Tuesday 24 July 2012
Monday 23 July 2012
Sunday 22 July 2012
Lynne's take in the trip to Cambodia
As a group of 15 individuals, we all said our farewells to parents and loved ones on a cold Thursday night. Little did we know that our adventure to Cambodia was going to begin with a screech of tyres, a long night at Perth airport, a day at a Burswood hotel and the cancellation of our planned Friday activities in Phnom Penh. At this point I have to say the assistance rendered by the staff at Travel Hotspot in Northbridge was nothing short of outstanding. It was only due to their constant phone calls we were kept informed of the developments at the airport, and it was they who ensured we all had a decent lunch. A call or letter of thanks is certainly warranted. Other people on our flight did NOT receive information nor lunch and were quite disgruntled (and hungry) by 8pm Friday night. Any way we finally boarded and arrived 25 hours late in Phnom Penh. Our itinerary was modified to accommodate our shortened time in PP. This was now the new beginning of our adventure...
We completed 1.5 days in PP before going to Takeo...which ever person thought they would get out of this trip without regular history lessons was sadly deluded...really why would they think that, with me around?? I think it would be safe to say everyone now knows a great deal about the Khmer Rouge and the genocide perpetrated upon the people in the 1970s.....as well as the Ancient Khmer kings, slavery, mythology, Hinduism and Buddhism..
Many things our group did or saw were confronting, all we're meaningful and hopefully most were thought provoking. Our team members are returning home with a different view and vision of the plight of so many people in the world, in particular in Cambodia.
The atrocities of the Khmer Rouge for some came home in a personal sense only yesterday, when the older NFO kids opened up to tell stories of their own parents and their involvement or conflict with the Khmer Rouge. After becoming so close to these kids over the last two weeks the reality of war became exactly that - real and personal. This development was after our visit to the Landmine Museum just out of Siem Reap. Realising that Cambodia is third in the world for deaths from landmines and seeing the impact on children and adults alike is very confronting, and this is the daily life of so many Cambodians.
Our visit to Siem Reap was the final chapter to our trip. We took 10 NFO Orphanage kids to SR for a four day holiday. They, like many other Cambodians had never been to SR to see Angkor Wat, despite the fact that Angkor Wat is on their national flag and the most important cultural point in their country. It is simply too expensive for Cambodians to travel there. We visited many temples - but only a small handful of what is available to view. They are all mesmerizing in their own way. We had many lessons - personal, historical, economic, geographic and emotional. Then this morning the NFO kids had to return to Takeo on our chartered minibus. They will be home by 7pm today, but the first hour was probably a very solemn ride. There were many tears on both sides of the cultural divide when they were leaving. Not one dry eye was maintained.
(I would like to add here, trying to co- ordinate a party of 31 is EXTREMELY hard).
Our main port of call - NFO orphanage in Takeo - now seems so long ago as we have been so very busy - day and night. Mt Lawley should be proud of our kids who went there. They had certain jobs to do, however other jobs took priority. Another group had taken off all the cladding from a major building, which included the NFO classrooms and the personal room of the security guard - Sow. The interior of the building was exposed to the monsoonal downpours which begin about 3pm - daily.... then the group left, much to the disgruntlement of others. Our kids saw the need to fix it immediately to protect the rooms. They worked like Trojans for two days, in teamwork and got it done. This meant some of our activities were shelved ( like teaching the kids Aussie rules football!... Nat and Mark the balls are still there!). DIY renovations, measuring, sawing, loading, hammering, ordering more wood etc...are all now part of the skills repertoire of our Lawley kids.....maybe we should hire outlives out...? There were many fun moments which I am sure everyone will hear about from our kids. Many of these will be displayed in a photo gallery by the end of the week.
We are returning exhausted - physically and perhaps emotionally for some. But we know we achieved a lot. All members of the team are returning home a more worldly person, certainly with a greater understanding of those with a whole lot less than us.
Lynne- Sent from my iPad
We completed 1.5 days in PP before going to Takeo...which ever person thought they would get out of this trip without regular history lessons was sadly deluded...really why would they think that, with me around?? I think it would be safe to say everyone now knows a great deal about the Khmer Rouge and the genocide perpetrated upon the people in the 1970s.....as well as the Ancient Khmer kings, slavery, mythology, Hinduism and Buddhism..
Many things our group did or saw were confronting, all we're meaningful and hopefully most were thought provoking. Our team members are returning home with a different view and vision of the plight of so many people in the world, in particular in Cambodia.
The atrocities of the Khmer Rouge for some came home in a personal sense only yesterday, when the older NFO kids opened up to tell stories of their own parents and their involvement or conflict with the Khmer Rouge. After becoming so close to these kids over the last two weeks the reality of war became exactly that - real and personal. This development was after our visit to the Landmine Museum just out of Siem Reap. Realising that Cambodia is third in the world for deaths from landmines and seeing the impact on children and adults alike is very confronting, and this is the daily life of so many Cambodians.
Our visit to Siem Reap was the final chapter to our trip. We took 10 NFO Orphanage kids to SR for a four day holiday. They, like many other Cambodians had never been to SR to see Angkor Wat, despite the fact that Angkor Wat is on their national flag and the most important cultural point in their country. It is simply too expensive for Cambodians to travel there. We visited many temples - but only a small handful of what is available to view. They are all mesmerizing in their own way. We had many lessons - personal, historical, economic, geographic and emotional. Then this morning the NFO kids had to return to Takeo on our chartered minibus. They will be home by 7pm today, but the first hour was probably a very solemn ride. There were many tears on both sides of the cultural divide when they were leaving. Not one dry eye was maintained.
(I would like to add here, trying to co- ordinate a party of 31 is EXTREMELY hard).
Our main port of call - NFO orphanage in Takeo - now seems so long ago as we have been so very busy - day and night. Mt Lawley should be proud of our kids who went there. They had certain jobs to do, however other jobs took priority. Another group had taken off all the cladding from a major building, which included the NFO classrooms and the personal room of the security guard - Sow. The interior of the building was exposed to the monsoonal downpours which begin about 3pm - daily.... then the group left, much to the disgruntlement of others. Our kids saw the need to fix it immediately to protect the rooms. They worked like Trojans for two days, in teamwork and got it done. This meant some of our activities were shelved ( like teaching the kids Aussie rules football!... Nat and Mark the balls are still there!). DIY renovations, measuring, sawing, loading, hammering, ordering more wood etc...are all now part of the skills repertoire of our Lawley kids.....maybe we should hire outlives out...? There were many fun moments which I am sure everyone will hear about from our kids. Many of these will be displayed in a photo gallery by the end of the week.
We are returning exhausted - physically and perhaps emotionally for some. But we know we achieved a lot. All members of the team are returning home a more worldly person, certainly with a greater understanding of those with a whole lot less than us.
Lynne- Sent from my iPad
Saturday 21 July 2012
Anna and our first glimpse of Angkor Wat and a downpour
Thursday 19/07/2012
Our first day in Siem Reap. We woke up ready for our first glimpse of the famous temple of Angkor Wat. After crossing the moat (which is the largest in the world) we were free to explore. We surrendered our cameras to the kids and attempted to keep up with them as they raced through the corridors, past the intricate carvings, up multiple flights of stairs and across the garden areas. The temple complex features the King and Queen's libraries, towers, gardens and huge walls carved with scenes depicting the "Churning of the Sea" which in Khmer mythology is when heaven and hell meet to create the earth. The kids eagerly stood in line waiting to have professional photos taken while the Aussies took refuge from the heat in the cool stone archways.
It was then off to Bayon temple for more sightseeing. We gazed out the windows at the beautiful scene before us...then it started pouring down with rain. Disappointed we decided to return another day and go for lunch.
After lunch we returned to My Home for a rest. It was then off to dinner at the Cultural Restaurant. We enjoyed the delicious food while watching the traditional Khmer dancing with fascination at the complicated costumes and poses. Back into the buses to go to the fair! Everyone was excited as we piled into bumper cars and roller coasters. By the time we returned to My Home we were all exhausted and fell into bed....
