Ahhh! So I already wrote a long journal entry yesterday and then when I went to save it the internet connection had stopped working and I lost it!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhh so annoying!! So..... I guess I'll start again from the beginning of Phnomn Penh...
So, 6 hr bus journey from Siem Riep and I was the only westerner! And I had to endure 6 hrs of REALLY BAD karioke clips on the TV - ahhhhhh!!!
So yesterday I went to the Killing Fields and to S21 Prison - a former high school which was converted into a torture and murder place. I met two of the survivors of the S21 Prison (20,000 people were tortured and murdered there and only 7 people survived). He showed me the exact cell where he was tortured... so it seems that all our remembering of the Holocaust did nothing to stop this genocide. And 3 of the 4 main leaders have STILL not been brought to trial.
On a lighter note, I then headed to the Phnomn Penh Night Markets after chatting with Galit on Skype - so surreal that one moment I feel like I'm in Melbourne and the next moment I'm walking down the streets of Phnomn Penh!! It was actually good that we skyped cause it made me appreciate more that I am in Asia - I think you grow accustomed to being in Asia.
So, here I am expecting another tourist market with people pestering "lady lady you want someting? You want scarf? You want small bag?" but no!! It is actually a market for Cambodians!! Yay!!!!! and I was actually one of the few westerners there!! There was a stage with Cambodians singing and dancing - it was awesome!! And the people were so much nicer than in the touristy places - kids wanted to say hello! It was a relief not to be pestered. So yay that was really nice.
Then today I asked the hostel guy if he knew of an orphanage I could visit. Turns out hisfather died when he was little from alcohol related problems and his mother died when he was 16 and he has 3 younger brothers who are living in an orphanage! So we went to visit and as per his suggestion I bought a bag of rice, school books and pens. There are over 90 kids at this orphanage - some of whom their parents have died, others whom their parents are too poor to care for them, others who have been sexually abused and others who have escaped domestic violence in their families. It was fun hanging out with the girls cause they all wanted photos taken of them - HEAPS of photos!! And they kept calling me teacher!!
So it was good to go and bring some supplies - things in Cambodia are very expensive - similar to Sydney prices and yet they earn so much less!! I don;t get it! Rice, school books and pens all cost the same as they would in Australia. Petrol costs $1.50 p/l!! I don;t understand how they get by!! To visit the Dr costs $30 and medicine is also Sydney prices. And yet, my hostel guy told me when he was working at a hostel (I have since realised that he is unemployed - he is living on the couch in the guest house) he might earn $50 a month. And of that $50 he sends some to his grandmother and some to all his brothers! So he is actually sick now and had stomach pain but can;t afford to go to the Dr - not only this but his mother died from some kind of stomach problems so this is not a good sign. He is only 26 years old but he seems 40 for all the hardship he has been through. He also had a wife and child who is now 3 but he became unemployed (due to the guest house shutting down) his wife and mother in law didn't want to know him anymore. Very sad.
So he now wants to be able to get a scooter again and then become a driver for tourists and make money this way, but he doesn;'t know how he will get the money. So I asked him if he knew about microfinance loans and he didn;t. So I did some research (felt like I was back at work!) and referred him to 3 agencies in Cambodia that do microfinancing. But he is still reluctanat to call them because he doesn;t lke to tell people his story!! Ahhhhhh!! Ultimately I told him it was his choice but encouraged him to at least give them a call!!!
So tomorrow I'm leaving Cambodia and going on a 6 hr bus ride to Ho Chi Minh city... Vietnam here I come!!! I have already heard that the traffic is crazy and you really just need to consistently shuffle across the road and close your eyes! I already feel like I'm doing that here in Phnomn Penh!! Its been great though being able to be taken around everywhere on the back of a scooter (which they all call motorbike), it really feels like freedom and like I one of the locals!!
xxx Orna
