The Splendor of Angkor

Siem Reap, the town I will be volunteering in for the next six weeks, is most known for the temples of Angkor Wat. I have spent the last two days exploring them and I only got to about five (and there are... well, a lot more than five). I had no idea how massive this group of temples was! Apart from the lack of signs pointing you in the right direction, too many tourists wearing completely inappropriate clothing and humidity that just wouldn't quit, it felt really special to be in such an ancient and sacred place.

Angkor Wat

Bayon

Sunset at Phnom Bakheng

Ta Prohm

Kids jumping into the lake in front of Angkor Wat

Monkeys at Angkor Wat

Smiles Among the Horror

As most people know, Cambodia has an incredibly tragic history. From 1975-1979 the country was ruled by the Khmer Rouge, a regime that attempted to create an agrarian-based, self-reliant and Communist society. "Enemies" of the Party (professionals, intellectuals and even people who wore glasses as this indicated that they were literate) were tortured and/or killed in the most horrific ways imaginable. One of the regime's main mottos was "To keep you is no benefit. To destroy you is no loss." An estimated 2 million Cambodian people died under the Khmer Rouge, and it is generally considered to be a genocide.

One of the mass graves at The Killing Fields

While I was in Phnom Penh I was able to visit two sites that are linked to this dark era: The Tuol Sleng Prison (also known as S21) which is an old high school that served as a torture center, and The Killing Fields, where trucks full of people would be dropped off and executed shortly thereafter.

Remnants of the victims

Both places were incredibly haunting: I saw mass graves of children, farming tools used as murder weapons, articles of victim's clothing and more skulls, bones and teeth than almost seemed possible.

Rows and rows of tiny cells at the Tuol Sleng Prison

 Considering the terrible events this country suffered through not even 40 years ago, I'm constantly amazed by the kindness of its people. Kids constantly greet me with an enthusiastic "hello!", adults have welcomed me to wander around the pagodas where they worship... tonight an old lady actually cupped my chin and just smiled for a moment, as if to pay me some kind of compliment. Their history is stained with horrors I can't even fully wrap my head around and yet, somehow, they manage to smile.

Be Invited In For A Meal, Check!

One thing on my Wanderlist that I was really hoping to do on this trip was be invited in for a meal with locals. Well, this evening it happened! I was strolling along a dirt road not too far from my guesthouse and I passed a yard filled with a large family. "Hey", they shouted, "You like beer?" For anyone that doesn't know, I do like beer, so I went in with the intention of just saying hello. I ended up staying for about two hours drinking beer, eating chicken (it would have been rude to refuse!), rice, boiled banana peels, some kind of delicious lemon poppyseed sauce and chatting with some very lovely Cambodian people. I was told that this is a meal they only eat on Sundays and special occasions (it's a Buddhist holiday right now in Cambodia) so I felt pretty lucky that they welcomed me in!

Although the "setting" was pretty different (dirt floors, pieces of wood for seats and chickens meandering near my feet) it really didn't seem that different from a family gathering we would have at home. It was comforting somehow, knowing that people halfway around the world do the same thing we do back in Canada. I am falling more and more in love with this country everyday!

When I Look Out the Window

I see the Mekong River, source of life, lined with houses perched on rickety wooden stilts,
A landscape covered with lush green flora, and
People lounging sleepily in hammocks.
Pagodas standing tall and proud, blazing with hues of red and gold,

Wandering cows, chickens and water buffalo alike,
Playing children who stop and stare, responding to my gaze with beautiful smiles, and
A hazy sky, the same one seen by people all over the world.

A Tuk-Tuk Love Story

On our first full day in Phnom Penh, Zuzana (a fellow volunteer) and I woke up ready to see the city. As soon as we stepped outside our hotel we were approached by several men asking if we needed a tuk-tuk, which for anyone who doesn't know is basically a motorized rickshaw. We decided to go with the man that asked us first, and this is how we met Wan.

Now Zuzana and I weren't planning into getting involved in anything serious. We had just arrived after all, and we wanted to keep our options open. But it wasn't long before we realized that riding in Wan's tuk-tuk was going to be more than just a one-time thing. 

It started out pretty casually. We asked him if he could take us to the airport (to get extensions on our visas) and he did. He turned out to be so lovely that we asked if he wouldn't mind driving us around the rest of the day and he happily agreed. We were thrilled when at the end of that first day he asked if he could be our driver for the rest of our stay.

Wan really was like our boyfriend for the week. He gave us his number so we could call him to come pick us up, and he was always on time to meet us. When we would leave a museum or restaurant and start walking towards where Wan would be waiting for us, we had lots of other tuk-tuk offers to which we would reply "sorry, we're already with someone." We even took him out for dinner on our last night!

Over the course of the week we realized how much our steady business meant to Wan. He's married with one son and another on the way, and he is the sole provider for his family. He told us that his wife used to work in a factory but that he encouraged her to quit because it was difficult and dangerous work. Because they only have one income they rent a small apartment, but he hopes to one day be able to purchase a house. He seemed so grateful to us but we were just as grateful to him, because he knew the city like the back of his hand and he could not have been more nice, patient or helpful.

As we leave for Siem Reap tomorrow we are most definitely going to miss Wan. But if we're ever in Phnom Penh again, we know exactly who our tuk-tuk driver will be.

Zuzana, Wan and I

Love At First Sight

I've only been in Phnom Penh (the capital of Cambodia) for a day but I'm completely head over heels.