Author: LMoulton

Today was our first full day in the beautiful country of Laos. We had a great day exploring Laos and comparing it to Cambodia. We have noticed that the architecture is different, there are more cars on the road and the streets are less crowded. The temperature was really cool and it was less humid which made the day more enjoyable. We packed up and left the hotel to go visit the temple Wa Prakeo which was very unique. Shortly after, we climbed the Patuxai which was built in 1958 for those who fought for independence from France (it is a replica of l’Arc de Triumph). Then, we went to a mall which doesn’t compare to the night markets the previous night.

We had a four hour bus drive to our next destination, Vang Vieng. On the way we stopped at a local fish market which we hadn’t seen before. It was a rough ride but it was worth it once we got a glimpse of the magnificent mountains.

Once we arrived we went for our first walk in the city and gained insight into local culture. The group then divided itself into two smaller groups; one that went swimming and relaxing at the hotel and the other one that went to the city to get a Lao massage. Finally we had a nice dinner along the river whilst listening to some interesting karaoke. Tomorrow is an action packed day of bike riding, kayaking and cave exploring – we can’t wait!!

By Chelsea Fairlie & Catherine Brochard-Lalande

 

 

Today was our last day in Cambodia. We began the day with a beach walk, opposite our hotel. It was hot and humid, even at 9am. At the end of the walk, the group were told to find a quiet space in which to reflect on their time so far. The circle time last night drew out of them their highlights of Cambodia, things they found challenging and what they were most thankful for – with their parents being the most common response. The 20 minutes of quiet time along the beach this morning enabled them to take in their surroundings, whilst completing one of their Journey.doc tasks. They then used the rest of the time to contemplate about home, what they miss and how they see their life and what is important to them now that they are away.

Following this the group had a well-deserved dip in the pool to cool off and then an early lunch.

We then started our journey back to Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh for our flight to Laos. Once at the airport, we bid a fond farewell to our bus driver who has taken as everywhere for the past 10 days and our two Khmer tour guides. At the airport we had a bite to eat and then got on a small plane for our flight to Vientiane, Laos.

Stepping off the plane, the first thing we noticed was how much cooler and less humid the air was – a very welcome relief! We were greeted by our new tour guides who will remain with us for the rest of our trip. Hopping onto the bus, we were transported to our hotel, which sits along the banks of the Mekong River. Whilst room allocation was being decided, we took the students for an orientation walk and night market exploration along the river. It is a lively place, with music and late night dining amongst the market stalls. At first impressions, it seems more affluent compared to Cambodia, which isn’t hard, given the poverty that we have witnessed over the last ten days.

We will spend one night at this hotel, before setting off early in the morning for our next destination. The group are in high spirits and looking forward to discovering Laos.

Today’s day began with a smooth ride up Mt Bokor to an old French colonial village. The road up to the mountain was the best we’ve travelled on as it wound up the mountain. This road was originally built by 3000 local prisoners in 1917 when the village was founded. It was resurfaced by Sokeun, who owns the casino and a five star resort at the top of the mountain. He is friends with the president and also owns the ticketing rights at Angkor Wat and an oil company too. He dominates the market in terms of his income and the property that he owns, making him worth many billions of dollars.

At the top of Mt Bokor, we first stopped at The King of Cambodia’s Black Palace Villa (his holiday house) and then his girlfriend’s villa. Here, we spent half an hour taking photos, meeting wasps, looking at graffiti work and watching a rap and song performance by David and Jake. The village, which is now just a church, provided great scenic views looking over the Gulf of Thailand. After a few ‘selfies’ and future Facebook cover photos we were ready to continue on our journey.

We then arrived at the abandoned Black Palace Casino. All of these buildings were used until the civil war broke out. It is right on top of Bokor National Park. We had lunch on the steps of the casino and then we were allowed to explore, whilst taking more photos of the vast landscape.  After some exploration and ‘Hide and Seek’ time, Billy gave us a talk about the National Park. It is amazing to think that the mountain was full of animals, such as elephants and tigers roaming around, years ago. Years ago, rangers were employed to monitor, care for and provide tourists with information about the National Park, but there is no evidence of this now. The wildlife has decreased significantly in recent times due to hunting, war and the habitat being destroyed.

We were then asked to find a quiet space amongst the grounds of the casino to complete the ‘Environment’ section of our Journey.doc and for some individual, reflection time. The views from the top of the casino were amazing and it was an ideal place for thinking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the casino tour we got back on the bus and prepared ourselves for our return trip down the mountain side’s windy roads. After a 2 hour bus trip we found ourselves at the seaside town of Kep. We got to relax for a while in the pool across the road from the hotel and next to the beach, before having dinner. We finished the day off with a circle time reflecting on the trip so far.

