Since I've been without electricity the past 5 days or so I will need
to go back a little to update you on my travels.
In case you couldn't tell, I had an amazing time in Siem Reap. I spent
my time soaking up my long bike rides through the city and villages to
get to school, teaching the most adorable children you'd ever hope to
see, and going out for dinner every night with the lovely volunteers
and staff. It's been, hands down, one of my most favorite life
experiences. We also saw spectacular temples (I really didn't
anticipate the temples to be as magnificent as they were - and being
able to climb on all of them and explore them from the inside out was
a cool bonus).
I made necklaces for all the kids in my class as a goodbye gift
(thanks for the idea dad, the kids LOVED them)! It's hard to move
forward without constantly thinking back on an experience like that.
There are so many areas of development needed for these people to just
survive let alone live a life of quality. Not only education (programs
for special needs children are non-existent) and proper health care (the
local hospital asks for $6 a night for a bed or $3 a night to sleep on
the floor - these prices are a typical weeks worth of wages for a
family), but education in preventative healthcare would be incredibly
beneficial. They need modes of transportation so they can go outside
their villages to work, the parents need to learn trades so they don't
have to sell their children or put them to work. The list goes on and
on, but as one local teen I was speaking with said, the government has
to stop being corrupt, then Cambodia can prosper. Maybe at some point
I will be able to travel back there and learn some more about
development and possibly work with new hope on one of their
development/ sustainability projects.
After Siem Reap we headed straight for the islands off the Cambodian
coast for a little R&R. We picked Bamboo Island from a recommendation.
Our boat dropped us off at the shore (which was kinda crappy looking
for an island) and we were told to walk straight through the jungle.
Starting to feel a little bit like a scene out of Lost or Survivor we
took a 20 minute trek to the other side of the island and sure enough
we found paradise. It was amazing. with only two resorts, one on each
side of the island, there were about 60 people in total on the island
(and we were on the gorgeous side of it). Not too many people know
about Bamboo Island (there are other islands way more built up and
popular) but the people at our resort (approx. 40 people) were from
all over the world. So, we had the best of both worlds. Unspoiled
beaches, a cool youthful relaxing scene, and a small community of
people to share it with. The first night we got there just so happened
to have a huge party on the other side of the island with DJ's and
people being brought over from the mainland. The rest of our time was
spent relaxing on our side of the island, drinking buckets, laying out
on the beach, listening to battery powered tunes of bob marley and the
like, and adjusting to the fact that we had no electricity. We're
pretty lucky to have ended up there because in about 3 yrs. or so the
resort will be torn down and a luxury hotel will be taking its place
as that side of the island was just bought on a 100 yr. lease for $40
mil.
So, that was my Cambodia experience. Oh, I also really hated Phenom
penh so I'm skipping writing about it all together. Other interesting
Cambodia facts...
The first night I saw a lot of mini outdoor bonfires. At first I
thought maybe cambodians were into outdoor community cooking, but by
the stench in the morning it became really obvious that this was how
people got rid of their trash, and subsequently why the streets were
soooo litered with trash.
Monks in Cambodia are quite modern and many of them have lost
respect from the Cambodian people for being "corrupt" by indulging in
drinking, sex, and other un-monkish like things.
This goes for most asian countries and Cambodia is no exception,
becareful when buying skin products (like bodywash) most of them have
skin bleaching components in them since having white skin is
considered beautiful.
I'm in Vietnam now and the New Year (Tet) is starting tonight. It is
the Year of the Cat and Year of the Rabbit. All the streets are filled
with hanging lanterns and flowers and lined with flags of yellow stars
and the hammer and sickle.
Pic 1 - Beginning of the Bamboo Island party
Pic 2 - Tree covered in shoes
Pic 3 - Our last night in Siem Reap good-bye party
Pic 4 - Traveled to the village where my favorite boys live so I could give them their necklaces
Pic 5 - Me inside temple ruins
Jillian aka Jilly, Jillypet, Jillybean, J-Bones, J-Dilla, and sometimes Crab Cakes
to go back a little to update you on my travels.
