included 100 pounds of rice, shoes, school supplies and lots of toys and bubbles! The students loved everything and proceeded to invite us to play games with them. It didn't take long for a game of football to break out in the school fields where we mixed the teams with Cambodians and Canadians to make it more fair. The game ended when the heat got the better of all of us with a tied score of 4-4. As the day was drawing to a close, the students and orphans exchanged email addresses in hopes that they can keep in touch. It was a very emotional good-bye with tears on both sides. The orphans really want to know when we will be back to see them again, and we all agreed that we hope it is soon. This orphanage is in need of a new well (cistern) and we have told them we will look at the ITS funds to see if we can support them. The cost would be only about 200 dollars. These children really touched our hearts today and we would like to do whatever we can to help them.
We are about to head out to another local restaurant for dinner and entertainment. Tomorrow morning we are on the bus at 5:30am to watch the sun rise at Angkor Wat. Needless to say, it will be a very early night tonight!
Cheers,
Laurel
After a delicious lunch, we returned to the farm to another terrific welcome. We took this time to give the director and children our gifts which included 100 pounds of rice, shoes, school supplies and lots of toys and bubbles! The students loved everything and proceeded to invite us to play games with them. It didn't take long for a game of football to break out in the school fields where we mixed the teams with Cambodians and Canadians to make it more fair. The game ended when the heat got the better of all of us with a tied score of 4-4. As the day was drawing to a close, the students and orphans exchanged email addresses in hopes that they can keep in touch. It was a very emotional good-bye with tears on both sides. The orphans really want to know when we will be back to see them again, and we all agreed that we hope it is soon. This orphanage is in need of a new well (cistern) and we have told them we will look at the ITS funds to see if we can support them. The cost would be only about 200 dollars. These children really touched our hearts today and we would like to do whatever we can to help them.
We are about to head out to another local restaurant for dinner and entertainment. Tomorrow morning we are on the bus at 5:30am to watch the sun rise at Angkor Wat. Needless to say, it will be a very early night tonight!
Cheers,
Laurel
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Khmer New Year
Happy Khmer New Year!
The past few days have been spent finishing up our work at the center in Siem Reap. Our bike shelter is completely built and painted, as is our wall. It is amazing how much can be accomplished in such a short time.
In thanks for our work, the center invited us to celebrate Khmer New Year with them yesterday. We had a terrific time playing traditional games with approximately 200 of the local children who use the center. Our kids got right into the action, many of the games were familiar to us, others we had never played before. In almost all cases, the Cambodian children beat us badly, but we all had a great time. The afternoon was spent watching a show of traditional singing and dancing that the center put on to celebrate the new year. At the end of the show they thanked us formally of our project work giving us a beautifully framed letter to bring home and display at Calgary Academy.
The Sangkheum Center is an amazing organization and many of our kids talked about finding ways to support them when they get back to Calgary. They have a program where you can sponsor a child to attend the orphanage and school for 40 dollars a month. After being there, we know that all the money would go to providing for the children's needs. If you and your families think this is something you could help with when we are home and want more information, please email Ms. Hoogendoorn as she has pamphlets with all the contacts.
Last night we took an adventure on TukTuks (local taxis) to the Night Market. The students got to experience riding around Cambodian style and once again got to barter with the locals for treasures. I must say, the kids are fantastic negotiators and have done terrific at bartering. The best part is that they have lots of laughs with the locals while doing it!
This morning, the Easter Bunny (Mr. Paske, Ms. Hoogendoorn & Mrs. Beaton) greated the students with Easter treats as a wake up call! Just a little taste of home! As today was our last day at the Sangkheum Center, we gave the many gifts the students had brought from home. They loved all the "Canadian stuff" and we also went out and purchased some mosquito nets, shoes and towels that the center was in need of. We spent the afternoon playing soccer with the orphans and once again, we lost, but not too badly (9-4)!
