Journey to Peace Village

Cambodia has a very complicated currency system. They have their own currency called the Riel (pronounced Real)--but it is "non convertible" it cannot be used outside the country. Because of this and the influx of tourists in recent years, the U.S. dollar is the most popular currency and can be used almost anywhere. In western parts of the country, the Thai Baht is also accepted (in fact visas must be paid for in Thai Baht, not Riel!)Cambodian currency has no coins, and when you receive change for something purchased in USD, any change lower than one dollar will be paid with Riel. (4000 Riel = 1 dollar).

Cambodia's economy is growing rapidly. In 2007 the GDP soared by over nine percent and foreign investment stood at 600 million. But with the recent economic crisis, Cambodia's hopes to climb out of poverty remain in doubt.

Labels: Cambodia, economy

Between 1975 -1979 the Pol Pot Regime killed almost 3 million Cambodians. I visited one of the chief concentration camps, known as "S-21."

S-21 was the chief camp in Phnom Penh, the capital city. During the early days of Khmer Rouge rule, the population was forced to evacuate the city and made to labor in the countryside. In the ghost town, S-21 became a place of horror and hopelessness.

Almost 20,000 adults died at S-21 and an equal number of children. Anyone suspected of opposing the paranoid Pol Pot was murdered. Women and children were brought to the center, photographed, and taken to "the killing field" where they were clubbed and then had their throats slit. Men were tortured and forced to confess to their crimes. As time went on, the machinery of death became more efficient, the victims were numbered, with special shaped badges indicating the group, and in the last year the badges were both numbered and dated. Up to 800 people a day were killed.

A visit to S-21 is a poem of sorrow. You see pictures of those who were murdered, and shed tears for the victims, many of who were very young. Guards were anywhere from 14-20 and one wonders how a teeeager could commit such horrible crimes.

Our guide was a 43 year old Cambodian woman. She was separated from her family at 10 years old and forced to work in the fields. Workers where given 3 spoonsful of rice gruel a day, twice a day. Her mother died during the time the family was separated and she couldn't remember how to read by the time the Pol Pot era ended.

I didn't know what to say to her.

Labels: Cambodia, genocide, Khmer Rouge, Phnom Penh

I've spent the last few days in the peaceful town of Kampot. This has really been the highlight of the trip to Cambodia. Kampot is a former French colonial getaway and has many aging French villas. Some are in disrepair but many are started to show signs of new life. It's become somewhat of a tourist getaway for those wanting a mellower vacation than Sianhoukville.

It's slightly inland so there's no beach. But there are some interesting sites nearby such as pepper plantations and a cave pagoda "Elephant cave." There are many NGOs there trying to help disabled people. For example, Tracy and I went to the Epic Cafe, run by deaf people. I loved "Bokor porridge" a kind of oatmeal with lots of fruit. It's a variation of one favored by Khmers (which includes fish!)

Another highlight was a visit to the Kampot music school. This teaches orphans and disabled children how to play traditional Khmer music. The children had varying skill levels but were very lovely!

We also met a Buddhist monk named Mina who is teaching English to local children. Tracy bought him some books and I worked with him on game ideas.

I hated to leave Kampot!

One of the serious social problems in Cambodia is human trafficking and especially child prostitution. This is especially a problem in Phnom Penh and Sianhoukville. The hotel we stayed in is part of "child safe" a program by local businesses to try to curb this problem. Child safe businesses train their employees to be aware of the signs that a child may be in trouble or be involved in a prostitution ring. There are also programs in Sianoukville for at risk kids and for those who have been victims of abuse. In Phnom Penh there was dramatic police raid in which they shut down a "sex village"in which hundreds of children were held prisoner.

But the problem is huge. Thailand has been kicking out many undesirables Westerners and many head for Cambodia. As the police in Thailand have tried to crack down on human trafficking, many operations have gone across the border to Cambodia. These sex slavery rings not only operate in Cambodia, but also ship girls to other parts of Asia. In fact, many of the girls (and sometimes boys) who are involved in child prostitution come from Viet Nam or China. This is certainly one of the saddest aspects of life in Cambodia and a symptom of the enormous poverty in this country.

To find out more please check these links:

http://childsafe-international.org/CAMBODIA/CSCambodia.asp

http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/cambodia.htm

http://www.gvnet.com/childprostitution/Cambodia.htm

Labels: Cambodia, child abuse, culture and society, legal system, prostitution

Today we had some fantastic adventures in Kep. Kep is a small town in Southwestern Cambodia. It's mainly famous for delicious crab and Tracy and I had a great meal at a seafood restaurant. The beach is nice, although not "white sands."

Kep was a colonial town during the French Occupation and still has the ruins of many French villas. We explored one of these overlooking the beach and found two little boys with animal traps. They are among the poor people who live on or near the old estates. In the ruins of splendor wilderness encroaches and life goes on.

