Memories of Siem Reap, Cambodia

 

Every time i look back lately i keep thinking of the times in Cambodia, The trip was my first big experience and challenge on my own as an independent traveler, From the Indiana jones style plane journey into Phnom Penh to the wild and in parts still tribal remoteness of Ratanakiri province and rainforest town Banlung, every element of the trip was completely new and there was always something i would have to adapt too pretty quickly in order to get by.

I am really happy i decided to go on this trip, I asked a few people beforehand if they would be interested but the only response i had was half hearted maybes so i decided to take that as a no from experience and just go it alone, I also knew though without sounding big headed that i would be OK solo during the trip despite big language barriers, culture differences etc because i learn to adapt pretty quick and i know that no matter where you are in the world the thing that is the most important is friendliness, an open mind and just respect not just for different culture but treating people the way you would like to be treated yourself, this is sadly the part which is almost lost to people back home as i sit here and write this in 2013.

The strangest thing is that i met a guy in Sihanoukville who used to live about 10 minutes down the road from my house, he went travelling for a while, loved Sihanoukville and decided the UK was shit and wanted to make a permanent move and has been living over there ever since, his life was pretty simple but he was one of the happiest brits i've met abroad, he worked over in a hostel nearby to the beachfront but also on a beautiful island 2 hours away from the mainland, the pay apparently wasn't great but with free everything living on a island with no worries who can blame him. 

Some of the best and most memorable times have been meeting the locals, if i went back today i would still remember all the faces i met, some working very hard day and night to make a living but the thing i never forget is how happy everybody was despite tough lives in comparison to the European way of life. I met some of the most friendliest people in Siem Reap mostly around my guesthouse. Inside the guesthouse i was being treated like a king even though i was not much older than most of the staff, there is no way i would take advantage of the kindness and instead decided to just be myself as always and speak more personally with the staff which came across pretty good because they opened up and relaxed around me and i began to make good friendships over the few days i was there, in the end it was really sad to say goodbye. 

I will never forget the bike driver man Hem, Over the three days we spent travelling all across Siem Reap and even pretty far out into the countryside, I got a really personal look at Cambodia with him, Hem was an older man who had been through everything during his life in Cambodia, He was a young man during the Khmer rouge period and was a part of the army unwillingly until he decided to flee over the border to Thailand as it was the only way he could turn against the army without serious punishment, Sadly many of the Cambodian people were forced to join and would face terrible punishments for turning against or trying to quit the army, Hems only option was to be a refugee in Thailand and live and work there until the war was over, He returned back to his country 10 years later. The whole story and his openness to his life really made me break down, there are not many things which can get me like that but i was really sad that night and just questioning everything to myself about people and the world, in fact from that moment on my mindset changed completely on the way i see the world. 

I was approached in Siem Reap by a kid promoting an orphanage, i was sitting in an open restaurant overlooking the market and the kid spotted me and walked in and grabbed my attention, I couldn't just pass it by so i listened to him, the problem like many other orphanages in the area is many tourists don't see this side of Siem Reap on first appearance as the touristy areas are very well presented and there is rarely any sense of poverty or problems in the main touristy streets, but even though the area receives a lot of money from tourism the money rarely goes to these orphanages and relief centres etc because the tourists simply see a blind eye to these places because they are hidden from view, the kid was probably in areas he was not allowed and i remember the restaurant owner telling him to leave but i said it was ok and allowed him to finish and i agreed to pledge a small amount of money for a t shirt which i still have and wear today as a supporter. The orphanage is truly independent and right next to the Angkor temple site but goes unnoticed and unfunded by the local gov despite all the money going into Angkor visits right next door, I said i would do more to promote this orphanage but I’ve sadly not done as much as i can but i am actively supporting them, If you have time and/or plan to visit Cambodia Siem Reap check out - SOID Organisation, The orphanage has a facebook page which keeps regular updates and also encourages people to volunteer for free. 

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