Anna
Our first day in Siem Reap. We woke up ready for our first glimpse of the famous temple of Angkor Wat. After crossing the moat (which is the largest in the world) we were free to explore. We surrendered our cameras to the kids and attempted to keep up with them as they raced through the corridors, past the intricate carvings, up multiple flights of stairs and across the garden areas. The temple complex features the King and Queen's libraries, towers, gardens and huge walls carved with scenes depicting the "Churning of the Sea" which in Khmer mythology is when heaven and hell meet to create the earth. The kids eagerly stood in line waiting to have professional photos taken while the Aussies took refuge from the heat in the cool stone archways.
It was then off to Bayon temple for more sightseeing. We gazed out the windows at the beautiful scene before us...then it started pouring down with rain. Disappointed we decided to return another day and go for lunch.
After lunch we returned to My Home for a rest. It was then off to dinner at the Cultural Restaurant. We enjoyed the delicious food while watching the traditional Khmer dancing with fascination at the complicated costumes and poses. Back into the buses to go to the fair! Everyone was excited as we piled into bumper cars and roller coasters. By the time we returned to My Home we were all exhausted and fell into bed....
Anna
Our mass migration to Siem Reap with 10NFO kids
Wednesday, the last wednesday we would be spending in Cambodia.
Today was a day to try new things, like cooked spiders, green mangoes, getting up at 6am and fitting 15 people into a 11 seater bus. All these great experiences were on the 7 hour bus ride to Siem Reap, which began at 6:30am. We pilled, squished and smoshed into the bus, one having girls and the other having boys. I was quite glad to be on the girls bus because there was little Cambodian surprise in the boys bus, a Cambodian hitch hiker who happened to be the drivers wife. After a heated, not translated discussion with a lot of "no no noooo" words coming from Lynn's mouth we preceded on our way to Siem Reap. The first stop along the way was at a random little place that happened to sell cooked and marinated spiders. Most of us tried them, with my mouth quite enjoying chomping down on a tarantula's leg, we only ate the legs as the body is sour and well - yuck. It was also here that I tried a green mango with chili and salt, something Gabe and I have been wanting to try for ages, it was amazing, but you can't eat too many otherwise you will get constipated and this is not good. After our stomachs were full of spiders we headed off again. You may think riding in a cramped bus for 7 hours is not fun, but you are wrong! For the whole trip we had beautiful khmer pop music about a boy that cheats on a girl, then the girl cheats on the boy, then they get back together but he has to leave because she's dying.. I dunno really, as it wasn't translated and hard to follow. After about 2 hours of that beautiful sound in my ears we stopped for lunch at a beautiful place surrounded by water, (it was the tp end of the famous Tonle Sap- the body of water that Cambodia lives on) here we had a beautiful Cambodian buffet. After lunch we continued on our way until we arrived at about 5ish in Siem Riep. More to come.....
Freya
Today was a day to try new things, like cooked spiders, green mangoes, getting up at 6am and fitting 15 people into a 11 seater bus. All these great experiences were on the 7 hour bus ride to Siem Reap, which began at 6:30am. We pilled, squished and smoshed into the bus, one having girls and the other having boys. I was quite glad to be on the girls bus because there was little Cambodian surprise in the boys bus, a Cambodian hitch hiker who happened to be the drivers wife. After a heated, not translated discussion with a lot of "no no noooo" words coming from Lynn's mouth we preceded on our way to Siem Reap. The first stop along the way was at a random little place that happened to sell cooked and marinated spiders. Most of us tried them, with my mouth quite enjoying chomping down on a tarantula's leg, we only ate the legs as the body is sour and well - yuck. It was also here that I tried a green mango with chili and salt, something Gabe and I have been wanting to try for ages, it was amazing, but you can't eat too many otherwise you will get constipated and this is not good. After our stomachs were full of spiders we headed off again. You may think riding in a cramped bus for 7 hours is not fun, but you are wrong! For the whole trip we had beautiful khmer pop music about a boy that cheats on a girl, then the girl cheats on the boy, then they get back together but he has to leave because she's dying.. I dunno really, as it wasn't translated and hard to follow. After about 2 hours of that beautiful sound in my ears we stopped for lunch at a beautiful place surrounded by water, (it was the tp end of the famous Tonle Sap- the body of water that Cambodia lives on) here we had a beautiful Cambodian buffet. After lunch we continued on our way until we arrived at about 5ish in Siem Riep. More to come.....
Freya
Tuesday 17 July 2012
Our final day in Takeo and an Aussie BBQ
Today was our last day in Takeo, and it was an emotional day...
In the morning we had breakfast, and drove off to the markets to get supplies for the planned feast. Unfortunately someone (Freya) led us into the fish market... Yes, unfortunately is correct. If you put aside the floor covered in fish guts and some sort of muddy cloths, the putrid smell was enough to quicken our pace by triple.
We returned to the centre, ate lunch and then the preparations began.
After a little chaos in the beginning with so much to do and so many ingredients to deal with, the prep group managed to get a sort of production line established. After three hours we turned a huge load of corn, carrots, pumpkins, capsicum, pork etc etc, into vege and meat skewers, little vegetarian burgers, potato salad, rice salad and fritters. The kids enjoyed it, this made us happy.
There was a bouncy castle, rain, mud, music and fun times. It was an epic end to our day and almost ten days in Takeo. The most difficult part of our time in Takeo was parting from the kids. I think I can safely say most of us had formed a bond with most of the kids there, I know I found it quite difficult saying goodbye to a little girl there (Soklina) who I really bonded with.
The tuk tuk ride home didn't make things easier... We are proud to say we came close to the Cambodian record of 18 people in a tuk tuk, however since one australian basically equals two cambodians, fitting in 15 Aussies (15 wailing aussies) it deserves recognition... It might be worth mentioning that for most of the drive home the front wheel was lifted off the ground. (No Exaggeration) Tomorrow we drive to Siem Reap, it's not the end...........
Shay :)
In the morning we had breakfast, and drove off to the markets to get supplies for the planned feast. Unfortunately someone (Freya) led us into the fish market... Yes, unfortunately is correct. If you put aside the floor covered in fish guts and some sort of muddy cloths, the putrid smell was enough to quicken our pace by triple.
We returned to the centre, ate lunch and then the preparations began.
After a little chaos in the beginning with so much to do and so many ingredients to deal with, the prep group managed to get a sort of production line established. After three hours we turned a huge load of corn, carrots, pumpkins, capsicum, pork etc etc, into vege and meat skewers, little vegetarian burgers, potato salad, rice salad and fritters. The kids enjoyed it, this made us happy.
There was a bouncy castle, rain, mud, music and fun times. It was an epic end to our day and almost ten days in Takeo. The most difficult part of our time in Takeo was parting from the kids. I think I can safely say most of us had formed a bond with most of the kids there, I know I found it quite difficult saying goodbye to a little girl there (Soklina) who I really bonded with.
The tuk tuk ride home didn't make things easier... We are proud to say we came close to the Cambodian record of 18 people in a tuk tuk, however since one australian basically equals two cambodians, fitting in 15 Aussies (15 wailing aussies) it deserves recognition... It might be worth mentioning that for most of the drive home the front wheel was lifted off the ground. (No Exaggeration) Tomorrow we drive to Siem Reap, it's not the end...........
Shay :)
A job well done
Monday, a day of sweat and toil
This morning we skipped the daily visit to the markets, as we wanted to be at the orphanage as early as possible. We had a huge task in front of us, to completely clad the buildings against the weather. The original bamboo cladding was in a state of disrepair and had been removed by another group of volunteers. Unfortunately they had not factored in the time necessary to re-clad and now the classroom, workshop, hair salon, library and the night-watchman's room had been left exposed to the elements. Our group had spent the previous day attempting to add as much of the timber cladding as possible. Due to a downpour of monsoonal proportions, work had to be stopped and everything put on hold till the following morning.