Tonight we enjoyed a great dinner at a Khmer restaurant that was a traditional home. The food was great but once again the kids are tired (as are the teachers). They are all currently healthy and feeling good so we trip staff are very relieved. Tomorrow we head to a different orphanage on a farm where the children learn many trades to support them once they are adults. It will be a new exciting experience for us!
Take care everyone,
Laurel
The past few days have been spent finishing up our work at the center in Siem Reap. Our bike shelter is completely built and painted, as is our wall. It is amazing how much can be accomplished in such a short time.
In thanks for our work, the center invited us to celebrate Khmer New Year with them yesterday. We had a terrific time playing traditional games with approximately 200 of the local children who use the center. Our kids got right into the action, many of the games were familiar to us, others we had never played before. In almost all cases, the Cambodian children beat us badly, but we all had a great time. The afternoon was spent watching a show of traditional singing and dancing that the center put on to celebrate the new year. At the end of the show they thanked us formally of our project work giving us a beautifully framed letter to bring home and display at Calgary Academy.
The Sangkheum Center is an amazing organization and many of our kids talked about finding ways to support them when they get back to Calgary. They have a program where you can sponsor a child to attend the orphanage and school for 40 dollars a month. After being there, we know that all the money would go to providing for the children's needs. If you and your families think this is something you could help with when we are home and want more information, please email Ms. Hoogendoorn as she has pamphlets with all the contacts.
Last night we took an adventure on TukTuks (local taxis) to the Night Market. The students got to experience riding around Cambodian style and once again got to barter with the locals for treasures. I must say, the kids are fantastic negotiators and have done terrific at bartering. The best part is that they have lots of laughs with the locals while doing it!
This morning, the Easter Bunny (Mr. Paske, Ms. Hoogendoorn & Mrs. Beaton) greated the students with Easter treats as a wake up call! Just a little taste of home! As today was our last day at the Sangkheum Center, we gave the many gifts the students had brought from home. They loved all the "Canadian stuff" and we also went out and purchased some mosquito nets, shoes and towels that the center was in need of. We spent the afternoon playing soccer with the orphans and once again, we lost, but not too badly (9-4)!
Tonight we enjoyed a great dinner at a Khmer restaurant that was a traditional home. The food was great but once again the kids are tired (as are the teachers). They are all currently healthy and feeling good so we trip staff are very relieved. Tomorrow we head to a different orphanage on a farm where the children learn many trades to support them once they are adults. It will be a new exciting experience for us!
Take care everyone,
Laurel
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Sangkheum Center for Children
Today was our second day of work on our project for the Sangkheum Center for Children. Songkheum is a terrific organization that is very well run. It house about 60 orphans that live there full time and teaches close to 200 students that come in from the neighboring communities to learn English, computers, weaving and much more. We decided to start early to try to beat the heat. After arriving at the center at 7:30 in the morning, we quickly realized that there is just no avoiding the heat in Cambodia! Even as I blog tonight at 9pm, the temperature in Siem Reap is 37 degrees Celcius! The students did their best to get as much accomplished as humanly possible in this heat.
We are currently working on two projects at the center. One involves plastering, sanding and painting a wall. The other is builiding a structure that will house bicycles for the students. The group working on the bike structure had a very physically demanding day, sholving and moving large amounts of sand (without a wheelbarrow) and moving bricks. The students were such troupers, working very hard. During breaks, we found ourselves playing soccer and volleyball with the orphans and despite the heat the students had a very good time.
We took the afternoon to rest and recouperate cooling off from the sun either in the pool or in our air conditioned rooms. The teachers and guide felt this was neccessary to try to prevent further illness from the heat. Tonight we all headed out to a local restaurant that had shadow puppets and music for entertainment. The food was probably the best we have had in Cambodia but the heat was oppressive (well over 37 degrees at 7:30 pm) so we ate quickly and headed home. Once again, your kids are tucked into bed early, getting lots of rest, at their request! They are just such great kids! A few have mentioned that they are missing the cold Canadian winter right now, so I guess the heat is getting to them!
Tomorrow we have another busy day working at the center. We all can't wait to see how much work we can get done and love being able to look back at the end of the day and see just what we have accomplished.
