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

Travelling With Friends

Hi everyone

As I wrote in this post, I recently returned home from Cambodia, a trip I took with one of my good friends, Sarah. I thought it would be interesting to write a post regarding travelling with friends, in case it's something any of you have thought about.

Pick your travel buddy


It's so important to pick who you want to travel with! Chances are, if what you want from the trip is too different - she wants 2 weeks in a five star hotel in New York, you're more the 3 weeks trekking through Sri Lanka kind of person - the trip won't even get off the ground. However, there are some other points that you really need to consider. If you love to go out and party, but your friend is more the stay at home kind of girl, one of you is going to end up a bit displeased when it comes to nightlife. If you're on a tour, or with a group of people, chances are you'll both be able to do what you want, however if it is just the two of you heading on a holiday, you might want to think about what you really want to get out of your time away, and if it's something you can still experience with your chosen companion.

Set some ground rules


Although no one wants to be the person to come out and demand rules, sometimes a bit of order makes travelling with other people a whole lot easier. Sarah and I didn't do this, and I don't think it's a must when you're travelling with just one other person, but if there's a group of you heading away, some dos and don'ts might make your holiday be a whole lot smoother. Some ideas are do your own dishes (if you're staying in something like a serviced apartment), no bringing other people back to the room, keeping your stuff tidy, and not hogging the bathroom when everyone is trying to get ready!


Compromise!


Like with most things friends related, compromise is so important when it comes to travelling with your buddies. On one night out on the town, I was happy to leave at 1, whereas Sarah had about another hour left in her. Solution? We headed home at 1:30, leaving both of us happy (albeit a bit sleepy the next day! Bed time for both of us is usually around the 10pm mark…)

Another really important thing to compromise on is of the "what to do/ see" variety. Sarah really wanted to go and see Kulen mountain, something I didn't really care that much about, while I really wanted to go and see a floating village, something Sarah wasn't too enthusiastic about. However, we both went along to do what the other wanted to do, and wow, am I glad I went to see Kulen Mountain! Sarah also really enjoyed the floating village.

…but don't compromise too much.


Remember, a holiday is a very expensive experience, and you need to make sure that you get what you want out of it as well. Don't fall into the trap of agreeing with everything your friend wants you to do - you'll end up resenting them and come home disappointed that you didn't get to see everything you were hoping to.

Alone time


Even if you're travelling with your closest friend, alone time is so important. Travelling is full of amazing experiences to share with someone, however after 12 hours walking around with only 5 hours of sleep the night before, everyone can be a bit snappy and in need of some chilled out time. I think this was how Sarah and I managed to get on so well throughout the entire trip. Every evening, we'd sit on our beds for a few hours before bed time, reading, writing or Facebooking. Although we were still in the same room, some quiet time gave us the chance to recharge our batteries and meant that we didn't get snappy with each other.

Talk it out


If all else fails and you do have a bit of an argument with your friend, give each other some time to cool off and then talk it out. Sarah and I had one misunderstanding the whole trip, but once we discussed it, it was back to smooth sailing. When you're away from home, sleep deprived, and possibly suffering from a bit of culture shock, everyone can get a bit antsy. There's no point in wasting your trip being grumpy with your companion, so, if problems arise, discuss it, learn from it, and then move on.

And…from the point of view of my travel buddy


I asked Sarah and she was kind enough to write a little from her point of view about travelling with friends, after our holiday together.

"I have always been someone who wants to travel. I have a travel bucket list pages and pages long. I read books on travel and the first thing I look at in the newspaper is the travel section. My trip with Laura to Cambodia was the first time I had travelled either without my parents or not on a school trip. It was the first piece of the jigsaw puzzle that makes up the world map, the first tick on my bucket list. So here’s what I’ve learnt so far:

Have a wish list

The best way to ensure you have a great time is to get together with your travel buddy and make a wish list. A list of attractions you want to see, things you want to do or even foods you want to try. This will ensure you get the most out of your holiday and also that you know what your travel buddy wants to do as well.

Expect to have a bit of culture shock

I think when we landed in Siem Reap we had a quite overwhelming feeling of, “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore,” or perhaps more fitting, “Laura, where the hell are we?” We were extremely lucky to have a bunch of fellow volunteers take us out for dinner on the first night otherwise I’m pretty sure we would’ve locked ourselves in the hotel room, with quite a contingent of mosquitoes for company. It seemed as if the other volunteers had been in the country for months, let alone the single week most of them actually had. We learnt very quickly to relax and go with the flow. There’s no use stressing about the fact the bathroom floods every time you have a shower, that you can’t flush the toilet paper or the fact that there appears to be no road rules.

Don’t forget your pleases and thank yous…

I think this is the key whenever you’re travelling. Laura and I made sure we knew how to say thank you in Khmer within the first few hours of being in the country. The locals always had a big smile for us every time we said ‘Orgkun’; although perhaps we had some issues with our pronunciation.  I think being polite goes a huge way in travelling from help with directions, maybe a slight discount in the market or even just meeting the locals. This was made particularly clear to us whilst waiting in the bank to get cash out when a British man stormed in and shouted something about his travellers cheques not working. Both Laura and I were very embarrassed to be classed as a ‘foreigner’ along with this man and we knew that this was not the bank’s fault at all. 


