A reflection of Cambodia

When arriving back in the United States, the man at the Department of Homeland Security said, "Thailand and Cambodia? There are a lot of temples in Thailand and Cambodia!" That certainly is true! And I visited many of them. I had been to most of the temples we visited in Cambodia, but we visited some I hadn't been to. Kings of this area would build multiple temples, relatively close to each other. Sometimes I wondered why. The temples were built at a time of prosperity in Cambodia. It was the peak of their prosperity. After the attack of Thailand in the 12th century, Cambodia has never regained it's prosperity, and did not gain independence until 1993.

When visiting the temples this time, I was struck by the carvings on the outside wall. On the walls, there are carvings of daily life in Cambodia at that time. The temples I visited were built between the 9th and 12th century A.D. That is 1,000 years ago. The significance of these carvings to me is that the way they lived 1,000 years ago is pretty much they way they live today. Although development took place, probably for centuries, that development was lost due to the Khmer Rouge. Their history was essentially erased. The carvings showed people cooking meals over fires....95% of the population cooks over a fire today. The carvings showed people going to witch doctors for consultation in who they should marry......the people of Cambodia continue to attend the witch doctors today. The carvings showed people obtained their water from a well.....70% of the population continues to obtain their water that way. As long as I have been in Cambodia and as many times as I come back, their level of development never ceases to amaze me. While they do talk on cell phones and drive mopeds, and many have access to electricity, the lights and mirrors are still of very poor quality. A common person wouldn't not recognize a Cambodian house as habitable. Many can't afford soap or toothpaste. This never ceases to amaze me. The Cambodian nation is a very, very poor nation with very, very poor people that have very little. I asked a Cambodian how much money he made. $70 a month working 6 days a week. That's less than $1,000 a year, less than $3 a day. The orphanage I volunteered at served a little bit of rice and a little bit of meat for lunch. That is not much more than they ate during the Khmer Rouge, and people were starving to death. People starve to death still. That is why the orphanage is so full. It's incredible. And, sad!

Politics

Politics are everywhere! And, unfortunately, politics are alive and well in Cambodia! Maybe even more so there. Last year, one of the things I enjoyed the most is getting to know the tuk tuk drivers. I got to know some more than others. I rode with many of them, and gave each one a gift when I left.They remember this gift still. There were politics amongst them then, but I think I got around it because I was here so long. I was able to use many of them and they seemed ok with it. The way it normally works is you come to town for a few days. The hotel sends a tuk tuk driver to fetch you from the airport. This is a free service they provide. The tuk tuk driver drives you around the rest of the time you are here and you leave. I knew this, and wanted to use my favorite tuk tuk drivers, so I got a taxi instead. I didn't worry much about a particular driver when I got here, because I took a bike to the orphanage. But, in the evening, if I wanted to go out, I would use whoever was here. This one particular guy, Mr. Thai, was always here. I was familiar with him, so he drove us a couple times. So, the weekend comes and I want to go to the temple. This is a coveted job, because it is significantly more money (up to $30 per day). I wanted to arrange with my favorite driver from last year, Mr. Thet. It was his turn, so we were in luck. But, then Mr. Thai came up and said that since we rode with him, we are now committed to him. He has to drive us the rest of our stay. We cannot get another driver. I tried to reason with him and agreed to go with him one day and Mr. Thet the other day. He refused and said he wanted to take us every day. We cannot go with anyone else. So, I said I would just go with Mr. Thet every day, but he said I could not because I committed to him. I complained to the hotel, and they said I could go with who I want. I went back out there, and Mr. Thai continued to be adamant. The hotel worker came out, and after a heated discussion, we were told it is better to go to the market and use another driver. We cannot use any of the hotel drivers if we do not use Mr. Thai. Mr. Thet just stayed out of it. He doesn't want to ruffle any feathers. He emailed me later to say he is sorry, and that Mr. Thai has always been like this. All of the drivers are afraid of him and let him have his way. It is unfortunate, because he and the other drivers lost our business. Nobody benefits. Everyone loses.

Saying Goodbye!

Evening came, and it was time to say goodbye. I went back to the orphanage for the show. The girl I am sponsoring and other girls performed in the show tonight, and I told them I would come watch. I'm glad we did! They kept asking when we would be there again. Some didn't care that we wouldn't be back. But, others get attached. It's so sad, because these children have people come and go from their lives, but not very many people stay. Because of that, either they get attached to you reallly quickly, or they don't get attached at all. I wish I could provide some stability for them, or someone they could learn how to love and trust that they would always be there. But, I can't. I come and I go, just like everyone else! We had fun playing with the kids far too long after the show. Then, they all walked us out to our tuk tuk and were hanging on the tuk tuk, "Bye teacher! Thank you for teaching us!" It was hard not to cry! I told them I would send pictures, and then we drove away.

Taxi

In Cambodia, there really isn't a taxi service, so you just take a car. Our Saturday started out by going to the ACODO farm. They have a farm where they plan to plant food and have a fish pond to help provide food for the children. And, they need it! When I see how much they have to eat, I am surprised they are as healthy as they are! The farm has just been started, so they are just clearing the land. They have planted some banana trees. They put in a water tank, but still need a pump for it. They have made a fish pond. I hope they can develop they land so they get enough produce to benefit them. The farm was 1 1/2 hours from town. So, how did we get back you say? In Cambodia, it is quite normal to stand on the side of the road and flag a car to hitch a ride. We did not do this alone, and it was not our idea. It's just the way transportation is done in this country. The person that picked us up already had a full car. We just squashed in, and someone shared a seat with the driver. I managed to find a seat belt (a rare finding in Cambodia) and put it on. Safe and sound, I made it back to my hotel in one piece.

Bugs!

One Cambodian delicacy is bugs. Seriously. This surprises me, as Cambodians started eating bugs during the Khmer Rouge when they were starving to death, and that's all they had to eat. Now, they're considered a delicacy and are expensive. (This may gross you out) Sometimes, they cut open an animal to attract the bugs. We also see plastic bags attached to a stick in the fields. They put a light on the stick to attract them, and then they get stuck in the bag. So, you can imagine my predicament when the little orphan children served me a lunch that included meet in a sauce filled with bugs. Ants, bees, and something else with big wings. Gross. I told them it looked delicious, then carefully removed the bugs from the meat. Then, I filled up on rice (which may or may not have been much better) and offered any left over pieces of meet and bugs to the chickens and dogs running around beneath my feet. The meet (and sauce) had a surprisingly good flavor. I hope to have avoided any bugs in the process, but one can never be too sure. The things we experience!

Flooding

It is not flooding at my hotel. The same river runs by my hotel, and it is higher than last year, but not flooding. There are areas with lots of water in the street though. This is the end of the rainy season in Cambodia. Unfortunately, they don't have the money and are not developed enough to deal with something that has been happening for years. The orphanage is only 3 years old, but it has flooded every year for the last three years. And, it looks like the area has flooded every year for much longer than that. It is one of those times when you ask, why don't they do something about it? That would take money a resources that they really don't have. The orphanage is a bare bones facility, if that. Their standard of living would not be acceptable anywhere else in the world. It's really sad! And, the community as a whole is focused on other things. I'm not sure what, but they just don't have the finances or resources. The water has receded some in the road, but not in the orphanage! It is a lake!


I got my first ever Fish Massage. You literally put your feet in a tank of fish, and they eat the dead skin off your feet. Sounds gross. And, it actually is a little gross! It took some courage to put my feet inside. It actually felt pretty good once I got used to it.