Cambodia - In Hindsight

When I went to Cambodia on the 12th of January, I had no idea how much of a life changing experience it would be. My first time travelling overseas without my family, my first time being away from my parents for an extended amount of time, and my first time visiting a third world country. It had everything to make it a fantastic experience, but I was blown away by how much I actually gained by visiting such an impoverished, but beautiful, country.

I'll start with the friends I made: those who I volunteered with. Whenever someone is a volunteer, they're usually going to be at least an alright person. Not trying to blow my own trumpet here, but someone who is willing to spend a lot of their time and money helping others is probably friend material in my book. Everyone who volunteered together got on so well, and we all still keep in contact. Hopefully I meet my new friends again, even though we were from all corners of the globe - a lot from Australia, one from New Zealand, England, Scotland, Ireland, America...

It's funny how the experiences you can share with new people can make you feel like you've known them your whole life. Trying new foods, swimming in a huge waterfall and waking up at 4am to visit huge temples that are thousands of years old are such unique and special experiences that I will always share with those friends. Spending so much time with one of my best friends from home allowed me to see her in a different light, and has brought us even closer together. You can read about our experience travelling together here.

The teachers at New Hope were such beautiful people. They were incredibly welcoming to all the volunteers, even though they would be meeting new people every week. The teachers were so incredibly grateful for us coming to their school, just as we were grateful to them for opening their arms and hearts and allowing us to feel so at home, in a country that was just about as far as possible from anything we had experienced before. The children were also lovely, from the kindy kids to the adults we taught in the afternoon. They were very interested to hear about our lives at home, just as we were interested to hear about their lives. It's so funny how you can be living such a different life to someone, but still have so much in common: you hate maths? Me too! You prefer winter to summer? Same here. I like your top. Thanks, I like yours too! Some of the kids had weekend jobs too - selling bracelets that they had made at the temples, or helping their parents out at the markets.

Going to Phnom Penh was also an eye opening experience. In a way, Siem Reap is so much more protected than Phnom Penh, so it was a bit of a shock getting to the "big city". It was, however, seeing the Killing Fields and S21 prison that was the most staggering experience. We're taught so much about the Holocaust, which is obviously a terrible, horrific event, however I had no idea about the Cambodian genocide, in which over 2 million (or 1/4 of the then population) died as a direct result of the genocide. I found the experience so much more poignant because not only were a number of foreigners killed (including 2 Australians) but because the genocide was in the 1970s, and in a country quite close to home.

Travelling to Cambodia has made me want to see so much more of the world than I have already. I'm planning to visit more countries in South East Asia, however I will definitely return to New Hope - hopefully this time for much longer.

Going somewhere so different really opened my eyes to how fortunate I am to live the life I lead. My biggest worries are assignments, how I'm earning money for my next holiday, and whether or not Downton Abbey will finish the way I want it to. Yet the Khmer people appreciate what they have so much more, and seem happier with their lot in life. I think we need to learn to appreciate what we have, and be happy with the good things in our lives.

I couldn't recommend travelling to Cambodia, especially to the New Hope School, highly enough. It was such an incredible experience that I will treasure forever.

Have you had an experience travelling that changed your life?

Cambodia #4: Phnom Penh

After a wonderful night, Sarah and I hopped on the bus to Phnom Penh at around 8am on Saturday morning. We drove down with Giant Ibis, a bus company that I would thoroughly recommend. I think it cost us $16 each, including a tuk tuk pick up from our hotel, and a complimentary bottle of water and crossaint on the bus. While I wouldn't say it was the most comfortable trip ever (my back was killing me, Sarah wasn't feeling amazing), the bus was very clean. A quick note: although the busses may say they have wifi, they really don't...

After arriving in Phnom Penh, we checked into our hotel, the King Grand Boutique. At $54 a night for ($27 each!), this hotel was absolutely fantastic and I couldn't recommend it enough. It was located on a quiet street, however there were enough people (and friendly tuk tuk drivers) around that we didn't feel unsafe. The room had a double bed to share, a lovely view, and a very clean bathroom with great water pressure (the amount of hot water, not so much).