Will blog soon.
Laurel
We are currently working on two projects at the center. One involves plastering, sanding and painting a wall. The other is builiding a structure that will house bicycles for the students. The group working on the bike structure had a very physically demanding day, sholving and moving large amounts of sand (without a wheelbarrow) and moving bricks. The students were such troupers, working very hard. During breaks, we found ourselves playing soccer and volleyball with the orphans and despite the heat the students had a very good time.
We took the afternoon to rest and recouperate cooling off from the sun either in the pool or in our air conditioned rooms. The teachers and guide felt this was neccessary to try to prevent further illness from the heat. Tonight we all headed out to a local restaurant that had shadow puppets and music for entertainment. The food was probably the best we have had in Cambodia but the heat was oppressive (well over 37 degrees at 7:30 pm) so we ate quickly and headed home. Once again, your kids are tucked into bed early, getting lots of rest, at their request! They are just such great kids! A few have mentioned that they are missing the cold Canadian winter right now, so I guess the heat is getting to them!
Tomorrow we have another busy day working at the center. We all can't wait to see how much work we can get done and love being able to look back at the end of the day and see just what we have accomplished.
Will blog soon.
Laurel
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Siem Reap - The Temples of Angkor!
Yesterday was a very early day for us, getting up around 4am to catch our short flight out of Phnom Penh! We all had a hard time believing that we were already leaving our first stop. The time has just flown by and we have seen and done so many things!
Everything went smoothly at the airport and we have found that we have had no trouble with language as almost all people in the service industries here speak some English. Our small propeller plane took us on an hour flight over the huge Tonle Sap Lake in the center of Cambodia to the beautifully lush city of Siem Reap. We were met by a fantastic guide who quickly informed us that he had also been the guide of our former Prime Minister, Paul Martin! We quickly checked into our hotel and headed out of our first of many adventures of the day. We took a leisurely ride by oxen cart around a small fishing village on the outside of the city. The student got to see first hand how the locals dry the fish the catch each day. After our cart ride, we stopped by an alligator farm and had lots of fun taking pictures of the gators!
From the alligator farm we headed towards the temples of Angkor, which are a source of inspiration and national pride for the Khmer. The hundreds of temples that survive today are a sample of Cambodia's ancient empire, a city that at one time had a population of over 1 million people. Our first glimpses of the Angkor were nothing short of spectacular. We began with the fortified city of Angkor Tom surrounded by a 100m wide moat. Angkor Tom has 5 huge gates and the immense scale is overwhelming. Once inside our guide told us a great deal about the Hindu gods in which the Angkors were built. Today they are used for Buddhist worship. We quickly learned that the stones of the Angkor radiate heat making the whole building an oven! We were dripping with sweat.
After touring Angkor Tom we hoped on bikes and went for an easy ride around the temple back to our bus. The students and teachers alike loved the adventure, especially our retro bikes! Just wait until you see the pictures.
From here we had a quick lunch at our hotel and a splash to cool off and we headed back to the temples. This time it was Angkor Wat that we would see. Again, words cannot express the beauty, tranquility and peace you experience in a place like Angkor Wat. It simply must be experienced. We did take at least 1000 pictures between us all in the group, so hopefully we captured even an ounce of the magic this place holds to share with you when we get back. The lighting as the sun was beginning to set was stunning and many of us had a hard time tearing ourselves away wanting just one more picture.
Our last stop of the day was the famous Ta Prohm. Unlike any other monuments of Angkor, it has been completely swallowed by the jungle. This temple was used for the filming of the movie Tomb Raider. The trees literally grow up out of the stone and it makes a very surreal scene.
Last night the students played by the pool and had an early night as they had been awake since 4am. Today, a few of us are feeling ill, likely a combination of being overtired, too much heat, exhaustion and different foods. We are taking it easy today to recuperate. Some students are off meeting the orphanage where we will begin our work, others are resting so that tomorrow they can swing hammers.
