"Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say it's all right" - The Beatles

This past weekend was the Water Festival in Cambodia. It starts on the day of the full moon in late October or early November and normally up to a million people from across the country flock to the banks of the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers in Phnom Penh to watch traditional boats racing. The water festival this year was very scaled down but Cambodians still came to the city to celebrate. The government decided to put the resources towards the flood victims,  and the boat races were cancelled because of concerns for the safety of the boaters. In addition, 340 people died last year when a stampede broke out over a bridge. 

Last week I had Wednesday to Friday off for the Water Festival. We stayed in town on Wednesday night to celebrate along the Riverfront but headed to the beach on Thursday to take advantage of the day's off. Even though we had already been there, we could not resist the beautiful white sand and glorious hot sun of Sihanoukville. It is the perfect little untouched paradise and not poisoned by tourists. It won't be this way for long. 

On Thursday, Friday and Sunday, the weather was immaculate. It was exactly what we needed and wanted! On Saturday however, there was a storm anyone could appreciate. Part's of the shore are lined with restaurants so the owner's moved all the comfy chairs under the covered restaurants so we could watch the  lightening over the ocean and feel some-what protected from the rain and loud thunder! 

 Rain can't take away the beauty of Sihanoukville*

One night as a treat we ate at this amazing restaurant at a hotel called New Sea View Villa. Cathy and I both got starters, steak dinners, and a glass of wine for $9. It was absolutely delicious and such a nice delight to eat a meal that tasted like it had been prepared in Canada!

 The most amazing meal.. EVER!

Last time we visited Sihanoukville, we had met a bunch of volunteers from the Cambodian Children's Painting Project. We had the opportunity this weekend to visit the CCPP store. CCPP works with children who are living in extreme poverty who are sent out by their parents to collect cans and bottles, sell bracelets and beg for food or money from tourists.They provide children with the opportunity to expand their imagination and skills through creating art! There is a strict policy that any child who participates in this program is not allowed to beg or sell things along the beaches. If the volunteers or staff are seen buying bracelets, giving food or money to the children, they are fired on the spot because it keeps children on the street. I think this is an amazing organization that's doing great things for Cambodian children.
Here is their website: http://www.letuscreatecambodia.org/

We also learnt this time around (from our Lonely Planet book... I won't lie) that during the Vietnam War, Sihanoukville was an intensive military port first being occupied by the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam and then the United States. When the Khmer Rouge took power in April 1975, the port was the last place to be evacuated by the US army. After the fall of the Khmer Rouge, Sihanoukville's port played a huge roll in the development of Cambodia and in 1999 became one of the main spots of economical growth.

Also in December of 1999, Formosa Plastics bribed Cambodian officials and dumped 3000 tons of mercury laden waste into Sihanoukville's beaches, killing 3 people. Formosa Plastics also tried to dump the waste in the Nevada, US. Disgusting behaviour and inhumane decision making if you ask me!

With it's history, significance and exquisiteness, Sihanoukville has become a place I have grown to love and will definitely be back!!!

Enjoying my last moments on the beach*

Catching our last glimpse of sun before we must head back to Phnom Penh*

There is really no concept of personal space in Cambodia... particularly on buses. We gave the hostel we stayed at a few days notice to book us bus ticket's home on Sunday at 5:30pm. On Sunday when we asked about our tickets, the guy we had spoken to had "no idea", a.k.a forgot to book us seats and gave us the run around with getting another bus. Because it was the end of a holiday weekend, buses were all sold out with people heading back to the city. He eventually found us two seats on a night bus headed to Siem Reap that agreed to drop us in Phnom Penh en route. First the hostel guy said the bus left at 7pm. Then he said a taxi would pick us up at 7pm to bring us to the bus. At 7:30pm when the taxi still hadn't shown up for us, I asked a hostel employee to call him and ask what was going on. He then told her that we had to get ourselves to the bus station and that we hadn't paid for our tickets yet, which we did! Anyways, we eventually made it to our bus where we were greeted by angry bus employees who had to wait for us. Thank goodness they waited though!!! So going back to my personal space comment... at the back of every sleeper/night bus is four "beds" across the very back row. Me and Cathy had two of these spots with an older Cambodian couple that felt it was okay to spread out onto our seats. That is never okay, ever!

After a some-what quick 5 hour bus ride, we arrived in Phnom Penh and back to reality.

