A Day At The Orphanage

Hello!

so we have crossed the border into Cambodia and relaxing in Phnom Penh. Crossing the border was nice and easy, even though it looked as though it was closing time and we had to wake the sleeping visa man to get into the country and stamp our passports it ook no time at all! Instead of taking it easy we decided to get up really early the next day and peddle all the way to Phnom Penh. We ended up doing 135km to get here, but went through beautiful rice fields, the first 10/20 kms was just a straight path and on either sides rice fields as far as the eyes could see..amazing. locals were farming in them or paddling through with wooden boats. Our stop for lunch ended up being pretty eye opening. The only thing the lady had to eat was what looked like hard boiled eggs, so we ordered two. After the first crack we were a bit puzzled why the liquid coming out was all gooey and non egg like color. Nils opened his first(very thankfully) and found a half cooked chicken inside, full with bones, feathers, wings etc. It was cooked just in time for it to be not quite a baby chicken and the yolk was still there ready to eat. I nearly spewed everywhere and couldn't watch, Nils managed to tuck in and polish mine off as well due to the fact we didn't want to look rude as they don't have much to eat themselves and throwing away what to them is great food seemed wrong! The lady looked at me as though it was pretty stupid to have this reaction but im still calling Nils abortion eater and never would like to see one again!

Phnom Penh is a really interesting city, much smaller than Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh, the poverty is much more noticeable and spills out on every street. We are staying on the lake side, the rooms are very basic with a bed and what seems to be cardboard for walls, but the building struts out onto the lake and the view is great, especially at sun set, just on the right is a big mosque with a huge golden roof that shines in the sun and all the way around you can see the small shacks and buildings the locals live in. We are sharing the place with about 1000 mosquito's however! There are many children everywhere begging or just playing in the roads, all of whom are very playful and want to speak to you and say hello, some in the more tourist areas are just plain cheeky, but great fun. We hired a tuk tuk for the day and made our way around the tourist traps. Firstly we were taken to a prison used in the pol pot time for torture, killing and interrogation. This was mind blowing. We were able to see the rooms and equipment they used and see the mug shots of many of the 1000s that were killed. After, we then visited the killing fields. Funny as it sounds the area now is very pretty, and the shrine filled with the skulls and the bones of the victims like a temple, but we saw the mass graves and after the prison and this we had had enough death for one day. Phnom Penh has an amazing grand palace($6 for tourists and 50c for locals!), huge grounds with many different temples and praying areas. The place was busy with monks with whom we sat and chatted with and is definatley the most beautiful we have seen in Asia so far.

We have stopped here for longer than expected but the city has so much to see, every road or park or market is just so interesting. We also bumped into some people we met in Vietnam and spent some time with them.

Yesterday we visited the orphanage, its something i have wanted to do since being in Asia, and the experience was great. we bought rice, fruit, toys, pens with us and as soon as we got there we were accosted by the children holding hands and asking us questions. There are about 140 children living in this one, the space is pretty small, they have a small room for teaching and a stage for play and music workshops. All the children had smiles and were beautiful. I sat and played with the girls, we did each others hair, talked and drew pictures. Nils enjoyed picking up the kids and swinging them around and playing drums. It was so hot in there and they had so much energy, after having two on each arm and one on your shoulders shouting and running around a few hours took it out of you! They rely a lot on visitors as the government doesn't help at all with funding, and even though they seem happy you can see that there is a shortage of food, equipment and facilities. It was also interesting to talk with some of the older guys who had lived there for 5/6 years and in there 20's.

We hope you like the pictures, this day was a highlight of our trip and it was hard to chose which ones to add! So far Cambodia is fantastic, the culture and people are so friendly and cant wait to visit more.

Although we bought lots of toys they all much preferred the cardboard boxes! nils had at least 2 at a time in 1 box swinging them around...great fun!

The living, play and sleeping area

This is the entrance to the orphanage

Nils learning the bongos, they had a small area for drums and wooden blocks

Piggy backs and jumping around was the favorite game

Mark, one of the guys with us with some of the kids

I took along my tattoo pens, which the girls loved. This girl had been living here for 5 years and now is 20 years old

we brought with us all kinds of fruits and toys for the children

As soon as we got to the orphanage, this girl grabbed my hand and took me to her sleeping area to chat and draw pictures