Our students had shown themselves to be determined to get the job done the previous day and were keen to get started. Each student was assigned a specific job: measuring to length; cutting with hand and power saw; delivery of timber and the final nailing of the timber to the huts, all skilled artisans supported by a "labourer". Our system worked perfectly and by sheer hard work the majority of the work had been done when we downed tools for lunch and an hour or so chilling in the shade as the fierce heat of the Cambodian summer peaked around midday.
The students then returned to work and with a final couple of hours of hard-graft, the job was done.
Lynne, Geoff and I were extremely proud of the way the Mount Lawley students had seen that an important job needed doing, applied themselves tirelessly to it, and with not one word of dissent or complaint, got stuck in. Not only was the cladding completed and all buildings made secure and weather tight, but it was also done with a level of skill and dedication that would pass the inspection of the most discerning of building supervisors. The kids at the orphanage and staff along with other volunteers were full of praise for our students and the quality of work that they produced.
I believe that the students are also very proud of their effort and quality of work and there is a real feeling of accomplishment back at the center.
Andy
This morning we skipped the daily visit to the markets, as we wanted to be at the orphanage as early as possible. We had a huge task in front of us, to completely clad the buildings against the weather. The original bamboo cladding was in a state of disrepair and had been removed by another group of volunteers. Unfortunately they had not factored in the time necessary to re-clad and now the classroom, workshop, hair salon, library and the night-watchman's room had been left exposed to the elements. Our group had spent the previous day attempting to add as much of the timber cladding as possible. Due to a downpour of monsoonal proportions, work had to be stopped and everything put on hold till the following morning.
Our students had shown themselves to be determined to get the job done the previous day and were keen to get started. Each student was assigned a specific job: measuring to length; cutting with hand and power saw; delivery of timber and the final nailing of the timber to the huts, all skilled artisans supported by a "labourer". Our system worked perfectly and by sheer hard work the majority of the work had been done when we downed tools for lunch and an hour or so chilling in the shade as the fierce heat of the Cambodian summer peaked around midday.
The students then returned to work and with a final couple of hours of hard-graft, the job was done.
Lynne, Geoff and I were extremely proud of the way the Mount Lawley students had seen that an important job needed doing, applied themselves tirelessly to it, and with not one word of dissent or complaint, got stuck in. Not only was the cladding completed and all buildings made secure and weather tight, but it was also done with a level of skill and dedication that would pass the inspection of the most discerning of building supervisors. The kids at the orphanage and staff along with other volunteers were full of praise for our students and the quality of work that they produced.
I believe that the students are also very proud of their effort and quality of work and there is a real feeling of accomplishment back at the center.
Andy
Monday 16 July 2012
Anjali and a completed secure and dry building for the children
Monday and the building continues and finally comes to an end.
Everyone was ready to hit down hard and determined to finish the building project that we picked up from the previous group of volunteers. Today was a day that everyone's maturity shined throughout the trip. The teamwork and organisation of every single member should've been applauded due to our effort and successful completion of the cladding of the classroom, beauty room, arts room and tool room. Each and every one of us had an individual job that contributed, whether it was transporting wood to nailing it (of course we won't forget the wood choppers). There was a sense of silent communication amongst all of us that assisted in the speedy process of the project. The fact that everyone was able to feel a sense of satisfaction after having completed a long term project that will benefit the kids in years to come was a real bonus.
In our work breaks we were really relaxing, as when we were doing hardly any intense labour we were able to interact with the kids and continue bonding with them. Making bracelets was probably one of the most relaxing things to pass our time during our siesta, especially learning different techniques from the kids. This was another simple but effective form of interaction that improved the kids English and showed that we were not only here to teach but to learn.
After our siesta we were able to continue our unfinished business. Our teamwork by that time was something that came natural to everyone of us. It got to a point that the work that needed to be done was effortless and was completed a lot faster than the first time round. At around 4 o'clock the last nail was hammered by almost everyone of us to claim the glory. By the end of today I feel that everyone has felt a sense of pride and satisfaction of having completed a project that wasn't originally ours and having done it so smoothly without any complaints and hiccups on the way.
An addition to this was the request from the Orphanage manager that we paint a Chess board on a large cement table. It was started by a few kids and slowly many of us became engaged. by the time we left it looked great and perhaps we will have time to varnish it tomorrow. I have to also say he has been very pleased with what we have managed to achieve - at least Lynne has been told that. It's a good feeling that we can make a difference.
Anjali
Everyone was ready to hit down hard and determined to finish the building project that we picked up from the previous group of volunteers. Today was a day that everyone's maturity shined throughout the trip. The teamwork and organisation of every single member should've been applauded due to our effort and successful completion of the cladding of the classroom, beauty room, arts room and tool room. Each and every one of us had an individual job that contributed, whether it was transporting wood to nailing it (of course we won't forget the wood choppers). There was a sense of silent communication amongst all of us that assisted in the speedy process of the project. The fact that everyone was able to feel a sense of satisfaction after having completed a long term project that will benefit the kids in years to come was a real bonus.
In our work breaks we were really relaxing, as when we were doing hardly any intense labour we were able to interact with the kids and continue bonding with them. Making bracelets was probably one of the most relaxing things to pass our time during our siesta, especially learning different techniques from the kids. This was another simple but effective form of interaction that improved the kids English and showed that we were not only here to teach but to learn.
After our siesta we were able to continue our unfinished business. Our teamwork by that time was something that came natural to everyone of us. It got to a point that the work that needed to be done was effortless and was completed a lot faster than the first time round. At around 4 o'clock the last nail was hammered by almost everyone of us to claim the glory. By the end of today I feel that everyone has felt a sense of pride and satisfaction of having completed a project that wasn't originally ours and having done it so smoothly without any complaints and hiccups on the way.
An addition to this was the request from the Orphanage manager that we paint a Chess board on a large cement table. It was started by a few kids and slowly many of us became engaged. by the time we left it looked great and perhaps we will have time to varnish it tomorrow. I have to also say he has been very pleased with what we have managed to achieve - at least Lynne has been told that. It's a good feeling that we can make a difference.
Anjali
Job Done
Monday, a day of sweat and toil
This morning we skipped the daily visit to the markets, as we wanted to be at the orphanage as early as possible. We had a huge task in front of us, to completely clad the buildings against the weather. The original bamboo cladding was in a state of disrepair and had been removed by another group of volunteers. Unfortunately they had not factored in the time necessary to re-clad and now the classroom, workshop, hair salon, library and the night-watchman's room had been left exposed to the elements. Our group had spent the previous day attempting to add as much of the timber cladding as possible. Due to a downpour of monsoonal proportions, work had to be stopped and everything put on hold till the following morning.
Our students had shown themselves to be determined to get the job done the previous day and were keen to get started. Each student was assigned a specific job: measuring to length; cutting with hand and power saw; delivery of timber and the final nailing of the timber to the huts, all skilled artisans supported by a "labourer". Our system worked perfectly and by sheer hard work the majority of the work had been done when we downed tools for lunch and an hour or so chilling in the shade as the fierce heat of the Cambodian summer peaked around midday.
The students then returned to work and with a final couple of hours of hard-graft, the job was done.
Lynne, Geoff and I were extremely proud of the way the Mount Lawley students had seen that an important job needed doing, applied themselves tirelessly to it, and with not one word of dissent or complaint, got stuck in. Not only was the cladding completed and all buildings made secure and weather tight, but it was also done with a level of skill and dedication that would pass the inspection of the most discerning of building supervisors. The kids at the orphanage and staff along with other volunteers were full of praise for our students and the quality of work that they produced.
I believe that the students are also very proud of their effort and quality of work and there is a real feeling of accomplishment back at the center.
Andy
Sunday 15 July 2012
Lydia on a non sporting Sunday
Each day we spend here in Takeo we become more familiar with our surroundings and become more comfortable with the kids too. This morning we went off to the markets in staggered groups for cane juice and doughnuts, some coming back to the center for breaky and others having ice cream for breakfast at the Tella petrol station. Everyone got to the orphanage by ten o'clock to begin working, replacing the paneled walls of the classroom. It wasn't long until we figured out that only one person could work on a wall at once or the panels would meet unevenly in the middle, so some of us relaxed in the shade with the kids making bracelets while others sawed wood and hammered nails in the heat. Although it was insanely hot some of us were committed to finishing the walls, Geoff rediscovering his lost creative DIY side and Shay discovering the joys a hand held saw.