In case you couldn't tell, I had an amazing time in Siem Reap. I spent
my time soaking up my long bike rides through the city and villages to
get to school, teaching the most adorable children you'd ever hope to
see, and going out for dinner every night with the lovely volunteers
and staff. It's been, hands down, one of my most favorite life
experiences. We also saw spectacular temples (I really didn't
anticipate the temples to be as magnificent as they were - and being
able to climb on all of them and explore them from the inside out was
a cool bonus).
I made necklaces for all the kids in my class as a goodbye gift
(thanks for the idea dad, the kids LOVED them)! It's hard to move
forward without constantly thinking back on an experience like that.
There are so many areas of development needed for these people to just
survive let alone live a life of quality. Not only education (programs
for special needs children are non-existent) and proper health care (the
local hospital asks for $6 a night for a bed or $3 a night to sleep on
the floor - these prices are a typical weeks worth of wages for a
family), but education in preventative healthcare would be incredibly
beneficial. They need modes of transportation so they can go outside
their villages to work, the parents need to learn trades so they don't
have to sell their children or put them to work. The list goes on and
on, but as one local teen I was speaking with said, the government has
to stop being corrupt, then Cambodia can prosper. Maybe at some point
I will be able to travel back there and learn some more about
development and possibly work with new hope on one of their
development/ sustainability projects.
After Siem Reap we headed straight for the islands off the Cambodian
coast for a little R&R. We picked Bamboo Island from a recommendation.
Our boat dropped us off at the shore (which was kinda crappy looking
for an island) and we were told to walk straight through the jungle.
Starting to feel a little bit like a scene out of Lost or Survivor we
took a 20 minute trek to the other side of the island and sure enough
we found paradise. It was amazing. with only two resorts, one on each
side of the island, there were about 60 people in total on the island
(and we were on the gorgeous side of it). Not too many people know
about Bamboo Island (there are other islands way more built up and
popular) but the people at our resort (approx. 40 people) were from
all over the world. So, we had the best of both worlds. Unspoiled
beaches, a cool youthful relaxing scene, and a small community of
people to share it with. The first night we got there just so happened
to have a huge party on the other side of the island with DJ's and
people being brought over from the mainland. The rest of our time was
spent relaxing on our side of the island, drinking buckets, laying out
on the beach, listening to battery powered tunes of bob marley and the
like, and adjusting to the fact that we had no electricity. We're
pretty lucky to have ended up there because in about 3 yrs. or so the
resort will be torn down and a luxury hotel will be taking its place
as that side of the island was just bought on a 100 yr. lease for $40
mil.
So, that was my Cambodia experience. Oh, I also really hated Phenom
penh so I'm skipping writing about it all together. Other interesting
Cambodia facts...
The first night I saw a lot of mini outdoor bonfires. At first I
thought maybe cambodians were into outdoor community cooking, but by
the stench in the morning it became really obvious that this was how
people got rid of their trash, and subsequently why the streets were
soooo litered with trash.
Monks in Cambodia are quite modern and many of them have lost
respect from the Cambodian people for being "corrupt" by indulging in
drinking, sex, and other un-monkish like things.
This goes for most asian countries and Cambodia is no exception,
becareful when buying skin products (like bodywash) most of them have
skin bleaching components in them since having white skin is
considered beautiful.
I'm in Vietnam now and the New Year (Tet) is starting tonight. It is
the Year of the Cat and Year of the Rabbit. All the streets are filled
with hanging lanterns and flowers and lined with flags of yellow stars
and the hammer and sickle.
Pic 1 - Beginning of the Bamboo Island party
Pic 2 - Tree covered in shoes
Pic 3 - Our last night in Siem Reap good-bye party
Pic 4 - Traveled to the village where my favorite boys live so I could give them their necklaces
Pic 5 - Me inside temple ruins
Jillian aka Jilly, Jillypet, Jillybean, J-Bones, J-Dilla, and sometimes Crab Cakes
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