Labels: Cambodia, culture and society, tourism

This week Tracy and I made our way into the Kingdom of Cambodia. The first couple days have been an adventure. First we were hassled at the border crossing at Had Lek. The procedure is--you give the authorities a passport and a small wallet sized photo. You fill out a form. The border guards stamp twice to confirm identity and payment of the 1100 baht visa fee. Well they pulled us aside. I thought they would complain about mine because I have all those visa renewals in Vietnam. But they had a problem with Tracy's: one of the guards had forgotten to stamp it paid. The tuk tuk driver was going to take it back for 20 baht, but Tracy didn't want to part with passport and was afraid to get on the motobike. So I ended up going and we got it cleared up without having to resort to any serious bribery.

The first night we stayed in Koh Krong. This is a border town with the reputation as kind of a "Wild West(ern Cambodia)"place. It's well deserved. There were a lot of dicey looking westerners in one of the restaruants and one of the locals offered us some marijuana. Proably a scam for a shakedown by the cops or a robbery. There were flyers for bars offering "Babes, Booze and Billiards." At the restaurant, we were seated next to a jaundiced German who alternated between belching, a hacking cough and bellowing for service from the waitress. The streets were totally unlit. Except to go to check emails, we stayed in the room and watched "The Legend of Curly's Gold"(City Slickers 2).

Then it was off to the main city on the south coast, Sianhoukville. The journey was surprisingly smooth, the highway system has been created by the Thai army in recent years. Last year, four bridges were completed, allowing uninteruppted travel between the two cities. (Before one had to use ferries four times to complete the journey to Sianhoukville. The drawback, we had to sit behind the stairs to the bathroom, which was decorated with a sign reading "Piss Only Please." It stank and we were relieved to get to Sianhoukville.

This city has a reputation as an up and coming Margaritaville, appealing mainly to backpackers and middle aged men looking for the illusion of virility. But one of the guests in Trat said that there was more to it than that, and I really wanted to have a little beach time on this vacation. So we booked a room at the seaview hotel. It was a very nice hotel, only yards from the beach, but it no longer had a seaview because a building was going up directly in front of it. Sianhoukhville is experiencing runaway growth as a cheaper alternative to the beaches of Thailand.

The beach was very crowded and there were a lot of shady types. As my friend and supervisor, Eliza said, it's a good place to go for body piercing and tattoos. This being said, the water was nice and we had a fabulous meal at the restaurant in the evening. The hotel is run by a very nice British family and their chef is French with 30 years experience in gourmet cooking.

So Cambodia is gradually improving. For even more stories go to Tracy's new blog at:

http://travelingtrue.blogspot.com

Labels: Cambodia, tourism

I started my vacation with a surprise and then a peaceful getaway. The surprise was that I met my homestay family, the Trieus, on the plane to Bangkok! They were on the way to visit their son, Ha, who works for the Red Cross in Bangkok. It was fantastic to see them again and I got to practice some more Vietnamese! Ha droveme with his parents from the airport and I saw his place, a fantastic apartment on the 31st floor in downtown Bangkok! The views were spectacular.

I followed this with a mini shopping spree in downtown Bangkok. The highlight--I bought the game "Clue" from a Toys R Us in Siam Square. I'll play it with Chien and Thu, and maybe for larger groups if I can figure out how to adapt it to the classroom.

The next day it was off to meet Tracy in Trat! I was so excited to see her again. I fell in love with Trat as I was hopping a bus back from Koh Chang last year, now that I spent another two days there--I absolutely think it's great. Trat is a small port city near the Cambodian border. Normally, it's just a jumping off point for the islands of Koh Chang. But Trat on it's own has a lot to offer.

We stayed at a great and cheap little guesthouse called "The Orchid." It has a beautiful garden in the back with many flowers and is run by a woman named Jun. There are a lot of beautiful temples in the area and many charming cafes. It's just a great relaxing city.

Next stop: Cambodia

Labels: Thai culture, Thailand, tourism

There was a great deal of excitement in the last few weeks because of the victory of the Vietnam soccer team in the AFF Cup. This is a tournament involving all the countries of Southeast Asia. Vietnam won its first major tournament with an exciting last minute goal at MY Dinh Stadium in Hanoi. People went wild and there was celebrating in the street.

I joined them and wore a headband that read Vietnam Vo Dich! Victory!

Labels: sports, Vietnamese culture

I had a very good but busy Christmas. Almost as hectic as back home. A lot of cover work for other teachers and a lot of shopping! But I still managed to enjoy the holiday.
I performed a poem at the Christmas talent show and got a positive reaction. At Lang Hoa Binh, the children were thrilled with their gifts and sharing in the spoils of candy I won with my poetry.
I went to Huy's house on Christmas Day after attending mass at St. Joe's Cathedral. It was the coolest thing--I wrote a poem about a boat in the morning and then Huy and his family gave me a painting of a boat at lunch! Talk about synchronicity! In the evening I had a small party for some of my students and a staff member from work, Ms. Quynh. It was fantastic. We had pizza, drank Dalat wine and sang karaoke. I bought a karaoke machine for my house and obtained an English karaoke DVD in Thailand. A great time!

Labels: Christmas, religion and culture, Viet Nam and the West