Unfortunately we were unable to finish construction as the afternoon rain arrived, leading to another water fight and a everyone getting drenched. Everyone looks forward to the rain each day as it is the only chance to get cool, today some of us even achieved shivers and began to dream of hot Milo's.
As our journey to Siem Reap draws nearer the kids coming with us are getting increasingly excited while we are beginning to realize how much we don't want to leave the others behind :(:
Lydia
Unfortunately we were unable to finish construction as the afternoon rain arrived, leading to another water fight and a everyone getting drenched. Everyone looks forward to the rain each day as it is the only chance to get cool, today some of us even achieved shivers and began to dream of hot Milo's.
As our journey to Siem Reap draws nearer the kids coming with us are getting increasingly excited while we are beginning to realize how much we don't want to leave the others behind :(:
Lydia
Friday at the Temple with Crystal
Today we had an extra early 6 am start, so we could go to the Angkor Borei temples.
We took a tiring walk up 152 stairs (yes, we counted them) and once we got to the temple which was on the very top of the hill, we were already exhausted and it was only 8 in the morning! The temple was very old and despite how large the exterior looked, inside it was quite small. The view from the top of the hill was really beautiful, we could see how green and alive the land looked, and if we looked from a particular side of the temple we could see Vietnam, which pretty much looked exactly like Cambodia.
The temple was so peaceful, especially because it was so isolated from the rest of the village and the people. We learned that the temple was bombed in 1971, under the authorization of Richard Nixon. After we'd seen the temple we walked down to the Angkor Borei museum, which is in the village of Borei. It was really amazing as unlike Perth, we were allowed to touch all of the artifacts in the museum, some of which were about 2000 years old.
The children and the families living in the village were all quite poor and a few of the children would come up to us and ask us for money, so we gave them our 100 riel notes, (which are worth less than 5 cents) but it was really nice to see a huge smile sweep across their faces when we took out our money and gave it to them, so they could buy a packet of crisps or something. After we had seen the temples we made our way back to the centre for siesta. Quite a few of us were rather tired, so we just relaxed and slept until we made our way to the NFO.
It was quite a usual day at the NFO, Anjali and I were reading to a few of the kids there, until a few of us girls left and made our way back to the centre and learned how to carve roses out of watermelons! It was such an interesting thing to learn, and it's surprisingly easy considering how amazing they look once they're finished. Now some of us can come home and impress everyone with a watermelon, just one of the many cool things we've learned in Cambodia.
So yeah, overall it was a pretty good and interesting day, and tiring as well!
Crystal
We took a tiring walk up 152 stairs (yes, we counted them) and once we got to the temple which was on the very top of the hill, we were already exhausted and it was only 8 in the morning! The temple was very old and despite how large the exterior looked, inside it was quite small. The view from the top of the hill was really beautiful, we could see how green and alive the land looked, and if we looked from a particular side of the temple we could see Vietnam, which pretty much looked exactly like Cambodia.
The temple was so peaceful, especially because it was so isolated from the rest of the village and the people. We learned that the temple was bombed in 1971, under the authorization of Richard Nixon. After we'd seen the temple we walked down to the Angkor Borei museum, which is in the village of Borei. It was really amazing as unlike Perth, we were allowed to touch all of the artifacts in the museum, some of which were about 2000 years old.
The children and the families living in the village were all quite poor and a few of the children would come up to us and ask us for money, so we gave them our 100 riel notes, (which are worth less than 5 cents) but it was really nice to see a huge smile sweep across their faces when we took out our money and gave it to them, so they could buy a packet of crisps or something. After we had seen the temples we made our way back to the centre for siesta. Quite a few of us were rather tired, so we just relaxed and slept until we made our way to the NFO.
It was quite a usual day at the NFO, Anjali and I were reading to a few of the kids there, until a few of us girls left and made our way back to the centre and learned how to carve roses out of watermelons! It was such an interesting thing to learn, and it's surprisingly easy considering how amazing they look once they're finished. Now some of us can come home and impress everyone with a watermelon, just one of the many cool things we've learned in Cambodia.
So yeah, overall it was a pretty good and interesting day, and tiring as well!
Crystal
Saturday 14 July 2012
If it's Saturday, it's Zac and cricket
Day 10
Zac
This morning at 7am a group of us went to the markets for our usual ice coffee or cane sugar juice and doughnuts. We also bought a hat, bought some badminton gear found a jewelry shop. The people who didn't go to the market slept in and when everyone was back we had some bread rolls and fresh fruit for breakfast. Then we headed for the orphanage.
On the way to the orphanage we had an amazing fruit smoothie. When Tron got a durian one everyone tried it and struggled to keep it down. The taste as well as smell is soooooooo bad that you gag at the smell and throw up if you eat more than a few grams. After we had the smoothies we made our way to the orphanage. On the way Ben had a collision. There was an older Cambodian women riding on the wrong side of the rode with a bucket of soup hanging off her handle bars and Ben collided with her. Both parties ended up with chicken noodle soup covering their shirts and Ben got a scolding in Khmer. But Lynne stepped in calming the women down and saving Ben.
At the orphanage a few of the kids showed some of us how to make bracelets. Even Geoff gave it a shot but in his words "failed miserably and shouldn't do any arts and crafts". But for the rest of us we picked it up and started making them. While we were making them the English girls were putting up a new bottom half on all the walls of the classrooms. We could only watch them suffer and strain for so long before we helped them. That ended up taking half of the afternoon but we got most of it done and we are going to finish it off tomorrow. Then the real competition was on. The ultimate rivalry between the Poms and the Aussies. The Ashes.
The Ashes was really intense. All us Aussies were really cocky before we started but when we played we got a bit of a shock. The Aussies fielded first and got a bit depressed when we saw that the English could actually hit 4s. They ended up with 10/42. Then when we started batting we were down 8/32 with a duck, a golden duck and I even got a diamond duck! But then The Tron was in and he saved the day hitting 3 4s in his first over and then another 5 or 6 in the following overs. And the important thing is we are bringing home the Ashes!
After the Ashes it was Australia vs Cambodia. The Cambodian team was very good with three VERY fast bowlers and a batsman that scored a 4 nearly every ball we almost got beaten. They finished with all out for 79. Nic and I opened the batting getting about 30 or 40 runs. After a while we were equal score with only one wicket to spare. But Jasmine won it for us with a 4. One of the best things about both games was the umpiring which was done by Andy with a bit of bias against the Aussies. It was all very fun and everyone had a good laugh.
After the Ashes we had to head back to the Centre. Jasmine, Anna and I took a scenic route and went to the Tela petrol station for our first ice cream in 10 days. When we got back we had our debriefing and a nice chicken dinner and got into bed.
Lynne- Sent from my iPad
Zac
This morning at 7am a group of us went to the markets for our usual ice coffee or cane sugar juice and doughnuts. We also bought a hat, bought some badminton gear found a jewelry shop. The people who didn't go to the market slept in and when everyone was back we had some bread rolls and fresh fruit for breakfast. Then we headed for the orphanage.
On the way to the orphanage we had an amazing fruit smoothie. When Tron got a durian one everyone tried it and struggled to keep it down. The taste as well as smell is soooooooo bad that you gag at the smell and throw up if you eat more than a few grams. After we had the smoothies we made our way to the orphanage. On the way Ben had a collision. There was an older Cambodian women riding on the wrong side of the rode with a bucket of soup hanging off her handle bars and Ben collided with her. Both parties ended up with chicken noodle soup covering their shirts and Ben got a scolding in Khmer. But Lynne stepped in calming the women down and saving Ben.