On the roof of the hotel was a huge pool which was absolutely beautiful. Phnom Penh is a real city, especially when compared to Siem Reap, and we sat on the pool chairs enjoying the view before heading out to dinner. The pool was being cleaned so no swimming, but it was nice to lie down after a 7 hour bus trip sitting up.

Me, looking absolutely thrilled at the food!

We headed out to dinner along Riverside, the river front (obviously) area of Phnom Penh. I can't remember exactly where we ate, but the food was amazing - we ordered a meal and a side each, as well as a huge chocolate milkshake. The sides were the size of normal meals already, so you can imagine how big the mains were.

After dinner, we headed out to the night markets. These weren't as touristy as the markets in Siem Reap, and as such, we didn't buy much. The clothes were what the locals would wear, so they weren't really our size at all. Sarah got a small wooden elephant, and I purchased a top for my friend. I attempted to barter for the top and was stopped in my tracks pretty quickly!

The next day, we woke up nice and early before enjoying breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. The buffet choice was very impressive, and it was lovely to sit next to the (other) pool while we discussed the day ahead. We hopped into a tuk tuk and headed out to the Killing Fields. This was a very sombre trip, as the Khmer Rouge is still very much an event that occurred in modern history. I would really recommend visiting the Killing Fields - it is hard to gain appreciation for an event as horrible as the Khmer Rouge until you have visited a site such as this.

We took the audio tour around the Killing Fields. 

Bracelets are placed in many locations around the Killing Fields. We thought it was a sign of respect.

After the Killing Fields, we headed into the Russian markets for a spot of shopping (trust us). I picked up a bag, as well as a little elephant for myself. Sarah purchased a wooden motorcycle - she looked at it, asked the price, and then walked away: the merchant straight away offered it at less than half the price! The lady also gifted us each a tiny jewellery box and wished us all the best. It was yet another experience as to how lovely the Khmer people are.

We also had lunch around the markets, at an NGO restaurant. I can't remember what we ate, but I do remember the giant chocolate milkshakes (sensing a theme here?) We then went to the S21 Prison, otherwise known as the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. This was much more sombre than the Killing Fields, and I personally found it quite upsetting to see the violence that occurred at what used to be a high school. I think it's very important to visit this site, however just be aware that it is very confronting. We bumped into some of our friends from New Hope here and arranged to see them the next morning for breakfast.

The front of our hotel

Following this, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the evening. It was Australia Day, so we headed to the Foreign Correspondents Club to meet with Tom and Jane, some of our other friends from New Hope. We enjoyed happy hour cocktails, before heading out to another restaurant a street back from the main strip, for noodles that we watched the chef make by hand. Not making just the toppings, but the actual noodles. Pretty cool!

Our noodle man!

More chocolate milkshakes...

The next day we had breakfast with some friends at our hotel, and then headed to the central markets (absolutely massive!) before having lunch at a little restaurant a few streets back from the main strip. After a lunch of noodles, we headed to Blue Pumpkin, for (another) chocolate milkshake each, and some cake. I was basically falling asleep at the table - the last few days had been pretty full on! We then headed back to the hotel, and jumped in a taxi to the airport - Singapore, here we come!

Some tips for Phnom Penh
1. Be careful at night as we had a very scary experience when someone tried to pull Sarah's bag off her shoulder. We were in a group of 4, she had her bag slung over her shoulders like we had been taught, but a few men drove past very quickly on motorcycles and tried to break the strap by pulling it very hard. Sarah went flying, and was very lucky to only get a graze and bruises. I was more upset than she was, but it definitely shook us both up! I would recommend not carrying a bag at night, and instead using pockets. We did have a lovely tuk tuk driver take us home after this though, who helped us both out and gave us a big hug as he delivered us to our hotel!