We will keep you posted. : )
Laurel
Everything went smoothly at the airport and we have found that we have had no trouble with language as almost all people in the service industries here speak some English. Our small propeller plane took us on an hour flight over the huge Tonle Sap Lake in the center of Cambodia to the beautifully lush city of Siem Reap. We were met by a fantastic guide who quickly informed us that he had also been the guide of our former Prime Minister, Paul Martin! We quickly checked into our hotel and headed out of our first of many adventures of the day. We took a leisurely ride by oxen cart around a small fishing village on the outside of the city. The student got to see first hand how the locals dry the fish the catch each day. After our cart ride, we stopped by an alligator farm and had lots of fun taking pictures of the gators!
From the alligator farm we headed towards the temples of Angkor, which are a source of inspiration and national pride for the Khmer. The hundreds of temples that survive today are a sample of Cambodia's ancient empire, a city that at one time had a population of over 1 million people. Our first glimpses of the Angkor were nothing short of spectacular. We began with the fortified city of Angkor Tom surrounded by a 100m wide moat. Angkor Tom has 5 huge gates and the immense scale is overwhelming. Once inside our guide told us a great deal about the Hindu gods in which the Angkors were built. Today they are used for Buddhist worship. We quickly learned that the stones of the Angkor radiate heat making the whole building an oven! We were dripping with sweat.
After touring Angkor Tom we hoped on bikes and went for an easy ride around the temple back to our bus. The students and teachers alike loved the adventure, especially our retro bikes! Just wait until you see the pictures.
From here we had a quick lunch at our hotel and a splash to cool off and we headed back to the temples. This time it was Angkor Wat that we would see. Again, words cannot express the beauty, tranquility and peace you experience in a place like Angkor Wat. It simply must be experienced. We did take at least 1000 pictures between us all in the group, so hopefully we captured even an ounce of the magic this place holds to share with you when we get back. The lighting as the sun was beginning to set was stunning and many of us had a hard time tearing ourselves away wanting just one more picture.
Our last stop of the day was the famous Ta Prohm. Unlike any other monuments of Angkor, it has been completely swallowed by the jungle. This temple was used for the filming of the movie Tomb Raider. The trees literally grow up out of the stone and it makes a very surreal scene.
Last night the students played by the pool and had an early night as they had been awake since 4am. Today, a few of us are feeling ill, likely a combination of being overtired, too much heat, exhaustion and different foods. We are taking it easy today to recuperate. Some students are off meeting the orphanage where we will begin our work, others are resting so that tomorrow they can swing hammers.
We will keep you posted. : )
Laurel
Monday, April 6, 2009
Koh Dach Island
We just had the most amazing day on the the Mekong River! How many people can say that? We slept in a little bit today (on the bus at 9:30) and headed out to the riverfront of Phnom Penh. Today was bright and clear and therefore very hot even first thing in the morning! We piled onto our double decker boat with our picnic lunches in hand and began our journey down the mighty Mekong to Koh Dach Island. The boat trip took about 2 hours and we all enjoyed sitting on the top deck, listening to music and taking in the sights of the river. As we arrived to the most amazing greeting from the residents of Koh Dach Island we could feel we were in for a very special day. Koh Dach is a traditional Khmer weaving village. The villagers here produce their own dyes and weave silk on looms. Our guide took us for a walk around the village showing us the villagers homes and how the silk is made. The villagers followed us from house to house, trying out their English on us and trying to make fast friends. They all had many beautiful scarves and weavings to sell us. So many of us commented as we walked through this gorgeous, isolated jungle village that we felt like we were in a movie. It was a very surreal experience to be the center of attention in such a small, isolated place. The love the village showed us, made us feel like celebrities! The students and teachers we all quickly overwhelmed with the amount of silk to available to purchase. There were so many beautiful pieces that you wanted to buy some from each and every one of the people in the village! So, be expecting many scarves as gifts when we get home.
