Temples of the Children

When you're wandering around the temples of Cambodia, you are definitely going to run into children.  They are usually begging for money or trying to sell you a bottle of water and they can be VERY persistent.  If you try to ignore them, they will usually ask you where you are from. 

Who can resist a little kid asking about your background?   

So you answer ...

"Canada" or another common tourist country like Australia, England or the USA. 

And then they spill out a half-dozen facts about your country that you probably didn't even know about.

At that point, you are so amazed that you fork over a couple of bucks and buy their trinkets.  (At least, that is what they are hoping). 

I've been to Cambodia a couple of times now and most of the time, I LOVE to interact with the kids.  They are harmless, probably come from very rough backgrounds and after all, they are KIDS and I hate it when other tourists bat at them like they are pesky flies.  But sometimes, I'm really not in the mood to be bothered so when they ask me where I am from, here is what I reply: 

"Surinam"

At which point, they get a blank look on their face and stumble away defeated. 

A lot of the time, the kids hang around outside the temples in small groups, keeping their eagle eyes out for a sweat-soaked tourist who might have an open wallet.  But sometimes, there are little kids hanging around the temples who just seem to be watching the world go by.  Who knows where these kids come from and in the case of the kid below, I'm not sure even what gender he or she was. 

These pictures were taken at the Preah Ko temple which is part of the Roulos group.  These temple pre-date Angkor Wat and are all quite small but still fascinating.  They are located just outside of Siem Reap, Cambodia.   

This little boy (I'm calling him a boy) was watching the tourists from behind a stone barrier. 

I asked my buddy Eddie (aka Reluctant Photography Model) to pose with him.  Eddie tried to get him to smile at the camera but it was unsuccessful for the most part and the kid really couldn't have cared less about what I was doing. 

Eddie was far more entertaining. 

I tried to take the little guy back to the US but the Cambodians have STRICT rules that nothing can be taken out of the temples. 

Oh well.

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The Cambodian fish massage

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. 

When in Siem Reap, it's a lot of fun just to be a tourist. 

Going to the night market is not something that regular Cambodians do.  It is strictly for those out-of-towners who aren't too weary from trampling around temples.  Most of it, as the name suggests, involves shopping for souvenirs but there is a central bar serving strong drinks and plenty of opportunities to get REALLY cheap massages.

$4 foot massage for an hour?  No problem! 

But if you're looking for something a little more exotic, then there is another option ...

A FISH FOOT MASSAGE

On this visit to Cambodia, I really wanted to try it out. I was hoping that the experience was better than their command of English.

For $2, you get a massage that lasts about 20 minutes.  This means that the fish are bringing in higher profits than their human counterparts! 

This does seem a little um, fishy.

You do get a free beer, glass of wine or coke while you're getting your toes tickled. This was a huge selling point for me because I was thirsty and a little nervous about sticking my feet into nasty water filled with a school of potential pirrhanas.

 
Here is the pool of water and the hungry fish. I don't think they get fed otherwise. Their diet consists entirely of tourist toe jam. Yummy.

 
After sticking my toes into the pool, the sensation was almost unbearable. I have ticklish feet and the feeling of having thirty tiny mouths eat away at me like I was some sort of human buffet was very disturbing.



But damnit, I sucked it up and endured it like a man.

Eddie didn't seem that impressed but the girls at the pool next to us were more entertaining than the fish. 

At the end of twenty minutes, did my feet feel any better?  Well, no but I walked away satisfied knowing that I had filled up lots of little stomachs and made them very happy even if they hadn't done the same thing for me.

Last day in Cambodia ... for now

This is our last day.  We're waiting on Savong to take us around and see the pumps that were made on our last visit.  We also hope to see the building of a new one today.  I'm not sure if they have started yet. 

I also hope to buy some t-shirts and say goodbye to the kids at the orphanage.

Goodbyes are so difficult.  I even hate saying goodbye to my apartment every morning when I leave for work. 

It was a very quick trip.  In some ways, I felt like I accomplished a lot but in other ways, I felt like I simply ran out of time and needed another week to get everything done.  Of course, I'll be in close contact with Savong to see how everything is going and I hope to keep everyone updated on the new and EXCITING projects that are ahead of us. 

We leave tonight around midnight.  It will be a very long trip home and I hope that the tempers between North and South Korea calm down before we fly into and out of Incheon airport. 

I'll be back home Thursday evening.  I'll spend the whole day shell-shocked and then it's back to work on Friday.  AGGH!

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I've got Cambodia on my mind

Yes, I have decided to do it twice in one year. 

No, I'm not talking about balancing my checkbook.  I'm talking about taking another trip to Cambodia! 

I leave this Sunday on the red eye.  Technically speaking, I'm doing two red eyes back-to-back because I leave on Sunday night and I arrive on Tuesday night.  This is one helluva long trip and I'm not looking forward to it but at least Korean Airlines has a good in-flight entertainment service.  And their flight attendants are very attractive and helpful.  Those are definite pluses when you are cramped into a stiff chair for a gazillion hours. 

On the agenda:  

The main reason for my travel is to meet with Savong to discuss the recent birth of The Savong Foundation.  This is a non-profit organization (with the 501c3 status pending) that will benefit the Savong School, the Savong Orphan Center and the surrounding community of the Bakong district of northern Cambodia.  We will discuss the various projects and see what directions we wish them to take.  The push right now is to come up with ways to make money for the Foundation so that it can accomplish everything that we dream about.  I am very excited to be a part of this charity and you can keep an eye on the updates on The Savong Foundation facebook page. 

Besides the business stuff, I'll spend a lot of time with kids at the orphan center and hopefully I'll get a chance to see what's happening at the school.  I'm sure that I'll be exploring the temples that I didn't get to see last time and for the first time, I hope to travel to Phnom Kulen which is the sacred Cambodian mountain known for its waterfalls.  

I will be staying at the Seven Candles Guesthouse which is the best accommodation I know for $20 a night.  I am very excited to see Ponheary Ly again who is the Big Mama of the house and was recently awarded the title of a CNN hero for her work with schoolchildren.  The guesthouse is very centrally located and you really do feel as if you are part of the big family when you're there.  I highly recommend it if you ever decide to take the trip to Siem Reap. 

And of course, I'll try to see sunrise at Angkor Wat.  And I'll visit the markets.  And I'll walk down Pub Street in Siem Reap and hope to see a show at the Temple Bar this time around.  I may even try a fish foot massage for $3 which includes a coke or a beer.   Yes, I am a tourist at heart and I love to take pictures. 

This is a good time to visit Cambodia for the weather; it will be cooler with less (wishful thinking here) rain.  The weather has GOT to be better than it was in April which felt like I was running through hell wearing a fur coat.  If it does rain, it doesn't tend to last and scrubs everything clean (including the sweat-soaked tourists). 

It's a little tricky to post updates due to the exhaustion factor (I tend to go until I drop when I'm on vacation) but I'll do my best at letting you know that I'm still alive. 

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