By Gen Matthews & Lochie Martin

 

Today we started off at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh. We experienced some beautiful gold incrusted buildings and perfectly groomed gardens. We enjoyed the spectacular pieces of royal jewellery, meanwhile our thoughts were skewed towards the thought of selfishness, as the King has so much wealth and power, yet 25% of the population are below the poverty line.

After a hot and sticky hour at the wonderful palace we hopped on to the bus and headed towards the local slums. As we got off to walk through the laneway the smell of sewage hit us instantly. We walked through the rundown, busy laneway that was lined with small shops selling produce, with five floors of housing above. It was quite overwhelming how people can live in such conditions, with the aged stone building that looked like it would fall down. Billy told us that there would be more than five people living in each tiny room. It still exists because its location is prime real estate and the Government hasn’t offered the residents enough compensation to move. Ironically, 5000 people live along this strip, the worst housing in the city, just a stone’s throw from the palace and Australian Embassy. We really were quite shocked by what we saw.

We then got back on the bus for our four hour bus journey to Kampot. This journey was once again bumpy and dusty, as the road structure is terrible here. We arrived at our hotel at 3 o’clock and soon after we set off again towards the elephant gate caves up in the hills. When we arrived at the caves we were confronted by a group of Buddhist monks who were happy to see some visitors. These monks are up at 4am every morning, chanting for three hours before breakfast. They then work for food 10km away from their home before coming home. They don’t eat dinner and weren’t allowed to wear shoes. As we walked a very long stair well towards the caves we looked back over the beautiful views of the countryside of Kampot. The caves were a nice experience but we were all ready for a hearty meal. After dinner we took a tuk tuk tour around the quiet and sleepy town of Kampot. It felt like a ghost town compared to the capital, Phnom Penh. After the tuk tuk ride we were all ready for a good night sleep, ready for our day in the mountains tomorrow.

By Sally Barton and Wren Spence

We started our day with a morning briefing around the rooftop pool of our hotel, where we were told about the day’s activities.

Our day today included a devastating but fascinating trip to the Killing fields and the Tuol Sleng Prison, a quick shop at the cheap and fun ‘Russian Market’ as well as a gorgeous boat cruise on the Mekong River as we watched the sun set.   We started with a cute buffet breakfast, before quickly hoping on the bus for a 45 minute drive to the Killing Fields.  

Not many of us knew much about Cambodia’s prior history, so it was fascinating but also absolutely devastating leaving all of us very touched and emotional.  Seeing the Killing Fields and how the country had been affected so badly was shocking, but an important part of history to learn about.  At the killing fields we saw human remains in pieces of bones and teeth on the floor. The land was undulating, as mass graves were built from 1975 to 1979 to bury the thousands of people who were killed at these sites. Even today, during the wet season, more remains and pieces of clothing are rising to the surface of these graves. Pol Pot’s regime was brutal – moving city dwellers out into the farmland, creating a strict communist culture. He separated families, banned TV, radio, currency, long hair for women, to name a few. Those who disobeyed his ridiculous rules were sent to the prison, tortured until they made a confession and then murdered at the killing fields for disobeyed his rules. There were mass graves for children and for babies. We saw thousands of human skulls, some not intact, contained within a central monument at the centre of the fields. During the regime, speakers hung from a nearby tree which played loud music to drown out the sounds of the screams. It was amazing to see, confronting to hear, especially as this is so recent in history.

After about 45 sad minutes, we left the Killing Fields and went to another very important part of the Pol Pot regime; the Tuol Sleng Prison – nicknamed S21.  We were all extremely devastated and emotional as we saw all the hardships and the incredible pain that was suffered. We learnt of the different ways people were tortured, through electrocution, chained up to beds, slashed with cuts with lime and lemons to stings the wounds, crawling with insects, or hung by the feet until consciousness was lost and then ducked head first into dirty fertiliser water to regain consciousness again. Women were always taken first, followed by their children, as the harrowing screams from mothers seeing their children being taken away was too much. We saw the dungeons where they were kept, the thousands of photographs of individual victims as they entered the prison (each person had their photograph taken and crossed off in the records), photos of torture and execution. It was incredible and devastating to see.