At the orphanage a few of the kids showed some of us how to make bracelets. Even Geoff gave it a shot but in his words "failed miserably and shouldn't do any arts and crafts". But for the rest of us we picked it up and started making them. While we were making them the English girls were putting up a new bottom half on all the walls of the classrooms. We could only watch them suffer and strain for so long before we helped them. That ended up taking half of the afternoon but we got most of it done and we are going to finish it off tomorrow. Then the real competition was on. The ultimate rivalry between the Poms and the Aussies. The Ashes.
The Ashes was really intense. All us Aussies were really cocky before we started but when we played we got a bit of a shock. The Aussies fielded first and got a bit depressed when we saw that the English could actually hit 4s. They ended up with 10/42. Then when we started batting we were down 8/32 with a duck, a golden duck and I even got a diamond duck! But then The Tron was in and he saved the day hitting 3 4s in his first over and then another 5 or 6 in the following overs. And the important thing is we are bringing home the Ashes!
After the Ashes it was Australia vs Cambodia. The Cambodian team was very good with three VERY fast bowlers and a batsman that scored a 4 nearly every ball we almost got beaten. They finished with all out for 79. Nic and I opened the batting getting about 30 or 40 runs. After a while we were equal score with only one wicket to spare. But Jasmine won it for us with a 4. One of the best things about both games was the umpiring which was done by Andy with a bit of bias against the Aussies. It was all very fun and everyone had a good laugh.
After the Ashes we had to head back to the Centre. Jasmine, Anna and I took a scenic route and went to the Tela petrol station for our first ice cream in 10 days. When we got back we had our debriefing and a nice chicken dinner and got into bed.
Lynne- Sent from my iPad
The Ashes come home!
A highly competitive game was held, the atmosphere was tense, and "Tronathon" came to the fore to win the day and save the cricketing honour for Australia. We retained the ashes...
Lynne- Sent from my iPad
Lynne- Sent from my iPad
"The Ashes series Revival"
Today at 3.00pm, history will be revived with the reinstitution of the Ashes Series for 2012. With considerable disappointment in the public arena over the cancellation of the Ashes 2012 due to the Olympics, it has been decided that the venue should now be Takeo.
The highly charged team of Mt Lawley (Australia) will take on The Leeds Ladies (England). An unbiased dual umpire team of Ben and Andy will be ably supported by Marie, the Scottish referee. Place your bets that the Ashes will travel from Takeo, Cambodia to Perth Australia in 2012.
Lynne- Sent from my iPad
The highly charged team of Mt Lawley (Australia) will take on The Leeds Ladies (England). An unbiased dual umpire team of Ben and Andy will be ably supported by Marie, the Scottish referee. Place your bets that the Ashes will travel from Takeo, Cambodia to Perth Australia in 2012.
Lynne- Sent from my iPad
Friday 13 July 2012
Primary class of 250 pupils
Primary class of 250 pupils at the village school of "Little Po".
Lawley students each took a class of 30 - 50 pupils teaching English.
Tron on Tuesday
Day 5
Being told on day 4 that we had to leave our beautiful beds and be ready to leave at 6:40am to catch our boat, was the last thing any one of us wanted to hear. After all the preparation we had to go through to fight the sun and dehydration...we were told at 6:30 today that it was postponed till Friday. Disappointment quickly spread throughout the entire group because we all had to wake up way to early when our best friend at the time was our pillows.
It was decided that we would head down to the markets as we did the previous morning for the usual. Riding to the markets made everyone buzz in excitement as we were looking forward to indulging on sugar cane juice and freshly made coffee in condensed milk. After morning refreshments, we were given the pleasure of wondering the large markets to buy fruits or drink. As it was the first time for many of us purchasing fruit and bartering for lower prices (even though it was a few cents difference), we got to learn and practice truly needed skills in a market. We were given the chance to see how the locals do it and how low their prices were compared to what we got.
After the confusion between buyer and seller due to language differences, we all managed to buy tropical fruits that many of us have not tried or seen before. The favorite fruit of the day was rumble-tans and given the nickname of red furry things. We had a normal breakfast of bread rolls, butter and a Cambodian version of jam that looked like jelly.
We headed to the orphanage, eagerly riding our bikes along the beautiful roads to visit our best friends to see their smiles again. Our goal for the day was to show and help them with a paint by number picture. A majority of the boys chose the soccer picture to paint and the girls chose a picture of a cat. The children loved the painting because they have not done anything like it before. The instructions were difficult to follow, even for the ones that were showing them. We didn't finish the paintings today but it was a craft project intended to take a few days.
We came back for lunch and siesta which is becoming a great routine of having a nap or relaxing for an hour and a half. The rains came and that was when we headed back to the orphanage once again to play soccer in the rain. We all enjoyed the soccer game in the rain as it was a fair game with very good skills shown by students and orphans. After we were worn out we stopped and just relaxed and played chess.
We left at quarter to 6 and came back for a delicious dinner. The rest following that felt well deserved.
Tron
Being told on day 4 that we had to leave our beautiful beds and be ready to leave at 6:40am to catch our boat, was the last thing any one of us wanted to hear. After all the preparation we had to go through to fight the sun and dehydration...we were told at 6:30 today that it was postponed till Friday. Disappointment quickly spread throughout the entire group because we all had to wake up way to early when our best friend at the time was our pillows.
It was decided that we would head down to the markets as we did the previous morning for the usual. Riding to the markets made everyone buzz in excitement as we were looking forward to indulging on sugar cane juice and freshly made coffee in condensed milk. After morning refreshments, we were given the pleasure of wondering the large markets to buy fruits or drink. As it was the first time for many of us purchasing fruit and bartering for lower prices (even though it was a few cents difference), we got to learn and practice truly needed skills in a market. We were given the chance to see how the locals do it and how low their prices were compared to what we got.
After the confusion between buyer and seller due to language differences, we all managed to buy tropical fruits that many of us have not tried or seen before. The favorite fruit of the day was rumble-tans and given the nickname of red furry things. We had a normal breakfast of bread rolls, butter and a Cambodian version of jam that looked like jelly.
We headed to the orphanage, eagerly riding our bikes along the beautiful roads to visit our best friends to see their smiles again. Our goal for the day was to show and help them with a paint by number picture. A majority of the boys chose the soccer picture to paint and the girls chose a picture of a cat. The children loved the painting because they have not done anything like it before. The instructions were difficult to follow, even for the ones that were showing them. We didn't finish the paintings today but it was a craft project intended to take a few days.
We came back for lunch and siesta which is becoming a great routine of having a nap or relaxing for an hour and a half. The rains came and that was when we headed back to the orphanage once again to play soccer in the rain. We all enjoyed the soccer game in the rain as it was a fair game with very good skills shown by students and orphans. After we were worn out we stopped and just relaxed and played chess.
We left at quarter to 6 and came back for a delicious dinner. The rest following that felt well deserved.
Tron
Nicholas on Thursday
Day 8
Well there was this chilli, but that is for future reference! Today the Mount Lawlians started the day with an early rise to go teach the monks English. To our surprise there was one monk, so not much was there to do! Once back at the centre we all seated ourselves for an early breakfast to prepare ourselves for a very full day!
At 9:30 we headed to the orphanage for a visit to our favorite friends! This visit was cut quite short for a select few of us, due to going to "Little Po", a school which is close to the border of Vietnam and Cambodia. Once there we were greeted so beautifully by 250 students and 1 teacher! The teacher, Tim, was ever so appreciative that we were there to take some of the children OFF his hands! We had no problem in doing so because the kids were so appreciative of our help! They were so well mannered and eager to learn which made our job extremely easy! I personally had a group of girls run around and pick me flowers and make a bouquet for me! Over all we had a blast at "Little Po"!
Once finishing up at "Little Po", we raced back to NFO for a wonderful talent show where I declared the best performance was NICS AEROBIC CLASS with much help from Tron, Zac, Crystal and Anjali. Which I'm sure will be put up on the website soon, much to my disgust! Many great performances were completed during the talent quest! And a great shout out to the girls that showed us Khmer dancing, you were amazing! One of the more memorable events was the line dancing many of us did, we estimated we had entrants from Cambodia, Australia, USA, England, Scotland, Ghana - a multi national dance.