We took a break from the village for a picnic lunch on the boat. After lunch there was a bit more shopping and then we said goodbye to our new friends who made us promise that we would come back at the same time next year! We will have to see if we can make that happen : )
On the trip back to Phnom Penh the sun got the better of many of us! We are looking a little red, even though we diligently applied our sunscreen! The pool was a relief when we found our way back to our hotel. Many of us took the opportunity to cool down before getting ready for supper at a local seafood restaurant. The students and teachers just love our pool and the teachers just love the way our group can "play"! This group of students knows how to have fun, whether it be playing hackie sack in an airport, playing basketball with students at a school, or playing chicken fights in the pool they have so much joy and share it with everyone they meet. It is truly a gift!
Tomorrow is another big day for us. We are up before 5am to catch our flight to Siem Reap and have our first glimpses of Angkor Wat. As Amara commented earlier today, "Each day just keeps getting better and better!" I like to think that each day has been equally amazing in its own way...and that has made for a very fantastic trip!
Cheers everyone! Thanks so much for your comments. The students love hearing who has left messages over breakfast each morning!
Laurel
We took a break from the village for a picnic lunch on the boat. After lunch there was a bit more shopping and then we said goodbye to our new friends who made us promise that we would come back at the same time next year! We will have to see if we can make that happen : )
On the trip back to Phnom Penh the sun got the better of many of us! We are looking a little red, even though we diligently applied our sunscreen! The pool was a relief when we found our way back to our hotel. Many of us took the opportunity to cool down before getting ready for supper at a local seafood restaurant. The students and teachers just love our pool and the teachers just love the way our group can "play"! This group of students knows how to have fun, whether it be playing hackie sack in an airport, playing basketball with students at a school, or playing chicken fights in the pool they have so much joy and share it with everyone they meet. It is truly a gift!
Tomorrow is another big day for us. We are up before 5am to catch our flight to Siem Reap and have our first glimpses of Angkor Wat. As Amara commented earlier today, "Each day just keeps getting better and better!" I like to think that each day has been equally amazing in its own way...and that has made for a very fantastic trip!
Cheers everyone! Thanks so much for your comments. The students love hearing who has left messages over breakfast each morning!
Laurel
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Phnom Penh
Hello family and friends!
We had a successful trip to Cambodia! All of our flights went smoothly and we survived the 14 hour plane ride from Vancouver to Hong Kong. We made it to Phnom Penh early yesterday morning and were greeted at the aiport by our tour company. We checked into the Juliana Hotel which has all the comforts of home and the largest pool in the entire city! The guide then took us to a local elementary school where the students had an opportunity to meet with the director and teachers to learn about the education system in Cambodia. We then toured the school that houses over 3000 students. The highlight was definitely recess when the young children came out to play with our students. We were amazed by how easy it was to bring joy and huge smiles to the children's' faces by simply playing basketball, duck duck goose or blowing bubbles. All of our students really showed their amazing abilities to interact and engage with others here in Cambodia. It was obvious that the school was in need of help financially and our group discussed finding ways to connect with them once we are back in Calgary.
After our school tour we visited our first local market where the students had an opportunity to work on their battering skills! They founds lots of treasures to bring back home. After shopping we went back to the hotel for a little down time before supper.On this first day, we have all experienced true culture shock with many of us in absolute awe over how there are no rules on the roads and just how hot it is! The jet lag, heat,humidity and exhaustion hit us hard at this point, with many of us unable to keep our eyes open. During dinner, all of the students asked if they could go straight to bed! Everyone was tucked into their beds ready to sleep by 8:30pm! I know you parents are probably finding that hard to believe!
Today we woke early with everyone agreeing that they had a fantastic sleep. We headed out for a busy day touring around Phnom Pehn. We started with the Royal Palace, the official home of the Cambodian King. The students loved the architecture and took many pictures. We headed from there to the National Museum learned a great deal about Buddhism and Hinduism.
