Cambodia Corruption and Orphans

We arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia, last night at 7:00. We had a very short (40 minute) flight from Bangkok. I've read alot about the corruption in the Cambodian government, so it was not surprising that when we were going through the visa line, they asked for 1,000 Thai bagt, when several of us didn't have any bagt on us, they asked for $20 US dollars. Now..1,000 bagt is equal to nearly $33 US dollars, not $20. Once we paid, they passed our passports down a line of about 6 other government workers until it reached one individual who proceeded to call out the names on the passports. It was funny to hear the Cambodian official shout our names with a butchering Khmer accent.

Cambodia is surreal. It is so different than Bangkok. When we were driving to our hotel from the airport is was so dark outside because there were no street lights. It made for an eerie feeling. After checking in our hotel several of us decided to venture out for dinner to the Old Town part of Siem Reap, but first I needed to hit an ATM. After getting directions, I stepped outside to walk to the ATM and immediately I was literally grabbed by a young man who pulled me into his tuk-tuk (a motorcycle taxi). I told him that I wanted to go to the ATM and he said something in Khmer to his friend who jumped in the tuk-tuk with me. I sensed something was up and pushed my way out of the tuk-tuk and ran back into the hotel. I've learned to trust my instincts and they were raging when the friend jumped into the tuk-tuk with me. After what I experienced at the airport, I thought it was best to get out of the tuk-tuk really fast.
Today (I can't even remember what day it is, but I think it is July 6), after a meeting in the middle of the day, we went to two centers that we will be working with on Sunday-an orphanage and a school for the deaf and blind. Both centers were really emotional to visit. Both sets of children were so happy to see or hear us! I can't even begin to explain the orphanage-sleeping on bunks with no mattresses, no electricity, minimal material possessions. The kids were really fun to engage with on our visit. We all felt so bad for them! The orphanage was out of the city someways, and it felt like in the middle of the jungle. There were surrounding huts that other families lived in that were basically plywood on stilts. It is so hard to put in words what we all were feeling, other than by the grace of god we were not born into that life. Some of us, will be returning on for three more days to work with these children with the intent that we build relationships with them.

I went to dinner with about 8 other members of our group at The Soup Dragon. It was excellent! I had Khmer chicken with lemongrass. I love Khmer food! I believe it is the most tasty food I have ever had (excluding Waffle House). The spices used in Cambodian food are yum! It is similar to Thai, but more of a distinct "kick" to it. I want to buy a cookbook with traditional Khmer recipes to take home.

After dinner, I went to the night market while everyone else went back to the hotel. It is advised that we do not walk alone at night as there is no street lights and the sense of lawlessness that permeates the city. But, I couldn't resist going to the night market because I've read that there were many goods produced by Cambodian artists being sold there. I met one of the shop owners who was German and had a husband whose father was killed by the Khmer Rouge. She invited me back tomorrow night to interview her husband if I was interested in hearing what it was like to live through that period as he was scheduled to be there tomorrow night. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say.

We have to be ready to go tomorrow at 5:oo am to travel to Angkor Wat-the huge temple that many people know from Indiana Jones. We are planning to get there to see the sunrise.

I'm so glad we are in Cambodia. This country is really fascinating!

This country is really poor. There are scooter and bicycles everywhere. No one wears a helmet, not even small children riding on the back of a scooter or motorcycle.