After the talent quest we all headed back to the centre to have showers and get ready to go out for one more event for the evening, but this is a bit SPICY for some people to handle! We went to the lakeside restaurant for dinner and put it this way, Zac bit off more than he could handle! He ate a full chilli in one hit, silly right? I would love to say we all felt bad for him but we couldn't help but to laugh!! This topped off a wonderful dinner and a great day!
If I had to pick one great thing about today I honestly couldn't pick between the talent quest or the "Little Po"! They were both incredibly amazing!
Over all, today was so tiring and wonderful, so we are resting our heads and off to sleep now! Keep reading our blog and acknowledge all the wonderful stuff we are doing thanks to our parents and Mount Lawley senior high school, but especially Lynne, Andi and Geoff! Thanks a million girls!
Singing off for all the mount lawlians,
Nicholas!
Well there was this chilli, but that is for future reference! Today the Mount Lawlians started the day with an early rise to go teach the monks English. To our surprise there was one monk, so not much was there to do! Once back at the centre we all seated ourselves for an early breakfast to prepare ourselves for a very full day!
At 9:30 we headed to the orphanage for a visit to our favorite friends! This visit was cut quite short for a select few of us, due to going to "Little Po", a school which is close to the border of Vietnam and Cambodia. Once there we were greeted so beautifully by 250 students and 1 teacher! The teacher, Tim, was ever so appreciative that we were there to take some of the children OFF his hands! We had no problem in doing so because the kids were so appreciative of our help! They were so well mannered and eager to learn which made our job extremely easy! I personally had a group of girls run around and pick me flowers and make a bouquet for me! Over all we had a blast at "Little Po"!
Once finishing up at "Little Po", we raced back to NFO for a wonderful talent show where I declared the best performance was NICS AEROBIC CLASS with much help from Tron, Zac, Crystal and Anjali. Which I'm sure will be put up on the website soon, much to my disgust! Many great performances were completed during the talent quest! And a great shout out to the girls that showed us Khmer dancing, you were amazing! One of the more memorable events was the line dancing many of us did, we estimated we had entrants from Cambodia, Australia, USA, England, Scotland, Ghana - a multi national dance.
After the talent quest we all headed back to the centre to have showers and get ready to go out for one more event for the evening, but this is a bit SPICY for some people to handle! We went to the lakeside restaurant for dinner and put it this way, Zac bit off more than he could handle! He ate a full chilli in one hit, silly right? I would love to say we all felt bad for him but we couldn't help but to laugh!! This topped off a wonderful dinner and a great day!
If I had to pick one great thing about today I honestly couldn't pick between the talent quest or the "Little Po"! They were both incredibly amazing!
Over all, today was so tiring and wonderful, so we are resting our heads and off to sleep now! Keep reading our blog and acknowledge all the wonderful stuff we are doing thanks to our parents and Mount Lawley senior high school, but especially Lynne, Andi and Geoff! Thanks a million girls!
Singing off for all the mount lawlians,
Nicholas!
Jasmine on Wednesday
Today the morning started off with another trip to the markets for our usual morning coffee/sugar cane juice and donuts. It was delicious as usual and helped to wake us up. Once we finished our coffees we explored the markets and some of us bought amazing fresh fruit, hats and string to make bracelets.
After that we hurried back to the centre for breakfast. We ate our fruit at the table, sharing it between each other and experiencing the different fruits of Cambodia. They all tasted fantastic and refreshed us after the hot bike ride back from the markets.
Following our usual routine, we set off for another amazing day at the orphanage. Today Andy used his fabulous engineering skills and taught the kids how to make little planes out of balsa wood. It was good for us to finally teach them how to do something without them just beating us in everything. The kids all loved making the planes, initially being the older boys but more and more kids joining in the fun. Of course, the craft ended in a massive elastic band fight and the kids surprising us once again with their skills to make elastic band launchers with the left over balsa wood.
While this elastic band war was taking place, half of us went to a school set up for kids whose family can't afford to send them to school. The village is out of Takeo, called "Little Po". I get to go there tomorrow....another busy day.
Jasmine
After that we hurried back to the centre for breakfast. We ate our fruit at the table, sharing it between each other and experiencing the different fruits of Cambodia. They all tasted fantastic and refreshed us after the hot bike ride back from the markets.
Following our usual routine, we set off for another amazing day at the orphanage. Today Andy used his fabulous engineering skills and taught the kids how to make little planes out of balsa wood. It was good for us to finally teach them how to do something without them just beating us in everything. The kids all loved making the planes, initially being the older boys but more and more kids joining in the fun. Of course, the craft ended in a massive elastic band fight and the kids surprising us once again with their skills to make elastic band launchers with the left over balsa wood.
While this elastic band war was taking place, half of us went to a school set up for kids whose family can't afford to send them to school. The village is out of Takeo, called "Little Po". I get to go there tomorrow....another busy day.
Jasmine
Thursday 12 July 2012
Wednesday 11 July 2012
Going Well
All good here and the Lawley students have been fantastic with the Cambodian kids.
Off to visit a school tomorrow that has 250 students, in one class! I am sure that more info will be blogged shortly.
Off to visit a school tomorrow that has 250 students, in one class! I am sure that more info will be blogged shortly.
Tuesday 10 July 2012
Gabe-day4
Our second day in Takeo and it feels like we've been here for a week. Everyone is so friendly and it already feels like home. Each day we are experiencing new parts of their culture and learning things about them and ourselves. Monday the 8th started off early with most people going to the market at 7 in the morning, I've been told it was great but unfortunately I had prior arrangements with my pillow. They bought delicious fresh cooked donuts for the equivalent of 13 cents and delicious sugar cane
Half the people went to the bike shop to get their bikes fixed whilst the other half went to the orphanage for half an hour before lunch and siesta. Lunch was a sandwich subway dreams about creating. Most people did not take advantage of their siesta but instead played intense games of spoons, with dire consequences. The loser had to put on more and more winter clothes depending on how many times they lost consecutively, not what you want a 35 degree day with high humidity. We were delayed by heavy rain but we soon left for the orphanage to connect with the children.
After our hectic bike ride on the way to the orphanage, in which Lynne suffered a brutal crash and had to go home for some betadine and bandages. At the orphanage we were immediately greeted by the Cambodian kids huge smiles, warmth and want to help us. They helped us put our bikes in the right spot even fix some bikes. After signing in, it was straight onto the soccer "field" next door that was largely comprised of puddles, mud and rocks but we still manages to have a great game of soccer, boys against girls and some of the orphans to help the girls out. The girls, aided by some star players came out victorious. I was very surprised how good all the kids were a playing soccer and it seems that just 6 months ago they went all the way to phnom penh for soccer and won a championship. Everyone soon tired out and then the soccer match degraded into an all on all mud fight that lasted 2-3 hours. There were no survivors. Everyone was mudified. The war finally ended (after many great battles such as the fall of Ben West, the destruction of Jasmine Pietrocola's clothes and many more) due to the Cambodian kids. Calling it quits for showers. And then there was rain! It poured down and it cooled everyone down and brought a smile to everyones faces. The rain did not stop the fun and everyone kept on playing and connecting. We set off for a cold shower to get the mud and grit off. Dinner was beef curry/laksa that was delicious. We then chilled and unwound until our debriefing meeting were we reflected on the day and planned for another day in the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Lynne- Sent from my iPad
Half the people went to the bike shop to get their bikes fixed whilst the other half went to the orphanage for half an hour before lunch and siesta. Lunch was a sandwich subway dreams about creating. Most people did not take advantage of their siesta but instead played intense games of spoons, with dire consequences. The loser had to put on more and more winter clothes depending on how many times they lost consecutively, not what you want a 35 degree day with high humidity. We were delayed by heavy rain but we soon left for the orphanage to connect with the children.
