First of all, I just wanted to let everyone know that I am still alive, and somewhere on a tropical island on the coast of Thailand (Koh Tao) doing an open water diving course at Seashell Resort on Sairee Beach. Secondly, I wanted to let everyone know that I am coming home around Thanksgiving (I still have yet to book my flight). Thirdly, I am heading to Mumbai, India on September 30th from Bangkok.
Even though it has been nearly two weeks since I was in Cambodia, the country still lingers in my mind. I think the disparities between the two contrasting classes is stark and confusing. The people are very addictive and the history is quite troubled. I can't help but think about all the friends I made at the school in the countryside or the children I befriended in Siem Reap, even when I didn't buy anything from them.
Thailand is surprisingly expensive and I had the most visa issues here. I have managed now to extend my visa so that I have three weeks instead of the two you get when you cross overland. (I am convinced that there is an airline-lobbying-conspiracy that influences the government's visa issuing structure. The law seemed to change when the awful stretch of road between Siem Reap and Bangkok was finally redone, handy huh?).
I have managed to spend a couple head-spinning and hectic days in Bangkok and then made my way down to Krabi on the southwestern side of the peninsula. Krabi is one of the best locations in the world for rock climbing, and naturally I felt the urge to climb 40 meters up. Alfonso and I signed up for a course over three days, two days then a day break and then the final day. The rocks are perfect to climb, limestone with some smooth to small hand grips overlooking white beaches, lush islands and miles of turquoise blue ocean. We both learned to lead, abseil, and just in general improve our ability to climb. My arms were sore the first day and by the last day, I felt it in my legs more as I remembered to steady my weight on my legs and use my hands just for balance. Krabi was our last stop traveling together, Alfonso was heading back to Bangkok from Krabi and then home, and I made my way to Koh Samui.
Random tip: In Thailand, there are people who sleep under the bus with the bags, they go through every one's stuff even if you have locks on it. I am pretty sure that they have lock picking kits or something like that. Don't trust to leave anything valuable. They surely won't steal clothes, but electronics, money, etc. This was the first time I had anything like this happen the whole time I have been traveling, but nothing was taken, just moved a lot around in my bag.
I met a big group of people on my way to Koh Samui, so I was not alone for long and after spending a couple days in the over touristy island I was ready for a change of scene. I skipped Phuket (too much in every sense of the phrase) and headed to Koh Tao to do some scuba diving. I have been planning on doing scuba diving here (still here now) for the last 3 months. I have already completed my first 4 dives and open water certification through PADI. I am going to do the advanced course and will go down to 30 meters.
I am getting ready to fly to Mumbai on September 30th and getting excited thinking about home coming up soon. I hope everyone has not forgotten about me yet :). I wish everyone a wonderful autumn. More updates soon :).
Showing posts with label Cambodia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cambodia. Show all posts
Monday, September 21, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Takeo Province, Phnom Pehn - Cambodia
There are still remnants of the Khmer Rouge genocide everywhere. Pol Pot, the leader of the massacre, only died in 1998 while in exile. After a very very slow boat from Chau Doc on the Vietnamese side of the Mekong Delta, we made it to Phnom Pehn.
Phnom Pehn is a city where you see hoards of tuk tuk drivers pushing through the lanes of Hummers and BMWs while children rummage through discarded waste on the roadside. The city has a deafening pulse from the motorbikes, food stalls, windy little streets and people trying to sell you everything. Most surprisingly of all, despite Cambodia's recent tragic history of the country, the people have such big smiles and a jovial sense of humor.
We managed to make our way to the National Museum, the S21 Prison museum, and the killing fields 14 km outside the city. We did all of this despite the fact that September is the rainiest month in Cambodia.
Besides the typical touristy things that someone does in Phnom Pehn we made our way to a little village in Takeo province to do some good ol' fashion teaching. At the Sorya School (http://www.sorya.org/index.php) established 8 years ago by a Cambodian-German to make a difference. We were not entirely sure if we were on the right bus heading into the countryside in Cambodia and exactly how we would get to the school, but we managed to get to the closest town and asked about the school. Of course the town knew which school that we were talking about. The impact of the school has been tremendous in the community. When we walked down the road, people were stopping us to demonstrate their English proficiency acquired at Sorya.