…or your sorries 

Another thing is to say sorry. This is mainly for between you and your travel buddy. For example, “Sorry I used all the hot water for my shower” or “Sorry, I was certain we were meant to turn back there but we do appear to be lost”. Although I think my personal favourite was whilst riding our bikes home from school one day and we took the back roads past a temple and a group of monks. Laura had a big smile from under her bright white bike helmet and shouted, “hello,” across to them. They looked blankly back at us. So as we are riding away Laura quietly says, “Sorry,” and then suggests that maybe they were having a silent time or something. I’m beginning to think that maybe they were trying not to laugh about the helmet…




Sleep! 

I usually sleep a lot at home, I’m typically in bed by 9:30 and sleep for 8 or 9 hours each night. I know it’s easy to forgo sleep to try and pack as much in to your holiday but it’s not worth being grumpy and looking awful in all your photos. Laura and I had a couple of nights where we said we would sleep in and not worry about what time we were getting up. One of those nights was in Singapore and we both slept for 11 hours straight. And it did set us up well for a good day of shopping.

I cannot really express how amazing my experience was. I got to see what it is like living in a third world country, teach kids English, swim in a waterfall, climb up ancient temples, ride in a tuk tuk, face the hectic traffic on a bicycle, meet some amazing people, experience the terrible history of Cambodia, meet the locals and fall in love with a country. All of this I got to share with one of my best friends and this is something we will share for life."

Also, a little bit of shameless self promotion - follow me on bloglovin!
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I hope you enjoyed our post!

Laura xx

Cambodia #2: Siem Reap, Weekend

Hi everyone

Just a side note before I start - some of these photos are of pretty average quality because I was using the good old iPhone 4S camera in low lighting - sorry! Most of them are from an actual point and shoot camera, so hopefully they make up for it.

Our one weekend in Siem Reap was incredibly eventful! This weekend, we jammed in everything that we wanted to do that would take the whole day, as during the week we were teaching. We started off with a bang, heading out to Temple Bar and Angkor What? to farewell some of our fellow volunteers. Temple Bar does great food, and at 7:30 every night there is a show of the traditional Khmer dancing - it pays to get there on time so you can get good seats! We danced the night away at both locations. A note on drinking in other countries - it's so important to be careful with what you consume! Angkor What? and Temple Bar are both very touristy though, but ask people who have been there before if they were okay afterwards just in case.

We stopped off for a quick fish foot massage during the night - would not recommend it at all! A very weird experience and I couldn't keep my feet in for long. Some of our friends who were in Cambodia at the same time as us said their tour guide had advised against it - apparently there is a risk of catching diseases but we were okay after ours. Jade, our friend who we headed to the fish massage with, really seemed to enjoy it, but I think all three of us found it a bit weird!

On Saturday, we headed up to Kulen Mountain, a beautiful mountain in a huge national park. The mini bus ride took about 2 hours, with everyone napping after a late night before. At the mountain, we went to see the reclining Buddah, the 1000 Lingas, (I'll leave you to discover what that means!) and swam in a beautiful waterfall. We also saw a temple, and a fresh spring which some of the local children washed our arms in.

Swimming in the waterfall was probably a top 3 moment of my life so far. It was absolutely freezing, but seriously such a memorable experience. Splashing around with some people you've known for a week but now consider fantastic friends, as well as with one of your best friends from home; fish nibbling at your toes; all while a huge waterfall dumps litres of water near you: a pretty incredible afternoon. For dinner that night, we ate at our guesthouse, before Sarah and I headed out to the night markets for a spot of shopping and a foot massage! We also visited Blue Pumpkin for some ice cream - yum!

On the Sunday, we woke up at 4:30am and headed out to a day at Angkor, where the temples, including the famous Angkor Wat, are. We saw the sunrise over Angkor Wat which was a pretty amazing experience. So many tourists but if you get there early enough, you should be able to get a decent enough spot to take photos. We also visited Bayon, Ta Prohm, and Angkor Thom. All absolutely beautiful temples, my favourite being Ta Prohm - the jungle temple that Tomb Raider was famously filmed at.

In the afternoon, we met up with some of our friends from home, and had a wonderful time with them at Blue Pumpkin (fantastic ice cream shop near Pub Street) as well as the Old Markets.

That evening, we headed out to town for a lovely dinner at Father's Restaurant with some of the other volunteers - fantastic food and great company (including the lovely waiter who practised his great English with us). I ate the macaroni cheese (I missed mum's cooking a bit!) and it was fantastic, although there was a great choice of other Western and local dishes.

Tips:

1. Bring a jacket if you are going to the sunrise at the temples. We didn't, and boy did we regret this! It was freezing cold, especially on the tuk tuks.

2. Avoid Angkor Wat straight after the sunrise, and instead head to some of the smaller, lesser known temples. This way, you get them mostly to yourself, while avoiding all of the tourist groups.

3. Bring food with you to the temples as the restaurants at Angkor are expensive, as well as few and far between. Plus, that way you don't need to stop your temple adventures - crack open some M&Ms and Pringles on the tuk tuk and you'll be good to go.

4. Beware: one way roads! We didn't realise that we were heading down a one way street until we noticed the funny looks and everyone heading in the opposite direction to us…we did the "push of shame" of our bikes down the street until a roundabout, where the road changed into a two directional path.

Thanks for reading!

Laura