Posted 6:25 AM by MelanieandSteve
We Love You, . . . from Phnom Phen, Cambodia ... Yun K'nyohm Sro Li Niak:


HIGH AND LOWLIGHTS SINCE LAST BLOG OF 7 MAR: Since last blog, we have travelled from Siem Reap Cambodia to Battambang Cambodia (Westward by boat) and then back south to Phnom Phen over land.

MORE BOATING CHALLENGES: THANK YOU SIR, MAY I HAVE ANOTHER?: As if our day of protest on the Tonle Sap Lake wasn't enough, we found ourselves in another "hydro-predicament" on the way from Siem Reap to Battambang. This 6-hr-trip turned to12-hours when we grounded out on sandbars behind a traffic jam of other bogged boats. Everyone had to get out and push their boats, Flintstone style. Each bogging took a couple hours of pushing and revving and waiting for traffic jams to clear for us to get out, and soon after we'd clear, we'd find ourself in the next bog. No, our guide said this was Not Normal, and the water level was particularly low. The fun part was all along the banks, for all 12 hours of our journey, children jumped and wiggled and splashed for joy at seeing us and yelled hello and waived. Our arms got tired from waving back, parade queen style, for so long.

-ON OUR OWN AGAIN IN BATTAMBANG: Our paid tour was supposed to end on the 11th in Bangkok, but we had more plans of our own in Cambodia, so we said our goodbyes to the group in Battambang on the 9th. This was the close of a Great Chapter of our Travels, filled with Fun, Interesting People with whom we hope to stay in touch.

-PHNOM SAMPEAU - THE MOTO - THE HIKE - AND THE GREUSOME KHMER HISTORY:

-----THE MOTO: We caught a 'moto' (a pay ride on a motor bike. Yes, three people on a mini motor scooter, going 18 kilometers, over rocky, dirt, trafficy roads. A little precarious, but we had to try it once) to Phnom Sampeau.

-----PHNOM SAMPEAU, a mountain with a temple at the top. The steep hike with the view of the town was fun, and the several temples were full of friendly people, and the temple and golden Stupa at the top were a site to see, but we weren't really there for the temples.

-----THE KHMER ROUGE HOLD OUT: The mountain was a hold out for Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge (KR) in civil war days. KR hid out in caves in the mountain. On one particular terrace are bones and skulls of KR victims who were murdered and dropped into the cave. We searched for the caves on our own and couldn't find them. Finally, we gave 50 cents to two very sweet young locals, Lisa (17) and Bruin (14) to show us the way. We enjoyed their conversation during our hike through the mountain paths.

-KAMPUCHIA FOR CHRIST (KFC) TAKES US UNDER THIER WING: We met with Nith Mang and his friends Linh and Cheuan (spellings are all incorrect) and made some plans.

-----THOM LAU, SHARING THE BOOKS WITH SCHOOL CHILDREN: at 5am, Nith and friends picked us up for our 4 hour bumpy pick-up ride up to the remote Thom Lau in the north east. We visited two elementary schools where the children can't afford pencils and paper etc... KFC had boxes of pencils, pens, rulers, and blank paper books for us to help distribute. The children were so thankful, respectful, and special. Each child would 'wai' (bow with hands in prayer position) to say thank you. Afterwards, KFC asked each of us to say a few words of inspiration. We loved speaking to the children. We kept it short because they were all standing in the mid day heat, and some were feeling weak from not being well nourished. No one complained. These children were absolutely beautiful. This was the first time these children had received gifts from KFC because there are so many poor schools that they distribute to all over the country.

-----FUN ON THE WAY HOME: Nith and friends took us to two houses of KFC Christian families on the way home. Both were traditional style Cambodian houses - which means wood homes build high on stilts with ladders to get in. The first one had coconut trees in the dirt front yard, and the family gave us each a coconut with a straw in it to drink the sweet milk. Melanie wasn't feeling too well that day, and the coconut was a treat because it was all she could get down. She wished she could have "put da lime in the coconut ..." but she had no lime with her. At the second home, we had a picnic on bamboo matts in the back yard. Then, we stopped at the Chang Lung Clum River for a refreshing swim. We didn't have swim suits, but learned they don't wear swim suits anyway (our western suits do not cover enough.) They wear sarong wraps and they had an extra one for Mel. The women all looked colorful in the water with their full length sarong dresses. We all slid down the little mini waterfall and had great laughs. Most of our hosts didn't speak English, so activities like this were a great way for us to laugh and bond without the need for words.