I met so many different students and heard some of their stories. Their stories were filled with sorrow, frustration and such an immense desire to change their situation, that I could not help but be captivated. One girl, Csreytouch a.k.a. Suzie, invited us over to her house during the lunch break to meet her family and see her home. As we ate a coconut that she picked from the 15 meter tall tree, we met her family and heard her horror stories of working in textile factories. She made only $50 a month and worked some 70 hours (all while standing) with little ability to save any for her family. She has very simple dreams, but almost no ability to achieve even the smallest of them.
The organization has helped the village make a great deal of progress with regards to access to clean drinking water, meeting dietary needs, education and helping the community build for the future. The organization has provided concrete rainwater collection barrels for each of the village's homes. The school uses satellite Internet and is solar powered to really enhance the students' educations. The hardest part about the school was leaving, people were so kind and excited to have a conversation. They truly did not want us to go, even after such a short while we felt like we were a part of the community.
Appreciate every single spoonful of rice you eat. John, one of the students at Sorya, yelled to us on the road asking if we wanted to help with the rice. We were in a rush back to Sorya for the afternoon classes and told him no, but asked when they start in the morning. He laughed and said 7 am with the expectation that we were joking. He had a very large smile and his mother laughed when we showed up the next morning for work. There is a definite rhythm to picking rice without damaging the plant. The plants were only 2 months old and still in their seedbeds, we were helping pick them so they could be spread out over more fields to properly produce rice. This technique ensures a high gross and suitable quality. After two hours of perfecting my picking technique my legs were sore and my hands dyed from the purple residue on the plants, the rice farmer's tattoo. We headed back to Phnom Pehn, but I doubt I will forgetting the experience at Sorya any time soon.
Phnom Pehn is a city where you see hoards of tuk tuk drivers pushing through the lanes of Hummers and BMWs while children rummage through discarded waste on the roadside. The city has a deafening pulse from the motorbikes, food stalls, windy little streets and people trying to sell you everything. Most surprisingly of all, despite Cambodia's recent tragic history of the country, the people have such big smiles and a jovial sense of humor.
We managed to make our way to the National Museum, the S21 Prison museum, and the killing fields 14 km outside the city. We did all of this despite the fact that September is the rainiest month in Cambodia.
Besides the typical touristy things that someone does in Phnom Pehn we made our way to a little village in Takeo province to do some good ol' fashion teaching. At the Sorya School (http://www.sorya.org/index.php) established 8 years ago by a Cambodian-German to make a difference. We were not entirely sure if we were on the right bus heading into the countryside in Cambodia and exactly how we would get to the school, but we managed to get to the closest town and asked about the school. Of course the town knew which school that we were talking about. The impact of the school has been tremendous in the community. When we walked down the road, people were stopping us to demonstrate their English proficiency acquired at Sorya.
I met so many different students and heard some of their stories. Their stories were filled with sorrow, frustration and such an immense desire to change their situation, that I could not help but be captivated. One girl, Csreytouch a.k.a. Suzie, invited us over to her house during the lunch break to meet her family and see her home. As we ate a coconut that she picked from the 15 meter tall tree, we met her family and heard her horror stories of working in textile factories. She made only $50 a month and worked some 70 hours (all while standing) with little ability to save any for her family. She has very simple dreams, but almost no ability to achieve even the smallest of them.
The organization has helped the village make a great deal of progress with regards to access to clean drinking water, meeting dietary needs, education and helping the community build for the future. The organization has provided concrete rainwater collection barrels for each of the village's homes. The school uses satellite Internet and is solar powered to really enhance the students' educations. The hardest part about the school was leaving, people were so kind and excited to have a conversation. They truly did not want us to go, even after such a short while we felt like we were a part of the community.
Appreciate every single spoonful of rice you eat. John, one of the students at Sorya, yelled to us on the road asking if we wanted to help with the rice. We were in a rush back to Sorya for the afternoon classes and told him no, but asked when they start in the morning. He laughed and said 7 am with the expectation that we were joking. He had a very large smile and his mother laughed when we showed up the next morning for work. There is a definite rhythm to picking rice without damaging the plant. The plants were only 2 months old and still in their seedbeds, we were helping pick them so they could be spread out over more fields to properly produce rice. This technique ensures a high gross and suitable quality. After two hours of perfecting my picking technique my legs were sore and my hands dyed from the purple residue on the plants, the rice farmer's tattoo. We headed back to Phnom Pehn, but I doubt I will forgetting the experience at Sorya any time soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