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous*

This weekend was another exciting time in Phnom Penh. Cathy and I, both not feeling 100%, decided to pamper, wine, and dine ourselves. After our lazy Saturday which consisted of our breakfast of champions, shopping and pedicures, we decided to classy it up on Sunday - crazy not to!

First on our list was to visit Wat Phnom - a Buddhist temple and the largest religious structure in Phnom Penh standing 27 metres above the ground. Legend states that Lady Penh, a wealthy lady who lived on the outskirts of a village located in present day Phnom Penh, built the temple in 1373. During the flood of the Mekong river, a hollow tree floated up to her lawn, and in the tree were four bronze statues of the Buddha. She saw this as a sign that the Buddha wanted a new home, so she built a temple.

 On the front steps of Wat Phnom*

The interior has a central altar complex with a large bronze seated Buddha surrounded by other statues, flowers, candles and items of devotion and worship. The walls are covered with murals, particularly of the Buddha's earlier reincarnations before his enlightenment. There are also murals depicting stories from the Reamker, the Khmer version of the Ramayana. There is also a small shrine dedicated to Lady Penh which is usually crowded with people praying and presenting food offerings.

 Central Altar in Wat Phnom*

Next on our list was to visit the Raffles Hotel Le Royal for High Tea. Raffles is a luxury five star boutique hotel in Phnom Penh first established in 1929 and then refurbished in 1997.  The international clientele predominantly consist of globetrotters and adventurers, writers and journalists, royalty and dignitaries.

We sat in Elephant Bar for our tea and three-tier pastry and sandwich treats. The Elephant Bar is absolutely beautiful with paintings on the ceiling and all along the walls of beautiful elephants and scenic landscapes. On the drink menu you can order a Femme Fatale, a cocktail named in honour of Jacqueline Kennedy from when she stayed here.

 High Tea in the Elephant Bar of Raffles Hotel Le Royal*

Cathy and I both felt as though Raffles must have played a role during the Khmer Rouge rule either as protection for foreigners or housing for the Khmer Rouge regime. As beautiful and sophisticated as the atmosphere was, you could feel the history and sense the significance as you walked down the long, marble hallways. It reminded me of the Hotel from the film "Hotel Rwanda". Sure enough, according to wikipedia: "Between 1970 and 1975 most journalists working in Phnom Penh stayed here, and part of the film The Killing Fields was set in the hotel. It featured in the film as the last refuge for foreign journalists before the Khmer Rouge forced all French nationals into the French Embassy."

After this, we headed to the riverfront for a stroll along the Mekong River and stopped in at this Irish Pub called Paddy Rice. We later learned it was run by a guy from Toronto (Scarborough) who came over to chat when he heard my accent.

After all our hard work during the afternoon, we went to Metro Restaurant for a late dinner. This place is a stunningly stylish venue with a real cosmopoltian New York look and feel. We treated ourselves to a bottle of Argentinian wine, a cheese and pate platter, and some tapas.

Metro Restaurant on the riverfront*

Can't live this way every day but there is nothing wrong with splurging from time to time!

“I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints, sinners are much more fun” - Billy Joel

Fried noodles + Lipton lemon tea with ice + Coke = BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS! 

 

Impossible is nothing. Where there's a will, there's a way!

A little taste of India for Hump Day*

Last night for Hump Day we went to this AMAZING Indian Restaurant called Indian Delight. It was located along the beautiful riverfront where we enjoyed our different curries and gravies, naan bread, and yellow rice. Oh, and of course our wine! 

Chang-nah!!! Well, thats how "it's delicious" is pronounced in Khmer anyways... I have no idea how its spelt!

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about" - Angela Schwindt

This weekend was a holiday/long weekend.  October 31st is a National holiday celebrating the birthday of King Father Norodom Sihanouk. This is a two day holiday that fell on the Sunday and Monday of this week. Like in Canada, because the first day of the holiday fell on a weekend, I also got to take off Tuesday! Not sure why it's a two day holiday but hey, I'll take the extra few days off anytime :) 

I had already taken advantage of the Monday off for my elephant adventure, so on Tuesday I decided to help  my friend's Cathy and Jenny teach English in a village about half an hour out of Phnom Penh. I was skeptical at first not wanting to exploit the children in any way, but decided to go after Cathy expressed her ongoing frustrations with trying to teach a group of children ranging from 2 years old to 13 years old all at once. When I got there I very quickly realized I was pretty mentally unprepared for what I saw. 

