On Friday Megan and I went with the conference group to visit 2 NGO schools. The first was in a very depressed area, the old train station. It is a squatters area. They said that the size increases almost every night as people move in and build their houses in the night.
We went to see an elementary school classroom. The kids were so cute and very prepared for our visit. I don't think they get many visitors. These are some of the lucky kids who get to learn the Khmer language. The kids demonstrated a lesson led by one of the children. (I'll post pictures later). I'll also list the website for the organization.

We also went in to see what one young women had done with her training. She was able to learn sewing and purchace a sewing machine. Her business has been going well so she bought more sewing machines and now has about 6 people working for her.

After that school we went to another school compound. This one has up to 1000 kids and they provide outreach for another 500. The staff go to the dump site to get the kids. They assess their family situation to see if they can stay with their families or need to stay in the school. If they stay with their families they are given a bike to get to school. All the kids were dressed in uniforms and playing around during their lunch. They looked really happy. There are 19 different trades that they could be trained in. There is a cooking school and a restaurant. They sell handicrafts, teach dance, etc. These ventures seem to be making progress. Good thing.

After our tours we went back to the guest house, by tuk tuk, and picked up Darren. We went back to the river as it must have been pretty close to 40 degrees. We went on a boat out to the Mekong again. The boat dropped the anchor in the middle of the river and Darren and Megan went swimming! Someone had to stay aboard to take pictures.

We got a driver to take us to the restaurant Friends. This is another training org where the kids learn cooking and restaurant work. Some of them get hired by restaurants in the city. The food was wonderful! By that time it was dark and we got a young tuk tuk driver to take us around the city. It's a lot cooler if you keep moving. The streets are just packed with vehicles and are jammed together criss crossing, cutting, just pure chaos, that works. Can't figure it out but it works.
During the day when we were in the bus a couple on a motorbike bumped into the bus and the girl went tumbling off, in the middle of the road. She didn't get hurt but that could've been bad.

The driver took us to the lake that is in the city. Earlier in the day we'd seen where they are dredging the river. The sand from the river will be used to fill in the lake where they are going to build hotels. It is so sad to see this type of building. We went around the area that is just back alleys with guest houses and restaurants that will be eliminated because of this building. We've seen the one casino with it's flashing lights and huge screen lit up in the night. Cambodians are not allowed to go there but they sit outside on the grass in the evenings.

We're going to Siem Reap tomorrow and will be seeing Ankor Wat!

Arriving in Cambodia

We arrived in Cambodia after a couple flights, the first flight being 13 hours. Needless to say we were all tired but very excited to arrive in Cambodia. Our Tuk Tuk driver, Mr. Srieng was waiting at the airport with a sign with our names on it! He was very happy to meet us and we were just as happy he was there to take care of us. He loaded the 3 of us and our luggage on his Tuk tuk and drove us to the Nice Guest House where he had reserved our rooms.
We have nice clean rooms, airconditioning, and a fridge for $12 a night.

Mr. Srieng is also here all the time to take us anywhere so we did a bit of exploring our first day. The people are so friendly and we've been able to find English speakers easily. We went to the restaurant across from our guest house for dinner the first day and spent quite a bit of time talking to the owner, Tina. Her husband is Canadian and is an English teacher. Really nice people and great food. We went to bed by 6:30pm the first night. We were well worn out.

On Wednesday, the second day we went to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Melissa saw on BCTV that there is a landmark tribunal today, UN backed. The first against a former Khmer Rouge leader. It's in Phnom Penh. It's the first day of the trial. He was a boss at Tuol Sleng:
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/international_politics/cambodia+killing+fields+trial+opens/2958372
During the reign of the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979 20, 000 men, women and children were killed there.

Meg and I went out at 6pm to the river for a boat cruise. We were the only ones on the boat! It was for 1 hour $15. The guide had been learning English at his church, he told us so he wanted to practice with us. He had a really good inpression of Canadians. He said there are organizations in Cambodia to help people and some of the good ones are from Canada. He mentioned their help with the land mines and also with the children. That's good news.

First Post

This is Vibol, the Tuk Tuk driver and his family. Melissa and Sheldon met them on their trip to Cambodia in 2007 and have kept in touch. Vibol is making our accommodation arrangements in Siem Reap and will be picking us up from the airport. I can't wait to meet them!

We'll be leaving from Seattle for Phnom Penh on Sunday and will arrive on Tuesday Feb 17th.

A friend of Vibol's will meet us at the airport. Will keep you posted.