Throw Off The Bowlines: A Tale of Two Hospitals: "Recently, I was able to go on a tour of two of the hospitals in Siem Reap. One is the Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) for which The..."
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Showing posts with label Cambodia children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cambodia children. Show all posts
Saturday, January 29, 2011
If you think our medical system needs fixing ...
From the blog of Dr. Huang who is currently over in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Throw Off The Bowlines: A Tale of Two Hospitals: "Recently, I was able to go on a tour of two of the hospitals in Siem Reap. One is the Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) for which The..."
Related articles
Throw Off The Bowlines: A Tale of Two Hospitals: "Recently, I was able to go on a tour of two of the hospitals in Siem Reap. One is the Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) for which The..."
Related articles
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
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 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.
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.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
In South Korea!
I left Cambodia late last night. It was a sad time saying goodbye to everyone but I promised them that I would be back and I'm sure I will keep my word. It's hard to say when the next visit will be. It's going to take a while to build up my bank account again but when the time is right, I'll be back. I love this country and just like an awkward teenager, I'd like to see how it turns out.
I felt that I accomplished a lot on this trip. We really didn't stop. Even sleep was a luxury and most of the nights, we got 6 hours of sleep, sometimes less. So, besides the touristy stuff, here is what we did:
All these things were made possible with the very generous donations from friends and family. I am so thankful for what this money was able to accomplish and I know the children are too. In total, over $2800 was raised and this is enough money to complete the construction of the nursing station as well as the fish farm.
A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who helped out. You are very special people and after you see the pictures, you will know that the money was put to very good use.
So, more about the orphanage later. I'm sitting here in South Korea waiting for my flight. I am getting very frustrated with this keyboard because I keep on hitting the Korean key and suddenly everything turns into Korean.
This is my name in Korean: ㅖㅗㅑㅣ
The computer also occasionally shuts down because it gives me warnings in Korean and I have no idea what to click on. Obviously I keep on choosing the wrong button.
This is how you write I hate this damn computer and wish it would die in a fiery hell
ㅑ ㅗㅁㅅㄷ 소ㅑㄴ ㅇ므ㅜ 채ㅡㅔㅕㅅㄷㄱ 뭉 쟈노 ㅑㅅ 재ㅕㅣㅇ 얃 ㅑㅜ ㅁ 랻교 ㅗ디ㅣ.
That actually looks pretty cool. I feel like I'm half-Korean or something. Wow.
This is how you write "wow". 쨎
I'm very sleep deprived. I didn't get any sleep last night and I have a 14 hour flight ahead of me. Ugh.
By the way, Korean flight attendants are really hot. They look like models with their 2% body fat and their tight short skirts. The only thing I don't like are their weird stiff scarves around their necks. They remind me of New Year's eve crackers and I want to pull one of them just to see if something goes pop. Korean flight attendants are also very nice and polite. I want to ask them to give me a foot massage and I'm pretty sure that if they had the time, they would do it.
Ahhhhhh, foot massages.
Okay, I gotta go eat. And then get ready for my flight. Will be back in Los Angeles tomorrow morning. Actually, it will be this morning, which is a weird mind f%*ck. I have already arrived before I left. Obviously, I will be doing some time travelling.
ㄴㄷㄷ ㄷㅍㄷ교ㅐㅜㄷ ㅍㄷ교 내ㅐㅜ!!!!!
I felt that I accomplished a lot on this trip. We really didn't stop. Even sleep was a luxury and most of the nights, we got 6 hours of sleep, sometimes less. So, besides the touristy stuff, here is what we did:
- Built three water pumps with personalized signs indicating the donors
- Fixed one water pump
- Started construction on a nursing station for the orphanage
- Started construction on a fish farm for the orphanage
- Bought thirty pairs of flip-flops for the orphanage
- Bought fuel for the orphanage generator
- Bought laundry soap and mosquito nets for the orphanage
- Bought toys for the orphanage
- Donated twenty-five (approx.) skipping ropes to the orphanage
- Made a photo collage of all the orphanage children and put in a large frame
All these things were made possible with the very generous donations from friends and family. I am so thankful for what this money was able to accomplish and I know the children are too. In total, over $2800 was raised and this is enough money to complete the construction of the nursing station as well as the fish farm.
A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who helped out. You are very special people and after you see the pictures, you will know that the money was put to very good use.
So, more about the orphanage later. I'm sitting here in South Korea waiting for my flight. I am getting very frustrated with this keyboard because I keep on hitting the Korean key and suddenly everything turns into Korean.
This is my name in Korean: ㅖㅗㅑㅣ
The computer also occasionally shuts down because it gives me warnings in Korean and I have no idea what to click on. Obviously I keep on choosing the wrong button.
This is how you write I hate this damn computer and wish it would die in a fiery hell
ㅑ ㅗㅁㅅㄷ 소ㅑㄴ ㅇ므ㅜ 채ㅡㅔㅕㅅㄷㄱ 뭉 쟈노 ㅑㅅ 재ㅕㅣㅇ 얃 ㅑㅜ ㅁ 랻교 ㅗ디ㅣ.
That actually looks pretty cool. I feel like I'm half-Korean or something. Wow.
This is how you write "wow". 쨎
I'm very sleep deprived. I didn't get any sleep last night and I have a 14 hour flight ahead of me. Ugh.
By the way, Korean flight attendants are really hot. They look like models with their 2% body fat and their tight short skirts. The only thing I don't like are their weird stiff scarves around their necks. They remind me of New Year's eve crackers and I want to pull one of them just to see if something goes pop. Korean flight attendants are also very nice and polite. I want to ask them to give me a foot massage and I'm pretty sure that if they had the time, they would do it.
Ahhhhhh, foot massages.
Okay, I gotta go eat. And then get ready for my flight. Will be back in Los Angeles tomorrow morning. Actually, it will be this morning, which is a weird mind f%*ck. I have already arrived before I left. Obviously, I will be doing some time travelling.
ㄴㄷㄷ ㄷㅍㄷ교ㅐㅜㄷ ㅍㄷ교 내ㅐㅜ!!!!!
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