The village was filled with run down shacks, garbage, livestock, and malnourished looking individuals roaming through the narrow pathways. It was an accurate illustration of extreme poverty. It was quite apparent that most adults were drunk or high, but alcohol abuse in particular is not uncommon in villages. One young man was stumbling around mumbling things and all the kids got a real kick out of it. He eventually passed out on the grass beside the teaching area. 

There is a local school where the children attend primary classes either in the morning or afternoon. To fill in the gaps during the day for primary school aged children and to occupy the little ones too young for school, the children attend English classes run by Cathy and Jenny. Most of the students are from a local "orphanage" who almost all have at least one parent in the village (a few of the student's were there because their mothers were in Malaysia as Nanny's). The children at this orphanage are housed there because they could not be supported in whichever environment they came from. Throughout the day, kids left to visit their parents, and a few parent's had come to see their children. 

Despite their surrounding, the children were absolutely fantastic. They were happy, playful, extremely funny and very smart. They were running around and playing like normal kids, and they LOVED to dance and sing for us!!! It was amazing to see the sense of community the children had. The older ones would watch over the younger ones, holding them if they were crying, helping them eat, washing them if they got too dirty, making sure they said please and thank you. They were all very polite and wanted to engage in funny and playful conversation. Cathy is an amazing teacher (she taught in Korea for 3 and a half years) and they absolutely adore her patience and kindness. 

While Cathy was teaching English to the older students, I sat with the little guys and we practiced writing out the English alphabet together. 

This guy kept writing his B's, R's, and Q's backwards, and his W's as M's. There was some talk of him maybe being dyslexic but I don't know much about that. He was also obsessed with yellow and wanted to colour all his pictures with the yellow crayons - he was just too cute! 

Currently, three separate charities are financially supporting the orphanage in the village but the children aren't seeing any of it. In addition to this, they are being trucked around Cambodia every weekend putting on a musical dance performance to different towns and cities. The children again are seeing none of the profits.

Practicing the drums while the older students danced*

Needless to say, the Board of Director's for the orphanage is in the process of finding a new Executive Director. Just another example of the corruption in Cambodia. It is important to protect children from harmful environments such as the village they live in, but orphanages aren't a solution to any problem. It is important to keep children at home with their families, and invest in NGOs that concentrate on improving the livelihoods of families as a whole so children can grow up in the most stable and secure environment as possible. There is currently no NGO's working with this village but there have been talks among us to try and get some programs running to create income generating opportunities and education for the adults.

Seeing the smiles on these children's faces is such an inspiration to stay positive, not sweat the small stuff, and be thankful for the things we have in life.

Coffee and Waterfalls*

On our second day in Mondulkiri we visited the newly famous Coffee Plantation Resort - a three-hectare coffee farm about 2km from Sen Monorom. This place exported five tonnes of coffee beans to Vietnam and South Korea in 2010 and the price of unground beans rose by about 15 percent since last year. The coffee growing industry is still very new to Cambodia, but Mondulkiri coffee is definitely something to look out for. This is a GREAT find with amazing coffee that even a tea drinker like myself can love. 

 Mondulkiri Province coffee plantation*

In addition to coffee, the plantation also has pepper beans (ground pepper), banana`s, pineapple, papaya, and a whole wack of other things I can`t really remember right now.

We also visited the beautiful Bou Sra Waterfall. Bou Sra is one of the largest and most impressive waterfalls in Cambodia. It's top level is around 10m in height, and the lower level drops down 25m to the gorge. If you look at pictures of what this waterfall normally looks like, you might notice there is double the amount of water!!!!

 Top level of Bou Sra Waterfall*

There is no real way to get down to the bottom of the second level. Because there was much more water then usual, this was about as close as we could get to the bottom level.

 Bottom level of Bou Sra Waterfall*

The locals camped out along the water all day with their packed lunches and boxes of Angkor beer. Some of them swam in the current between the top and bottom waterfalls. It was fun to watch them swim and fool around under the top waterfall but if Im being honest I was slightly scared for them. We brought our bathing suits because it is possible to safely swim (even according to North American standards) but the water was just too powerful because of all the monsoon rain. Cambodians have no fear!

Mondulkiri is a beautiful place with very few tourists. It was amazing to see the natural and raw beautiful of Cambodia, smell the fresh jungle air, and feel a cool and clean breeze.