After our hectic bike ride on the way to the orphanage, in which Lynne suffered a brutal crash and had to go home for some betadine and bandages. At the orphanage we were immediately greeted by the Cambodian kids huge smiles, warmth and want to help us. They helped us put our bikes in the right spot even fix some bikes. After signing in, it was straight onto the soccer "field" next door that was largely comprised of puddles, mud and rocks but we still manages to have a great game of soccer, boys against girls and some of the orphans to help the girls out. The girls, aided by some star players came out victorious. I was very surprised how good all the kids were a playing soccer and it seems that just 6 months ago they went all the way to phnom penh for soccer and won a championship. Everyone soon tired out and then the soccer match degraded into an all on all mud fight that lasted 2-3 hours. There were no survivors. Everyone was mudified. The war finally ended (after many great battles such as the fall of Ben West, the destruction of Jasmine Pietrocola's clothes and many more) due to the Cambodian kids. Calling it quits for showers. And then there was rain! It poured down and it cooled everyone down and brought a smile to everyones faces. The rain did not stop the fun and everyone kept on playing and connecting. We set off for a cold shower to get the mud and grit off. Dinner was beef curry/laksa that was delicious. We then chilled and unwound until our debriefing meeting were we reflected on the day and planned for another day in the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Lynne- Sent from my iPad
Anna- Day 3
2012- Day 3
Morning: After a well deserved sleep at the hotel in Phnom Penh, the early birds in our group went with Lynne to the local markets where nobody speaks English. We all met back at the hotel to walk to Bojangles for breakfast. There was a choice of either Western or Asian style breakfast. All the fruit juice was freshly squeezed and the lemon juice was absolutely amazing. After breakfast we all piled into the buses for a trip to the outskirts of Phnom Penh and the CHOICE Centre.
CHOICE Center: CHOICE is an Organisation that aims to support poor families as an entire unit instead of taking allowing parents to give up their children to orphanages. The Organisation is involved in a lot of preventative work such as contraception, regular medical and dental checkups as well as providing clean water. Our guide Richard took us to the shanty towns on the outskirts of the city. Walking through the village was a eye-opener, everyone was so friendly despite the fact we had nothing we could give them. We learned a lot about the rural way of life seeing the families working to gather the rice, drying it on mats and taking goods into market. After seeing the village we went to the Centre to meet the the children. Their English was not very good so communicating was a bit of a struggle at first but everyone were definitely eager to make the effort. We met a baby that recently had an operation to repair a cleft lip and she looks well on the way to recovery despite being extremely underweight. We were told some of the other children's stories and after some fun and games it was time to say our farewells and head back to the big city for the last time.
Afternoon: Arriving back at the hotel it was a relief to see all the luggage had already been loaded onto the buses. After quickly restocking on water we all piled back into the buses for the journey to our next destination, Takeo. By this time we were all exhausted and fell asleep fairly soon after our stop to the bakery. Despite the heat the scenery was wonderful, rice paddies and lotus fields lined with palm trees and the hills in the distance. The entire trip was about two hours and we had a warm welcome when we arrived. We rushed to find the best rooms and explore the balcony and veranda before rushing off again. Half of us went straight to the New Futures Orphanage while the rest of us went off in a Tuk Tuk to buy push bikes. They were assembled right in front of us and after fixing faulty brakes we set off to join the others at NFO.
Evening: We quickly learned the road rules, the most important being that pushbike riders are second class citizens and the best method is to just look like you know what you are doing and NEVER EVER stop pedaling. Our route to the orphanage took us through roundabouts, gravel roads and along the river before finally turning down the dirt road that led to the orphanage. We all made it in one piece and were immediately greeted by friendly smiles, questions and dozens of names. We quickly became fast friends with all the children despite having to leave after only fifteen minutes as it was dark. The boys checked all our lights (half of which were not working at this point) and we waved goodbye. After an alternatively frightening and relaxing ride back in the dark we quickly parked the bikes and sat down to dinner. Soon after we met up on the balcony for a debriefing and discussion on thoughts and feelings for the past few days. The most popular topics were the delay in Perth, the amazing food, apparent chaos of the roads and market and of course the immediate connection with the kids. We then retreated to our rooms to shower and fall into bed.
Lynne- Sent from my iPad
Morning: After a well deserved sleep at the hotel in Phnom Penh, the early birds in our group went with Lynne to the local markets where nobody speaks English. We all met back at the hotel to walk to Bojangles for breakfast. There was a choice of either Western or Asian style breakfast. All the fruit juice was freshly squeezed and the lemon juice was absolutely amazing. After breakfast we all piled into the buses for a trip to the outskirts of Phnom Penh and the CHOICE Centre.
CHOICE Center: CHOICE is an Organisation that aims to support poor families as an entire unit instead of taking allowing parents to give up their children to orphanages. The Organisation is involved in a lot of preventative work such as contraception, regular medical and dental checkups as well as providing clean water. Our guide Richard took us to the shanty towns on the outskirts of the city. Walking through the village was a eye-opener, everyone was so friendly despite the fact we had nothing we could give them. We learned a lot about the rural way of life seeing the families working to gather the rice, drying it on mats and taking goods into market. After seeing the village we went to the Centre to meet the the children. Their English was not very good so communicating was a bit of a struggle at first but everyone were definitely eager to make the effort. We met a baby that recently had an operation to repair a cleft lip and she looks well on the way to recovery despite being extremely underweight. We were told some of the other children's stories and after some fun and games it was time to say our farewells and head back to the big city for the last time.
Afternoon: Arriving back at the hotel it was a relief to see all the luggage had already been loaded onto the buses. After quickly restocking on water we all piled back into the buses for the journey to our next destination, Takeo. By this time we were all exhausted and fell asleep fairly soon after our stop to the bakery. Despite the heat the scenery was wonderful, rice paddies and lotus fields lined with palm trees and the hills in the distance. The entire trip was about two hours and we had a warm welcome when we arrived. We rushed to find the best rooms and explore the balcony and veranda before rushing off again. Half of us went straight to the New Futures Orphanage while the rest of us went off in a Tuk Tuk to buy push bikes. They were assembled right in front of us and after fixing faulty brakes we set off to join the others at NFO.
Evening: We quickly learned the road rules, the most important being that pushbike riders are second class citizens and the best method is to just look like you know what you are doing and NEVER EVER stop pedaling. Our route to the orphanage took us through roundabouts, gravel roads and along the river before finally turning down the dirt road that led to the orphanage. We all made it in one piece and were immediately greeted by friendly smiles, questions and dozens of names. We quickly became fast friends with all the children despite having to leave after only fifteen minutes as it was dark. The boys checked all our lights (half of which were not working at this point) and we waved goodbye. After an alternatively frightening and relaxing ride back in the dark we quickly parked the bikes and sat down to dinner. Soon after we met up on the balcony for a debriefing and discussion on thoughts and feelings for the past few days. The most popular topics were the delay in Perth, the amazing food, apparent chaos of the roads and market and of course the immediate connection with the kids. We then retreated to our rooms to shower and fall into bed.
Lynne- Sent from my iPad
Ben West on day 2
2012- Day 2
After the wonderfully explorative adventures of yesterday it seemed that everyone was happy just to be off the ground so most tolerated the extremely standard airplane food and went around their business of sleep to their hearts content on the 5 hour plus trip. Now being someone who has never left Australia before every little new thing such as the slightly moldy smell of the airport to the disorienting squatting toilets stood out. But other then that an airport is still an airport so siting in it for the 4 hour interval at Kula Loopa was just as bad as anywhere else made worse by the soggy croissant for breakfast and confusing structure that looked the same from the four different angles. But those who went to the noodles house for breakfast assured me it was wonderful.
The first step off the plane at Cambodia was like being slapped in the face. The heat, humidity and smell was overpowering. But there was no time to take it slow and enjoy it all, we were jumping straight in. From lunch in the Bodhi tree, we had to try and keep our food down as the tuk-tuk driver took us on a suicide run to S-21 where the horrific genocide was displayed from the Khmer Rouge era. So from there we followed in the foots steps of the many misfortunate souls who had been taken to the Killing Fields and saw the dimpled land of many mass graves as well as the ways in which they were killed.
