Cambodia/Vietnam 2012 – part 1 – the journey and Phnom Penh
Greetings
from Preah Vihear – northern province of Cambodia, about 40-50km from the Thai
& Laos borders. Time to report on phase 1 of our adventure.
Our trip to
Phnom Penh was relatively uneventful with good flights, but our overnight stay
in Singapore at the hotel inside the airport was somewhat less than pleasant
due to some very inconsiderate noisemakers who seemed oblivious to the fact
that “normal” people might be trying to sleep between 2am and 6am… that IS why
people book into the transit hotel….
Day 1 &
2 served to prove just how small the world is. We had known for sometime that a
woman we knew from South Australia was going to Cambodia on the same day as us
as part of a team of teachers going on a study tour. Turned out they were all
Lutherans too, so together with our team we had quite a representation on that
plane to Phnom Penh. On arrival we discovered they were also staying at the
same hotel as us!! A simple comment on Facebook soon revealed that I had a
“connection” with a couple of others and in conversation when I told someone my
name, another voice popped up and said “You’re Sally’s Mum!” Unbelievable – so
far from home… what are the chances!!!
As this was
our third visit to Phnom Penh, we didn’t need to do too much of the usual
tourist things, but did choose to revisit the S21 Museum to remind ourselves of
the tragic history of this nation - the horrors of the Pol Pot/Khmer Rouge era
and the long road to recovery.
We wandered
the streets a little taking in the sights, sounds and smells…. Still totally
amazed and amused by what we see, even though we’ve seen most of it before. The
traffic is unbelievable, there seems to be this amazing understanding and
anticipation of what other drivers are about to do. But when you are zipping
along in a tuk-tuk feeling quite exposed, as traffic seems to be coming at you
from all directions, you can only hang on and pray!
Some of you
may remember in 2009 we came to Cambodia with Habitat For Humanity and helped
with a building project which was relocating people who were living in and
around the city rubbish dump. I was keen to revisit the site and the family we
built for so had managed to arrange this via email with the local Habitat
office. As they had booked a 15 seater van, the whole of our team decided to
come along for the ride. Our guide for the morning, one of the Habitat staff,
filled us in on what has happened since 2009 – the establishment of a small
farm for some of the people to work on, and additional housing built nearby.
Sadly however we learned that of the 21 houses built when we were there, only 7
are now occupied. Despite the best intentions the relocation did not work out
for many for various reasons.
However for
us, it was a wonderful moment to be able to see the 70+ year old couple who we
had worked alongside to build their home. They were very happy to see us… Mr
Hout just smiled a lot, and Mrs Hout reached out and took my hand and didn’t
want to let go… almost like she couldn’t believe that it was real. They have
built a chicken run out the back of their house, and with some trees planted
the place looked homely compared to the brick shell when we left. And by the
way the house is still standing as solid as the day we put it up… so our brick
laying must have been OK!
Today we
travelled the 5 hour journey to Preah Vihear – again being totally amazed by
the “driving skills” of the locals as the negotiate and overtake other vehicles
…. and cows…..
The road has
been greatly improved since we were here in 2008, making the trip much better
and quicker.
We received
and enthusiastic greeting from the girls at the hostel and look forward to the
next 6 days here with them, so I’ll update you at the end of phase 2!