The next morning we hopped back on our bus and headed back to Phnom Penh. Another fact I have learned about Cambodians - they get motion sickness like crazy! I would guess that about 10% of the people on the bus were vomiting. I assume this is because most of Cambodians are so used to riding on moto's so riding inside a vehicle is so foreign to them. Thank goodness for window's and tiger balm to cover up the smell!

Elephants and the jungle - two of my favourite things*

This past weekend we hopped on a bus and headed northeast to Mondulkiri Province for some elephant riding and jungle trekking. Shortly after leaving the hot, sweaty, and chaotic city, we entered flooded Cambodia. There was water covering fields as far as the eye could see. Locals used long boats to get themselves around and I suppose fish in their rice fields,  maneuvering their boats around the tops of trees. Houses were moved to random dry patches or along the highway, and mini shacks were built as temporary housing. 

Flooded fields about an hour north of Phnom Penh*

Eight hours later, we reached the town of Sen Monorom in Mondulkiri Province! With an average elevation of 800m above sea level, the cool jungle air and natural green landscape was exactly what we needed. 80% of Mondulkiri's population is made up of ten tribal minorities, with the majority of them being Pnong. The population lives off the land, planting rice, fruit trees, and a variety of vegetables. Others grow strawberries, coffee, rubber, and cashew nuts.  

We stayed at the Nature Lodge, completely submerged in the natural landscape and surrounded by the fantastic views and misty hills of the Mondulkiri highlands.

Our Bungalow aka little piece of heaven for our time in Sen Monorom*

Inside the Nature Lodge main lobby where we sat and ate dinner each night*

Without wasting any time, we woke up the next morning jumping off the walls at our chance to ride elephants. We were picked up from the Lodge at 8:30am, stopped in town to buy banana's for the elephants and headed straight to the jungle! On the way there and back, we passed through police road check's to prevent animal poaching and trafficking. It took us about half an hour of road driving and 15 minutes of off-roading to get to our parking spot... which really was just in the middle of shrubbery on the side of a large hill. From here we walked for another half hour into the jungle to meet our elephants! We got the chance to meet and great with them and then feed them banana's which they went crazy for! There were two elephants (one female and one male) so Cathy and I shared the female and Jenny sat on the male. 

We rode the elephants for about an hour through the jungle then stopped for lunch along a river. The elephants ate the whole morning trek, but also ate some more. After resting and hanging out for about an hour, the elephants went and gave themselves a mud bath. They were covered from head to foot in mud! We then had the chance to wash them in the river which was awesome!!!! Our elephant walked into the water and instantly dropped and laid on her side - she looked like she was in heaven!!!! We scrubbed the mud off her skin as she bobbed and floated around. Must have been nice for her! 

It was amazing to see the connection the elephants had with their trainers. While going through the jungle, her trainer walked behind us. Every few steps she would look behind her to make sure he was still there. If he wasn't there, she wouldn't move despite the fact Jenny on her elephant and another trainer was in front of us. She was also absolutely brilliant! When we were crossing the rivers, the trainer and his little brother would hop on the elephant with us. They would climb into a tree and she would lift her head right against the tree so they could climb on. She would also pick up branches on the pathway with her trunk and throw them out of the way. Although it was slightly terrifying because she would go off the path and down these steep hills, she would grab huge bamboo trees, pull them down and then step on them to break herself off a piece. I was surprised at how quickly I started to trust her and her defying gravity ways.

Elephant riding tip: If you aren't using a seat, sitting on the back is horrifically painful! Sitting on the head is amazing - every movement they make you feel (and move with them), and it's some-what comfortable. Sitting on the back is a completely different story. They are 120% muscle and you are sitting directly on their hunched spine - or a metal pole. It's excruciating pain from the moment you get on to the moment you get off. The epic factor of you riding an elephant some-what makes this tolerable (me and Cathy did stick it out on our turns on the back)  but you have been warned!

After lunch and our river bath, we hopped back on the elephants and walked for about another hour to the small village where the elephants and their trainers live. It was a beautiful little place on a hill just outside the jungle.

The two elephants for the most part were kept separated. We later found out this was because the male was scared of the female. Apparently the female likes to touch the male, which terrifies him! He is only 13 though so he might still be in the "girls have cooties" faze. They are such brilliant and beautiful animals with individual personalities. It was such a fantastic experience getting to spend so much time with them.