After the sad but educational day it was nice to help out some street kids as we met for dinner at Friends, a place run by homeless and/or uneducated children. There we had some of the best mango chicken ever to compromise the sweet ice cream that followed as we walked back to the hotel.
Because of the hassle with the flights and sleep deprivation most of the day was very tiring and blurry for some but worth it as we all crashed that night with enthusiasm.
Lynne- Sent from my iPad
After the wonderfully explorative adventures of yesterday it seemed that everyone was happy just to be off the ground so most tolerated the extremely standard airplane food and went around their business of sleep to their hearts content on the 5 hour plus trip. Now being someone who has never left Australia before every little new thing such as the slightly moldy smell of the airport to the disorienting squatting toilets stood out. But other then that an airport is still an airport so siting in it for the 4 hour interval at Kula Loopa was just as bad as anywhere else made worse by the soggy croissant for breakfast and confusing structure that looked the same from the four different angles. But those who went to the noodles house for breakfast assured me it was wonderful.
The first step off the plane at Cambodia was like being slapped in the face. The heat, humidity and smell was overpowering. But there was no time to take it slow and enjoy it all, we were jumping straight in. From lunch in the Bodhi tree, we had to try and keep our food down as the tuk-tuk driver took us on a suicide run to S-21 where the horrific genocide was displayed from the Khmer Rouge era. So from there we followed in the foots steps of the many misfortunate souls who had been taken to the Killing Fields and saw the dimpled land of many mass graves as well as the ways in which they were killed.
After the sad but educational day it was nice to help out some street kids as we met for dinner at Friends, a place run by homeless and/or uneducated children. There we had some of the best mango chicken ever to compromise the sweet ice cream that followed as we walked back to the hotel.
Because of the hassle with the flights and sleep deprivation most of the day was very tiring and blurry for some but worth it as we all crashed that night with enthusiasm.
Lynne- Sent from my iPad
Day 1 begins
2012- Day 1 continued
2am on Friday morning
Well the title basically sums it up... The day continued... And continued...
It's about 2am right now and we should be on a flight to KL, but no. That would be too nice and too simple, so our flight was delayed a couple of hours. But don't worry we had the comfort of overly priced cafe food and airport seats to pass the time. Although this is a minor set back from the amazing trip we are about to embark on, we have made the use of the extra time by, talking, playing card games, getting to know each other and frequent trips to the toilet because someone (shay) doesn't know how to hold her fluids...
3:50am on Friday morning
We boarded the plane at 3:50am with our little hopeful minds thinking we were on our way to cambodia, well turns out our plane didn't want to fly. The plane tried to take off twice, with the 1st time fooling most of us into thinking we were in the air. So with broken hearts and tired bodies we UN-boarded the plane, and resumed the comfy seats in the lounge that we missed so much.
5:20am on Friday morning
It's now 5:20am you think we would be happily on our way to cambodia by now, well no... We are delayed another 4 hours, because I think they just realized HOW MUCH WE LOVE PERTH!
8:00 am on Friday morning
It is now 8:00am and we have just heard the great news THAT OUR FLIGHT HAS BEEN CANCELED!!!!!!!!!! So we are now RE-entering Perth, yes RE-entering, after waiting 10 hours for our plane.The teachers have remained chill through out this mayhem. Andy was calm and in control with Lynn doing the same... And Geoff, well Geoff was becoming a big daddy, sticking up for us on the plane, after our rude fellow passengers. I guess Cambodia is just going to be better and better the longer we have to wait for it.
6:55pm on Friday night
It is now 6:55pm we were supposed to have been in Cambodia 10 hours ago... BUT NO!!!!! No no no no nononononononononno. Instead now we have been transferred to a hotel and had a hectic and rough 9 hours. Now finally we are making our way to the airport AGAIN, to check in, go through customs and hopefully, HOPEFULLY board a plane that is capable of flight, but knowing our luck this past 24 hours the wings on the plane will probably fall off...
7:59pm on Friday night
So now we are waiting in yet another line, waiting to check in for our flight that leaves at 8:30pm, so either that is going to leave without us, or it should be delayed again. Delayed, man I am getting so used to that word, when I hear it on the mega phone I get chills down my spine. So basically we arrived at perth airport at 10pm on thursday night, it is now 8:00pm on Friday night and we are hoping to be in phnom penh on Saturday morning, around 11:00 am... So after this travelers nightmare, we should get there, with only one day lost... But right now, just been able to get on the plane is asking a lot.
Xoxo gossip girl
Lynne- Sent from my iPad
2am on Friday morning
Well the title basically sums it up... The day continued... And continued...
It's about 2am right now and we should be on a flight to KL, but no. That would be too nice and too simple, so our flight was delayed a couple of hours. But don't worry we had the comfort of overly priced cafe food and airport seats to pass the time. Although this is a minor set back from the amazing trip we are about to embark on, we have made the use of the extra time by, talking, playing card games, getting to know each other and frequent trips to the toilet because someone (shay) doesn't know how to hold her fluids...
3:50am on Friday morning
We boarded the plane at 3:50am with our little hopeful minds thinking we were on our way to cambodia, well turns out our plane didn't want to fly. The plane tried to take off twice, with the 1st time fooling most of us into thinking we were in the air. So with broken hearts and tired bodies we UN-boarded the plane, and resumed the comfy seats in the lounge that we missed so much.
5:20am on Friday morning
It's now 5:20am you think we would be happily on our way to cambodia by now, well no... We are delayed another 4 hours, because I think they just realized HOW MUCH WE LOVE PERTH!
8:00 am on Friday morning
It is now 8:00am and we have just heard the great news THAT OUR FLIGHT HAS BEEN CANCELED!!!!!!!!!! So we are now RE-entering Perth, yes RE-entering, after waiting 10 hours for our plane.The teachers have remained chill through out this mayhem. Andy was calm and in control with Lynn doing the same... And Geoff, well Geoff was becoming a big daddy, sticking up for us on the plane, after our rude fellow passengers. I guess Cambodia is just going to be better and better the longer we have to wait for it.
6:55pm on Friday night
It is now 6:55pm we were supposed to have been in Cambodia 10 hours ago... BUT NO!!!!! No no no no nononononononononno. Instead now we have been transferred to a hotel and had a hectic and rough 9 hours. Now finally we are making our way to the airport AGAIN, to check in, go through customs and hopefully, HOPEFULLY board a plane that is capable of flight, but knowing our luck this past 24 hours the wings on the plane will probably fall off...
7:59pm on Friday night
So now we are waiting in yet another line, waiting to check in for our flight that leaves at 8:30pm, so either that is going to leave without us, or it should be delayed again. Delayed, man I am getting so used to that word, when I hear it on the mega phone I get chills down my spine. So basically we arrived at perth airport at 10pm on thursday night, it is now 8:00pm on Friday night and we are hoping to be in phnom penh on Saturday morning, around 11:00 am... So after this travelers nightmare, we should get there, with only one day lost... But right now, just been able to get on the plane is asking a lot.
Xoxo gossip girl
Lynne- Sent from my iPad
How many Cambodians does it take to outweigh Mr Outten?
Our apologies for the sporadic updates, we have had some technical problems.
Monday 9 July 2012
Friday 6 July 2012
Almost Away
Well we are underway ... almost.
We've had a plane problem. 2 x aborted take offs. Second one pretty extreme and very heavy braking. Plane broken so have to come back through immigration.
Our party are currently residing at Crown Promenade hotel Burswood. Not sure when we will be able to get a flight out and have missed our connecting flights.
A bloke in a ute has fixed the plane. Leaving some time tonight.
Will update later.
We've had a plane problem. 2 x aborted take offs. Second one pretty extreme and very heavy braking. Plane broken so have to come back through immigration.
Our party are currently residing at Crown Promenade hotel Burswood. Not sure when we will be able to get a flight out and have missed our connecting flights.
A bloke in a ute has fixed the plane. Leaving some time tonight.
Will update later.
Thursday 5 July 2012
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