We were very fortunate to have a very interesting talk with the Khmer Rouge’s photographer, called Nhem En, who took the photos of each soldier prior to them entering the prison. He was 15-18 years old at the time and witnessed all that took place in S21. He even took photographs of his own family members, knowing that they would be tortured and executed afterwards. To think that he was our age when it occurred is just unbelievable. Billy, our tour guide has close connections with him and that is why we were privileged enough to meet him. He really gave us a first-hand insight into what happened inside the prison, although there were some slight language barriers. Just as we left the prison, one of the survivors was sitting at a stall, signing and selling a book that he had written of his experiences. It is so hard to comprehend that from that prison, he was one of only 7 adults (only two of which are alive today) and 5 children walked free when the regime was overturned in 1979. Records show that between 14,000 – 17,000 people were imprisoned and tortured at S21 before being executed in the killing fields and 1.7 – 3 million Cambodians were murdered in total. The most common form of execution was for the prisoners to be down on their knees and then have their throats slashed. The skulls and bones of these victims are what we saw today!

We then headed off to lunch, at a restaurant of our choice along the waterfront.  It was great to have a bit more of a look at Pnomh Penh and how the city compares to Siem Reap and its culture.   At 3pm we met on the corner of a street and jumped onto the bus, all very excited and curious to head to the ‘Russian Market.’  With heaps of cheap clothing, shoes, bags and other goods, it was a great opportunity to get some shopping done and also get some great souvenirs.  Lastly, before dinner we headed onto a private boat cruise along the Mekong River. 

Being so peaceful, relaxing and beautiful, it was a great way to finish the adventures of a tough and emotional but very educational and cultural day.

We travelled by tuk tuk to our last stop before going back to the hotel, a well deserved dinner. 

With food varying from noodles and rice to frogs’ legs, it was great to relax with friends and have a delicious, but interesting dinner.  Also included, was a trip to the frozen yoghurt store next to the restaurant – a very special treat! We headed back to the hotel after a long and tiring day, ready to have a much needed rest and be all prepared for the exciting day coming up tomorrow!

By Philippa Huse

Today we began our journey from Angkor to Phnom Penh by bus at 9:30. The drive was eight hours long in total, but we took a few breaks. The first stop was at Kampuchea House. This is an orphanage that was set up seven years ago by a group of volunteers from Melbourne.  It’s for children from school age onwards who are not safe in their homes or have lost their family. Some orphans have experienced violence at home from alcoholic parents, some abandonment usually by the dad if the mother dies at child birth and others where both parents are sick or have passed away. We had a 30 minute tour around the orphanage from Belinda Lightfoot who helps fund the orphanage. From her we learnt about sponsors, house mothers and the children’s daily routine.  There is room for 25 children, all of whom go to the local school, which runs from 7-11am or 1-5pm. They live in a house arrangement at the orphanage, to make it more homely rather than dormitories. There are four beds in the room which sleeps eight children and the mother nurse is in the room next door.

We also met an Australian teacher called Shaun who is living locally and volunteering his time to provide English and computer classes to the kids at the orphanage. It’s amazing how someone would give up their time, a few years of their life to live out here and educate the children.

After that we spent time playing with the children who had just come back from school. We played volleyball, hackey sack, soccer, badminton and did some puzzles with them too. We then had a packed lunch and freshly prepared fruits. After lunch we gave the orphans their gifts and a donation of $500 from the money we raised from our walkathon.

 

 

 

The time went so quickly and soon it was time to get back on the bus and continue the rest of our eight hour drive. The ride was very bumpy with the road barely surfaced and so dusty. There were beaten down shacks, houses and little market shops all along the way with malnourished cattle in some fields and people everywhere. Right at the end of the journey we had the opportunity to eat fried tarantulas!!! They are a high source of protein and a common component of a meal with rice in the dry season when fish is in limited supply. They also had deep fried crickets and we heard of the villagers eating red ants when they couldn’t source fish. Most people weren’t keen to try the local delicacy, but those that did ate a leg, not the whole thing. The legs didn’t have much taste, and were very crunchy. Apparently if you eat the body it ‘pops’ in your mouth and is full of juice!! Where we ate the spiders we took a bathroom break and the toilets were ground level and challenging to use. They were similar to the old Chinese toilets. When we arrived at Phnom Penh we were surprised at how quickly it went. It’s a big, bustling city that was ridden with traffic and people walking the streets. Once we had arrived we went to a Khmer restaurant. To our surprise, during our meal the power cut out and remained out for a couple of minutes. Their torch lights were used, but weren’t very effective, but luckily the power came back on shortly. We have now checked into our hotel that we will stay at for the next two nights and are in need of a good night’s sleep ready for a full day tomorrow.

By Robyn Chapman & Brooke Robson