Every Cambodian has a story....

During our 10 days here we've heard some interesting (and sad)stories from some of the people we've met.

One of our guides, Kim, took us to Tonle Sap, the huge lake in Cambodia that is larger than the island of Singapore.  On the way he told us of the first time he actually saw white people in 2003.  He was 20 years old at the time, and said he didn't understand what these 'strange white things with long noses' were!  He said:  "I asked myself what these things were - were they human, were they the same as me?'  We were absolutely astounded - until he explained that when he was young, there was no TV, no radio, as the Khmer Rouge had cut off access to the outside world. 
I asked him if people in his village had been lost during the time of Pol Pot, and he started by telling us that the Khmer Rouge had killed 3 million people out of a population of 7.5 million.  He then went on to say that when he was 5 he lost his father, at 15 he lost his mother, and 2 uncles and one aunt (who was a professor) were also killed.  It was very humbling and surprising to find that only 8 years ago many Cambodians had had no contact with the outside world.  And that a whole generation had been wiped out and left a generation of orphans.


Another tuk-tuk driver, Jack, told us how difficult it was to survive in Siem Reap.  Many days he gets no fares, (and most fares are only $1-$2) so he was very happy when we hired him to drive us around for the day to Ta Prohm temple and West Baray.  We chose him because he wasn't as pushy as the other drivers.  The high tourist season only lasts three months, so everyone is trying very hard to make money while the tourists are here - but they have to survive on that for the whole year.  There is not much in the way of industry, so basically it's driving or selling to make a living.  Most families also grow their own food, and the staple food is fish and rice.  Jack still lives with his parents and is hoping to find work in South Korea.  He can't marry until he makes enough money to support a wife and family.  We offered to take him up in the Angkor Wat tethered balloon with us, but he politely declined, and we got the impression he would rather have the extra money than go in the balloon - so we gave him a good tip when we got back to our hotel.  We used his services every time we would find him.

On our final day we booked a cooking course through Beyond Unique Escapes and our guide, Chea, took us to a small village 10 minutes outside of town where the Sojourn Villas are located.  Our teacher for the day was the chef from the Sojourn.  The owner of Beyond Unique owns several businesses and all of these businesses help support local villages and orphanages.  As part of our tour we visited a local family, a woman with 10 children, and Chea gave us a kilo of rice provided by the company to donate to the family as thanks for visiting her home.  Chea is originally from Phnom Penh, but moved to Siem Reap with her sick mother as the air and surroundings of Siem Reap improved her mother's health.  They left Chea's father and brother in Phnom Penh, as there was work for her brother there.  Chea had spent a year in Russia, studying Journalism, before returning to Siem Reap.  I asked her if she had enjoyed living in Russia and she replied that she had loved it, even though it was so cold.  There's no such thing as snow in Cambodia!


There are many sad stories here - there are so many amputees, people with disabilities, who have been injured in the war or by landmines, and there is an orphanage around every corner.  These people have had such a horrible history, but the survivors still manage to smile and keep going.  You have to admire them.