Kambodja!

Tuk tuk, ladies?

A week in the land of smiles flew by faster than one could imagine. The genial smiles of the local people and the pure unadulterated joy that the kids showed at the simplest of things was both humbling and heartbreaking all at once. Seeing their faces light up just from getting a lollipop stirred up some seriously mixed emotions in me. We also met some cool lil kids who spoke such good  English and who were so crazy high that they just kept talking and laughing. For that half hour, I couldn't stop smiling (: Those were the fortunate ones.

I guess we're all aware of the dire situations that some Cambodians live in but to actually witness first-hand, the sight of homeless children fervently grasping for chicken bones and bread left behind by customers before the cleaners came, was strikingly hard to bear. They couldn't have been more than 7 or 8 years of age. 

Before I went off, I was told by a few, not to give money or to buy things from the street kids because you'll get swarmed and you'd be placing yourself in a situation that could very easily go south. It is true. Some of the children there can get rough when they don't get what they want and I've heard some shouting, ''I don't want food! Give me $1!''. If you don't hand it over, some might kick you, pull your hair or give you the dirtiest look ever for not sparing just a dollar for a homeless kid; I have to grudgingly admit that some of the kids we saw were tremendously skilled in the art of ... guilt-tripping. Hah, it's really a strange dichotomy - how children who are supposedly the epitome of innocence are capable of such emotional manipulation; but doesn't that just make you wonder how long they've been doing it to be able to read their marks so well and pick up on the necessary traits? It's scary to think what survival instincts can drive mere kids to do. Clearly bright kids borned into the wrong circumstances perhaps... Then there's the harsh reality that there are so many of them, and there's only so much you can help at any one point in time.

Yet when kids are grasping your hands so tightly and dragging you to the nearest convenience store, begging you to please buy them some milk, (at 3am, no less.) how does one turn away from that? Well, you don't. So you do what you can, and hope that that bit of respite would get them through another day, another week. I have to say though that situations like these really shows you how genuinely kind (or unkind) some people can be. It gave me great comfort, to see the way he handled all the kids around him and I guess that was one of the reasons why I liked him.

We did not get to visit any orphanages this time as our schedules did not match but going beyond the orphanages, there's so much that can be done to help the homeless kids there.. so I'd really like to go back to Siem Reap again someday soon but before that, I need a plan!

On a lighter note, we did do quite a bit of fun stuff when we were there! The sunrise at Angkor Wat certainly lived up to its reputation. I've always been quite a sucker for sunrises and sunsets, so it was breathtaking to watch as the skies above slowly opened it's gates (: It was also the 2nd time that I saw the moon and the sun simultaneously (besides the summer at Västra Hämnen). The weather was perfect for walking around the temples and exploring the structures that have been standing for centuries. I think my favourite was Ta Keo, a temple mountain built entirely of sandstone in a massive pyramid-like style. After climbing that, our thighs were aching so bad the next day. LOL.

If you're planning on visiting Siem Reap, the Happy Horse Ranch and the ATV rides are also something you should definitely try! I've never rode a horse prior to this so the first time for me was awfully exciting. Heh. My horse was called Gerimino and it was a beautiful brown mare whose first priority was food. It was constantly trying to chomp on the greens along the way and couldn't give two shits about where I was trying to lead it! He was cool though. Heh. There was also a horse called Ron Weasley but my favourites were Gerimino and North Star :] (North Star's the one sniffing me. Haha)

ATV ride to catch the sunset was aweeeeeeeesome! Although my driving skills leave much to be desired but after a few failed attempts, I got the hang of it and it was so fun to drive that massive four-wheeler through the villages! The kids all ran out to say hello :] The sunset was stunning, as expected but it was over so fast! Lol, it went down in like 5 minutes and we were running around like loonies trying to get good jump shots against the sun.
We also went for a cooking class on our last day! Pumpkin soup, Amok fish, Spring Rolls and Mango with sticky rice. Yum yum yum!

All in all, this trip has been pretty awesome (: We did heaps of fun stuff, I've had time to relax, read and sort through some of the messes in my head. It has given me new perspectives on some issues and also made me come to terms with others. I made some mistakes that I wish I could correct but what's done is done and the best we can do is to find the best thing in that train wreck, hold on to it, laugh the rest off and then move on. As the rain pours on here in Singapore, this quote couldn't be more fitting.

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain."

♥

Some swedish phrases before I go,

hur kunde en vecka passera så fört? - how could a week pass so fast?

vänliga ansikten - friendly faces

Also, SO EXCITED FOR SCHOOL IN SEPTEMBER!!!!!!! Heh (: