Today was amazing. A long bus trip took us to a village just outside of Siem Reap, that last year was the production site of the community house build for the Laos Cambodia trip. It was astounding to see the impact the gift of a house had made on this family’s life. Hindered no longer by the constant saving for a family home, they were able to purchase buffalos and rice to further increase their wealth and independence. We can only hope that the house we built in Northern Thailand will have the same impact.
With warm hearts we boarded the bus and were on our way to investigate a dark segment of Cambodia’s history in the land mine museum. The museum gave a detailed recount of the terrors of a land mine stricken Cambodia as well as some stories of the wonderful work being done by the anti land mine activist Aki Ra and his gang. A large array of disarmed mines and other explosive weaponry were on display their presence sent shivers down our spines.
We then began our ascent of Mount Kulen. Upon the mountain we visited many attractions including the reclining Buddha and the river bed carvings which were impressive. However, their unique charm was made meagre by the magnificence of the waterfalls. The water cascaded off the sheer cliff face and sprayed into the eerie black pools below. Many students found it an irresistible temptation to climb underneath the plunging water which provided a great thrill. But soon it was time to go and it was reluctantly that we trudged up the steep, rickety steps and soon, we were back in the bus.
Our trip then took us down into the valley below to the village we had previously visited, to a school run by our local guide, Yousa. There we met the wonderful kids who were eager to improve their English. We held simple conversations with them and were enchanted by their remarkable speaking ability and smiling faces. They found our singing and story books to have the same effect. It was an incredible interaction and it left us truly enlightened and uplifted. After many hugs and goodbyes we left the house and treated our tour guide Hung to a spectacular rendition of `Land Down Under` on the ride home. The magical day was then wrapped up with a delicious feast and a spot of shopping at the night markets.
Sarah and Ben