2. Sort out your rate with tuk tuk drivers before getting in their tuk tuk. If you have agreed on a set price, they will stick to this, however if you don't do this before you reach your destination, you may be ripped off. We had one tuk tuk driver with us for the whole day, who waited for us while we went to the Killing Fields, took us around town, and was very friendly. We paid $25 for the whole day.

3. Make sure you know the exact location of your hotel as some hotel chains have more than one hotel in the city.

Enjoy your travels!

Cambodia #3: Siem Reap, Week 2

Hi everyone

After an adventurous weekend (read about it here), we returned back to New Hope for our last week of school. I think our feelings were bittersweet - it was sad to see the old volunteers go (and know that we only had a week left), but so happy that we felt more at home in Siem Reap. It was great to meet the three new volunteers as well.

Over the week, we ate at Father's Restaurant again, as well as heading out to tapas once more, Viva for Mexican food, and trying some street food. On the Tuesday, we headed out to the temples once more which was a great way to spend our lunch break. We got to have a good look around at our own pace (not that we were rushed when we were with the others, but we knew that we'd seen the main temples and could cross them off our to do list, so we looked at some of the smaller ones).

On the Thursday, we took the day off school to visit a floating village. In the morning, we rode into town for foot scrubs and pedicures at Master Feet (just off Pub Street) and they were absolutely incredible. My feet felt so soft after and it was really relaxing having a lie back and a good old gossip after the hectic week and a half in Siem Reap. After our spa sesh, Sarah and I headed to the markets for some fruit, before heading back to Golden Village where we tried dragonfruit (bit of a let down - not much flavour!) and two other kinds of Cambodian fruit. I can't remember their names, but they were lovely. Be adventurous with the fruits in the markets - they are very cheap and also very sweet.

In the afternoon, we headed out to the floating village Kompong Phluk. It was very interesting to see such a different lifestyle. Although I'd seen photographs of similar places, actually seeing a town on stilts and another made fully out of boats was so fascinating in person. We had been warned against visiting floating villages due to scams that often operate within them, as well as the village being very touristy, however this village was fantastic and I would highly recommend a trip out there. Our little boat was very old and rusty however we felt very safe. Our guide was knowledgable and informative so it made for a great afternoon.

When we made it back to Golden Village, we had about ten minutes to change before a group of us headed out to see the circus. We grabbed food from a street vendor on the way and then rode to the circus, which is situated behind the museum on the main road to Angkor Wat. Although it was an impulsive decision, we were both so glad that we went because the skills were fantastic. The best $15 I have spent in a long time. I would describe it as Cirque du Solei but with a funny twist. It included skipping with a flaming rope, massive flips and spins and a message about including those around you.

The actual circus company was an NGO, or non-governmental organisation, like New Hope. The company was called Phare and provides training to children in a circus school (they actually exist!) called Phare Ponleu Selpak. It was formed by an art teacher and some of his students after the Khmer Rouge, and encourages young people to "learn, express and heal themselves through the arts." Read more about PPS here.

We were farewelled from the school absolutely beautifully, with a song from some of the older students as well as lots of hugs and letters from the younger ones. It was quite emotional however I know that we will be back.

Our final night out was absolutely fantastic, a huge party at Temple Bar and Angkor Wat. It was such a great end to a fantastic two weeks. Next stop, Phnom Penh!

Tips for Siem Reap

1. Book your bus tickets in advance if you plan to go to Phnom Penh. We managed to get the last two seats on the bus by booking the day before and apparently we were very lucky.

2. Shop around for tours as you can easily get duped. Ask where you are staying if they organise tours as they may be able to get you a better price, but also be aware that they may be asking for a much higher price than other companies. Our $25 trip to Kulen Mountain was advertised in a travel agent for $95.

3. Always know where you are going as on our final night in Siem Reap, the tuk tuk driver started driving in a completely different direction to where we were staying. He started going the way we were telling him after we threatened to get out, and while I don't think he had malicious intentions, we could have got very lost!

Laura xx