Mr. Sam, our tour guide, is around 5’6” tall, light brown, lean, and speaks good English. He’s already in his 50’s but he doesn’t look it. He looks younger, which for me, is amazing.
He was a survivor of the civil war and Khmer Rouge occupation.
He was only 15 when his father and brother died because the Khmer Rouge felt that they were traitors. He was only 15 when the Khmer soldiers took him and his 46 other highschool batchmates to work as slaves. They had to learn how to survive in the jungle, eat mushrooms and insects; walk for several days without sleeping or resting. He told us that the soldiers were harsh and brutal. He calls himself ‘one of the seven wonders’. Seven wonders being the seven out of them 47 batchmates who survived the war.
He definitely is a wonder.
A few years after the war, he got married and now has several children and grandchildren. He owns a land that cost him US$36,000, a house, and a guesthouse that he rents out to Cambodians who work in the hotels in Siem Reap. He smiles so proudly while sharing to us that his children are now professionals.
He smiles a lot, and his eyes has that certain look that tells you just how much he’s been through.
Meeting him is one of my most memorable experiences in Cambodia. Probably one of the most memorable travel and life experiences.
Remembering him still brings me to tears.
Just one of the many gifts of travelling - travelling and meeting people with a different history gives more meaning to life.