-----BATAMBONG TRADE SCHOOL: We toured KFC's trade school where women are taught to sew and other students learn computer skills. The instruction is free the but the students help pay the electric bills. The school does a wonderful job with what it has, and the students appear to benefit greatly. They do have additional needs such as more modern sewing machine to match the current factory models to help make their graduates more marketable ... but they take things one step at a time. It was exciting to see a banner on the wall for Parker Colorado's Rotary Club.

-----KAMPONG CHHNANG AND CLAY POTS: another long drive takes us to this sweet port town bordering the Tonle Sap River, named for it's local clay pots. Our friends showed us the clay pot factory, and we bought some bowls for our own kitchen repertoire.

-----TANG AND SOPHEA TAKE OVER: Nith and friends had business they needed to attend to in Phnom Phen, so Tang and Sophea joined us for the rest of our days with KFC and we really enjoyed their company.

-----THE WOMEN'S CENTER, AKA NEW DEVELOPMENT CENTER (NDC): We spent three days visiting NDC, still in Kampong Chhnang. We shared time with the girls, ranging from 16 to 35, who study and live there. Each girl came from a difficult, low income background, often with broken homes or other challenging circumstances. At NDC, they study sewing or cosmetology during the day and spend their mornings and evenings studying the Bible. This school may be their best hope of finding holesome employment after graduation. These girls are stunning. Their bright faces glow with love. In three days, we bonded with them so that it was difficult to leave, even though none of them could speak English and we only knew a couple phrases in Cambodian. Each day, the girls gathered around during their free time for about an hour and we chatted - we learned more from these girls than we could have taught. At first, the girls' questions were so practical - how will I get a job after I graduate? - will you help me buy a sewing machine so I can work after graduation? - will you help me start a business? Eventually, the girls began to laugh and open up and ask questions about life in general. We asked them many questions as well. In the end, they were most excited to see our wedding picture which we dug up to show them. On the last day, after attending church with the girls in the small town of GO KRA BAI, Melanie put her arm around one girl for a goodbye. The girl behind her took Melanie's hand and squeezed it and would not let go. Melanie was very touched and squeezed back. We yelled, "We Love You" in Cambodian (Yun K'nyohm Sro Li Niak). The girls who were piled in the back of a pick-up to go back to NDC, chorused that they loved us too. KFC does good work here, and we sincerely hope that God's work leads these girls down a bright path.

-----VISITED VARIOUS KFC CHURCHES IN KAMPONG CHHNANG PROVINCE: Tang and Sophea gave us so much of their time and attention, mostly as our translator and body guard. We met two glowingly loving women, Touch and Phally, who showed us their local worship places. They took us to various KFC affiliated churches and meeting places in Kampong Chhnang Province. In TMOW KAIO, we saw a humble stilt home on the side of the road, no signs, no indications it is a worship place. There, Touch, a lovely lady who's broad smile never ceased to warm us, sells second hand clothes. Four families worship there every Sunday evening. Nearby, we visited another stilted home where different families worship with her on Sunday mornings. Here, about 18 of the local school children gather after school. We waited to meet them and they performed some songs for us. We gave them cookies and some toothbrushes and combs. While we were waiting for the children to come home from school, we learned a little about the lifestyle in this typical home - they had three pigs, they make baskets that take days to weave and sell for only pennies, and during each day, they boil down palm juice into palm sugur to sell, a goopy sweet brown substance that tastes a bit like brown sugar or maple syrup. They let us try their palm juice from the communal tin pot which was sweet and yummy, and similar to coconut milk.

-----BACK IN PHNOM PHEN: Still, Tang and Sophea generously gave us most of their time. They showed us the MINISTRY TRAINING CENTER (MTC), the hub of KFC, and the place where their administrators and teachers are taught. When we met a few of the students, they asked us to stay for lunch and we were generously treated to a feast. We saw the office, the ministry training classroom, and an impressive studio where students learn to make promotional movies. Tang and Sophea took us to one of the city's more beautiful sites, the temple WAT PHNOM, with a huge clock at the base of a templed hill - we fed the monkeys peanuts and walked around the little mountain. They drove us to see Grace Church in SEN SOK. Built by KFC, but no longer funded by it, this church in the outskirts of Phnom Phen caters to a shanty town, Sen Sok. Several families were moved here after their homes in Phnom Phen burnt to the ground (along with the original Grace Church) about three years ago. We met the pastor who explained that the church has a lot of needs since it has such an incredibly low incomed congregation, but they do well with what they have.

