Today our tour group left Bou Savy guesthouse at 9am. We packed onto the bus and headed 1 hour 15 minutes outside of Siem Reap. Along the way we saw rice fields, water buffalo and many school children riding their bikes to school. I think many of the students were shocked at the living conditions of many of these people.
After spending time walking through Bantrey Srei, we headed to the Cambodian/Canadian Landmine museum where we met expert de-miner and social assistant from the US (Bill) who put on a very powerful presentation about land mines and unexploded ordinance in Cambodia. This fellow has been working for a few years in Cambodia to assist Aki Ra’s project to have an orphanage attached to the museum. He also spoke about the Government controversy around the original landline museum that was taken down in 2007. Our students were very moved by the presentation and were asking questions about Aki Ra’s work and the Ottawa Declaration to bann the use of antipersonnel mines
. The statistics were pretty depressing about Cambodia but it is great to know that much is already being done to clear the rural countryside.
I really believe that the students walked away from this discussion enlightened people. It was one of those talks that will stay with the students for a very long time to come.
Next we headed back to the guesthouse to rest up. Then we headed out in the late afternoon for Ta Phrom temple, the set location for the infamous Tomb Raider film. The students really enjoyed the hiking and traveling today. We’re all a bit tired but we all have great pictures and amazing memories.
We are all healthy and no problems to report. We are all enjoying this trip very much.
You should see the pictures are students are taking!!
I’ve included a few here. Enjoy.
Click to see a video about Bill Morse nomination that brought recognition to Aki Ra’s work in Cambodia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx4Bz2IZWmg
Cambodia surprises me with its people and traditional culture. We have been traveling for three days here, and we met a lot of friendly people. The local tour guide is one of them. He is very passionate about telling the history and myths of the temples and Angkor. With his smile, we can feel his kindness and patience. While we are walking through the attractions, we met a lot of kids on our way who have the same age or even younger than us. They sell scarf and souvenirs to us in order to maintain the family income. Seeing these teenagers, we realize we are very lucky and are having a wonderful life. This is a special experience that I don't think there will be another opportunities. I would never have notice there are such hard lives in the other parts of the world if I didn't make this choice of going to Cambodia.