Siem Reap (REP) Day 6

Most of the other members of our PEPY trip were returning today, but I stayed an extra day to tour some more around Angkor Wat and the people of this beautiful ancient city. Chin (pictured with his wife) was my tuk tuk driver for most of my time in Siem Reap, and by the end of the trip we became good friends. He took me around to several temples and we spent all day together. Chin used to be a Buddhist monk and so received free education so his English is pretty good. We talked a lot about his life and his concerns for the welfare of his child that his wife carries. "I don't want my baby to beg for money from foreigners everyday like other children do. I see it all the time, and I don't want my baby to do that. That is why I work hard, late at night, driving people home in my tuk tuk, but it's very hard to make money. People hate me; they hate tuk tuk drivers. I drive people to Le Meridien where they pay hundreds of dollars to stay, more than $20 to eat dinner (most meals are less than a dollar in Cambodian restaurants) and almost $5 for a beer, BUT when I ask them for $2 to ride in my tuk tuk it's always the same: 'TWO DOLLARS!! TOO EXPENSIVE!!'. I don't understand why they hate us."

Siem Reap (REP) Day 5

With one house complete, our last day of building was just a matter of putting the pieces together. First the box frames were all secured to the cement foundation, then to each other. The outer walls then wrapped with the thatching, and topped it all off with an aluminum green roof. Hard days of building rewarded by seeing two homes finished!! All by hand power, no electricity, no running water, HOME! At night we went to a Cambodian wedding filled with celebration, karaoke, and dancing! A perfect ending; but not an end by any means.

Siem Reap (REP) Day 4

A definite highlight of the entire trip was our group tour of Angkor Wat. Not just for the marvelous temples, but the fact that we went along with about sixty or seventy children from the PEPY School. A dream for most of the kids, mainly because they live so far away and the 2.5 hour ride into the city would not have been possible without PEPY. So they woke up super early and piled into the back of pick-up trucks, about 15 kids per truck. It was quite a sight. By the end of the day tired faces (mostly because they were smiling so much with us and having an awesome time) had a day they said could never be forgotten! These kids are so damn cool!! We also saw a few brides and grooms with their camera-man, capturing their beauty with a pristine backdrop.

Siem Reap (REP) Day 3, Part II

Without even stopping to cleanse our skin of its new red hues (not from sun burn, but from all the iron rich soil, which when in dust form floats in the air gracefully, anxious to cling to our sweaty bodies, shirts inclduded, and creates a kind of burnt-orange spritz; I know, kinda sexy!) we head off to the Akira mine museum. I went for a walk away from the museum because it was too much, and a young boy, about four years old, signaled for me to share some of my jackfruit chips. So I walke a bit with my little friend and we were later joined by some of his elder family member, except the young boy, everybody else was missing a limb. Akira has defused thousands of mines, but there are still thousands more! The worst part is if that little boy wasn't so close to land mine victims, he could be among one of the hundreds of children who lose their life because they find a mine, and not knowing what it is, think its a toy and play with it. Just one of the stories you learn about at Akira's Mine Museum.

Siem Reap (REP) Day 3

After two hard days of building houses, a much needed rest came in the form of a trip to the PEPY School. A rest from work, but not a rest on the body because the ride out to the school from Siem Reap center takes about two hours on a road filled with craters and uneven pitches, rattling the body and bruising the booty. It was all worth it because the kids are amazing and the PEPY donated facilities are impressive. Were it not for PEPY, these children would have no way to afford schooling.

Siem Reap (REP) Day 2

Our second day of building was much more productive than the first because our fellow Cambodian workers had passed on some of their skills and trusted us with a bit more responsibility. Some of our duties included tying off the palm leaf thatching with vines to a bamboo frame, all of which was previously soaked in water for a week which ferments the natural materials to prevent ants or other insects from eating them. We also hammer and nailed the box frames with cross supports for the walls of the house. There was never a shortage of dirt to move to create foundation for the houses and neighbouring pig pen. Tons of sawing straight branches/skinny trees used to fence in the mama pigs in the pen, with a small opening for the babies to run around and roam free. Towards the end of the day, a few of us even tried brick laying and masonry. The locals got a good laugh out of that! They are probably re-doing it right now.

After building, someone had the idea that it would be fun to go running around in the hot sun some more to see just how EXHAUSTED a human can become. So we played a game of super fun soccer (so fun because we were all delirious) with some of the Sangkheum boys. Yes, these teenagers whooped our arses! On the drive home we stopped and sipped on fresh cane juice with crushed ice; ahhhhh, hit the spot! At night we went to an awesome restaurant which had everything from Cambodian music and dancing, live crocodiles that you can feed a bowl of fish for 50 cents, mannequins of women's breasts above the urinal in the men's bathroom (wonder what the ladies had??) and an amazing menu selection in the form of a short novel, chalked full of all kinds of cuisine, YUMMINESS! If you are ever in Siem Ream, go to the DEAD FISH!! Good call Rachel!

Siem Reap (REP) Day 1

Our first day in Siem Reap we went to the Sangkheum Center for Children. It was time to get hotter and sweatier working in the relentless Cambodian sun/heat. There was an architect on site to show us a diagram of the house we would be building. We worked with all members of the PEPY group and Cambodian workers helped to keep our productivity high (they mostly made sure we weren't hammering each other to wood, or sawing off limbs). After working, we stopped at the Sangkheum Center on our way out to meet some of the wonderful children.

Phnom Penh (PNH) Day 4

Eggs and toast or eggs and french bread? This mornings breakfast choice wasn't any different than the past three days, not a complaint because it was free, just kinda funny! The eggs were actually quite yummy and on an empty stomach typing this, I could go for some of that yumminess right now! We spent most of our day at a village on a small island, under an hours boat right from our hotel along the Tonle Sap River and on into the Mekong River. Our tour guide was explaining about their living because most of the inhabitants weave silk, but somewhere along the way I was kidnapped by a gang of ruthless village men who forced me to sink and drink cold beers with them. On a hot summer day sweatin' my buns off, the four pounding of four cold ones won't do too much for re-hydration. That being said, can't tell you too much else about that little village nor what happened after I stumbled off the elevated bamboo seater you see me sitting on in the foto. Before flying off to Siem Reap, we all went on shopping sprees in the Russian Market of PNH where people bought North Face backpacks larger than my torso, for $17!

Phnom Penh (PNH) Day 3, Part II

From steaming heaps of trash, filling the air with a stench strong enough to burn your nasal passage, to the grandeur of PNH's Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. My feet were totally black by the time I reached the Royal Palace from walking through the charred rubbish in my sandles. Even people who wore shoes and socks had soot filled toe nails. The Royal Palace is extremely well kept and beautiful. A flag blowing the the wind signified the King was in his quarters, but we didn't see him strolling around to shake any hands. Next time King!

Phnom Penh (PNH) Day 3

Steung Menchey. The home of everything unwanted from the citizens and visitors of PNH. Table scraps left on plates, then shoveled into the trash, dead batteries dripping acid from the seams, hospital needles so sharp you would barely feel one burying itself into a heavily calloused foot. Steung Menchey is not just a wasteland, it is also where people raise their families and where children spend hours everyday sifting through trash to find items which would yield a small profit. Bottles, cans, plastic containers; these are some items which could fetch enough for something to eat. A harsh image, but 100% reality. CCF tries to help a lot of the children trapped in this reality.