-RETURN TO THE GENOCIDE MUSEUM: After our first visit to Phnom Phen, we felt that there was more to see at the genocide museum where they have educational videos that we had not been able to see the first time. We invited Tang and Sophea to join us. Afterward, we took Tang and Sophea out to dinner at one of our favorite places as a thank you for all their ourpooring of generocity and as a good bye.

-THE MOST LOVING PEOPLE: Reflecting now, on our last days in Cambodia: The people we have met here have been the most loving, joyous people we have ever met. Without exception, we have been made to feel welcome. From a moto driver in Kampong Chhang who wouldn't take the money we offered him after he gave us a ride to our guesthouse, to the children on the river side jumping for joy just to say hello to us, to the people in the cities who all yell out 'hello' to us as we walk by, to the outpooring of love from each and every person (worker and student alike) at KFC, the love was infinite. There are no people like these lovely people.

-MEL'S FUN WITH THE LANGUAGE: Mel has been trying to pick up phrases as much as possible. Yesterday we ate at a roadside table where only locals usually eat. We sat next to a group of girls and Melanie practiced her How are you's, food names, what's your names and other such small talks with them. They were all giggles (especially when Melanie put what they thought was too much spice on her food) and all joy and we had lots and lots of fun together.

-SOME OBSERVATIONS:

1) BIKES AND MOTORBIKES, GOOD BALANCE IS LEARNED YOUNG: Since people don't have cars, their bikes hold what a car trunk would hold. Sometimes, bikes get piled so high you can't see the driver. We know from our motorcycling experiences in CA that under such conditions, we would fall over. But they don't. And they pile people on also. Whole families, including babies. We even saw one woman on a pedal bike with a little child behind her who didn't appear to be a day over one year old - the little legs hung only inches off the edge of the bicycle seat (no baby seats here) and the teensy hands held onto the mom's dress unassisted. It was very impressive.

2) DOLLARS AND REIL MONEY: The Official Cambodian Money is call the Reil (at 4000 to the U.S. Dollar) - it's reil money they're dealing with, but they don't prefer to use it. The more common preferred currency here is none other than the U.S. Dollar - how easy is that for us?

3) GAS STATION BOTTLES AND RECYCLING: There are regular gas stations in Cambodia for big cars and trucks, but few and far between. More common is the roadside stand stocked with old coke and sprite and Fanta 1.5 liter bottles filled with gasoline for the motos to drive up and fill up. One way to recycle and one way to measure.

4) SCARVES: Khmer scarves are used by Everyone here. Mel faux-pawed here - we bought a Khmer scarf to be traditional. Then Mel wore it to church as a skirt, primarily because her other skirts didn't cover her knees as is expected. We asked Trang if the scarf would be ok. He said yes, but we later learned he didn't understand our question. Only too late, AFTER church, did we learn that those scarves are only used as cover ups for going to the bathroom and should not be worn as women's skirts - - especially to church. It wasn't until later that we understood why one of the women at KFC, Top Soy, immediately upon meeting us, offered to give Melanie one of her own skirts. OK, Melanie is a little embarassed.

7) NO FAST FOODS OR ATMS: We haven't see any McD's, KFC's, Starbucks or other such marks of tourism's encroachments nor any ATMs in the entire country.

8) FOOD VARIETY: We love the Asian Diet, but Melanie has also learned to appreciate the huge variety in food that we sometimes take for granted in America. While here, the foods for all three meals of the day tend to consist of rice or noodles with different toppings. In America, foods vary so much more. For example, we have Mexican tortillas or empanadas, Italian pasta or pizza, pancakes, cereal, pot pies, chilli, sandwiches, hamburgers, salads, and of course, we also have the rice and noodle based yummy Asian foods - the variety is astounding (and mouth watering) from Mel's new perspective.

8) GECKOS: In the humid climates, the geckos love to come out on your guesthouse walls, in your guesthouse refridgerators, and all over the place. Little lizards all over the walls. They're actually quite cute and endearing, but once in a while, when you're not expecting them, they can be quite a surprise, like the one in the fridge the other day that made Mel scream.

9) ENVIRO: Steve noted that Cambodia would benefit with more biodegradable products because people litter.

We have LOVED Cambodia. There are no people like Cambodian People. No people with such a unique history, and no people who have overcome such tragedy with such positive warm hearts.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to: Eric D and Tahnee
and in a couple Days to Mom and Clay and Libby and Julie K.