After a lunch at a local Cambodian restaurant our day took a more somber tone as we headed to the Toul Sleng Museum (S-21), the Khmer Rouge torture prison. We were all overwhelmed by the silence of this place, the pain and suffering of the people is still so real that you can't help but feel it. Many of us felt our emotions get the better of us when hearing the stories of the thousands of people that suffered and died during this genocide. We all found it especially difficult to see the pictures of young children that were murdered. From here we went to the Killing Fields were our images of those murdered were made real by the mass graves. Words cannot express how you feel in a place were so many were murdered. We all paid our respects to the lives lost with offering of flowers and incense at the monument that was erected in their honour.
For the last few hours we have all be decompressing, writing in our travel journals, trying to put to words the overwhelming experiences we have already had. We all had a lot of fun by the pool, and all the trip staff cannot stop commenting on what a terrific group of students we are travelling with. We feel really lucky to get to share this with such terrific people. So, thank-you parents for lending your children to us for these two weeks. They are fantastic!
Soon we are off to restaurant for dinner and entertainment. It is hard to believe we have only been in Phnom Pehn 2 days as we have truly experienced a life time worth in such a short time.
I apologize to you all as I feel my words cannot truly express all we have seen!
We will post soon...
Cheers!
Laurel Beaton
We had a successful trip to Cambodia! All of our flights went smoothly and we survived the 14 hour plane ride from Vancouver to Hong Kong. We made it to Phnom Penh early yesterday morning and were greeted at the aiport by our tour company. We checked into the Juliana Hotel which has all the comforts of home and the largest pool in the entire city! The guide then took us to a local elementary school where the students had an opportunity to meet with the director and teachers to learn about the education system in Cambodia. We then toured the school that houses over 3000 students. The highlight was definitely recess when the young children came out to play with our students. We were amazed by how easy it was to bring joy and huge smiles to the children's' faces by simply playing basketball, duck duck goose or blowing bubbles. All of our students really showed their amazing abilities to interact and engage with others here in Cambodia. It was obvious that the school was in need of help financially and our group discussed finding ways to connect with them once we are back in Calgary.
After our school tour we visited our first local market where the students had an opportunity to work on their battering skills! They founds lots of treasures to bring back home. After shopping we went back to the hotel for a little down time before supper.On this first day, we have all experienced true culture shock with many of us in absolute awe over how there are no rules on the roads and just how hot it is! The jet lag, heat,humidity and exhaustion hit us hard at this point, with many of us unable to keep our eyes open. During dinner, all of the students asked if they could go straight to bed! Everyone was tucked into their beds ready to sleep by 8:30pm! I know you parents are probably finding that hard to believe!
Today we woke early with everyone agreeing that they had a fantastic sleep. We headed out for a busy day touring around Phnom Pehn. We started with the Royal Palace, the official home of the Cambodian King. The students loved the architecture and took many pictures. We headed from there to the National Museum learned a great deal about Buddhism and Hinduism.
After a lunch at a local Cambodian restaurant our day took a more somber tone as we headed to the Toul Sleng Museum (S-21), the Khmer Rouge torture prison. We were all overwhelmed by the silence of this place, the pain and suffering of the people is still so real that you can't help but feel it. Many of us felt our emotions get the better of us when hearing the stories of the thousands of people that suffered and died during this genocide. We all found it especially difficult to see the pictures of young children that were murdered. From here we went to the Killing Fields were our images of those murdered were made real by the mass graves. Words cannot express how you feel in a place were so many were murdered. We all paid our respects to the lives lost with offering of flowers and incense at the monument that was erected in their honour.
For the last few hours we have all be decompressing, writing in our travel journals, trying to put to words the overwhelming experiences we have already had. We all had a lot of fun by the pool, and all the trip staff cannot stop commenting on what a terrific group of students we are travelling with. We feel really lucky to get to share this with such terrific people. So, thank-you parents for lending your children to us for these two weeks. They are fantastic!
Soon we are off to restaurant for dinner and entertainment. It is hard to believe we have only been in Phnom Pehn 2 days as we have truly experienced a life time worth in such a short time.
I apologize to you all as I feel my words cannot truly express all we have seen!
We will post soon...
Cheers!
Laurel Beaton
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Cambodian Riel Converter