Photos from House Building Day

One of the completed houses

Some of the villagers around one of their new houses

Tegan and Emma-Jane presenting a gift (quilt) to the family who will receive one of the houses their team built. The quilts are made by Tabitha Industries, and are covered by the funds we provide for each of the houses.

Mikelah and Shalea presenting their gift to the family who live in one of the houses they built.

Serena and Alannah presenting their quilt to another family

Big smiles at the end of a constructive day (pun intended)

Photos from Tuesday in Phnom Penh

Mr Conoulty telling the parable of the lost sheep (cow)

Owen, pretending to be the lost "sheep"

Mrs Pond leading the singing

Mrs Pond doing activities with the children

New friends, with Emma-Jane

Mackenzie and Mikelah having fun with the children, as they learn the song 'Heads, shoulders, knees and toes'

More new friends, with Sam

House Building Day

Today's blog is brought to you by Mr Fowler and all of the students.

An early breakfast was enjoyed before undertaking final packing before setting off for house building. After our devotion with Mr Conoulty, we were met by Tari from Tabitha Foundation and our drivers. We were also joined by Rob, a supporter of Tabitha who joined us for the day. We were grateful for the extra hands as we were down two staff members (Miss Clarksmith and Ms Hetherington). 

We entered our two mini buses that we had for the day and set off through the morning traffic for our destination, approximately one hours drive away. As we were driving up a narrow dirt road, we noticed a group of locals standing in anticipation of our arrival. They gave us a very warm welcome and we found the platform where we were to leave our items that we had brought before being assigned to houses. We split into three groups and quickly got started with hammering the bamboo to the floors of the houses. The knee pads and mats were very handy to provide a bit of comfort to our knees, which got a heavy workout through the day. We followed the instruction of drinking lots of water and we also took advantage of the scarves that had been given to us the previous day, by dipping them into cold water and then placing around our necks. Everyone was amazed at how much sweat our bodies produced as we worked.

By the time we had our lunch break at 12 noon, we were already on our final buildings. The students performed so well in the heat, without a single complaint, even if the occasional thumb was knocked by a hammer. They were brilliant! It was not long after lunch that the final nail was hammered. Following this, we took part in a hand over ceremony, where each family was presented with a quilt from our students. We then participated in a group photo. 

As we were driving back, we decided that each student would provide a brief reflection for today's blog and also identify three highlights of the overall trip. Here they are:

Jacob - today I learnt the limitations on how much I can sweat and how amazing and rewarding it was to personally see the smiles of the house recipients.

Three highlights - Angkor Wat Temple, elephant rides, house building

Jack - today was fun. The people helped us to build their houses. My wrist hurts though - too many nails!

Three highlights - Angkor Wat temple, elephant ride, house building

James - it was great to actually help these people and to see directly and first hand what a difference the houses made to their lives.

Three highlights - Twin Towers KL, Malacca tour, Angkor Wat and elephant ride

Emma-Jane - I enjoyed building the houses today. The sweat and tears made it all worthwhile knowing that we gave a never ending gift to a family. A day ending in smiles, waves and broken communication makes me wonder how much more we can do.

Three highlights - Sunshine Centre (I love the children and their smiles), zoo in Malaysia, house building

Shalea - I enjoyed building the houses today because it gave the people hope and courage.

Three highlights - Sunshine Centre (seeing all the children laugh and smile), building houses, shopping

Alannah - building the houses was awesome and very rewarding seeing the effect we were having on the Cambodian community. 

Three highlights - elephant ride, serving through Sunshine and house building, getting to know others over fun dinners

Zoe - Today was the house building which has to be one of the best experiences of my life. It made me realise how lucky we are to live in Australia and proved you don't need lots of things to be happy.

Three highlights - getting to meet many different people (kids at Sunshine, people at house building and people at markets), getting to ride on an elephant and on a tuk tuk, falling in the pool in clothes instead of swimmers!

Tegan - today after building the houses the families who were going to receive the houses were so happy. Some of the family members even helped us. 

Three highlights - going to shopping centres and markets in Malaysia, riding the elephant and going in the tuk tuk, building the houses and meeting the people there and at the Sunshine Centre.

Mackenzie - today was great! House building was amazing and it was good to put a smile on people's faces.

Three highlights - Sunshine Centre, elephant rides, house building

Claudia - today was very hot, but it was worth it to see how happy everyone was.

Three highlights - elephant ride, house building, making new friends

Mikelah - today was so rewarding, seeing the family's faces after the handover ceremony made all the hard work seem like nothing.

Three highlights - playing with the kids at the Sunshine Centre, building the houses and seeing the families so happy, all the shopping

Kirrily - it was funny to see the contrast between the two types of people. We drenched ourselves with water, ate our lunch and were extremely tired while the villagers did none of this and didn't even begin to look worn out.

Three highlights - pressure plated escalators, socialising with the people in my room, getting to know some people I would otherwise never have met.

Sam - building the huts was hard work, but also great fun.

Three highlights - building houses, Sunshine Centre, swimming

Owen - today I enjoyed making the houses as it is always nice to put a smile on people's faces.

Three highlights - Night Markets, Sunshine Centre, house building

Serena - building those houses today was amazing and seeing the faces of the families that are going to live in them made it so rewarding. It was an awesome experience and I would definitely do it again.

Three highlights - elephant ride (never experienced anything like it), Sunshine Centre (it was so much fun playing with them), house building (very rewarding).

Tuesday in Phnom Phen

This blog has been brought to you by Mr Fowler, with the assistance of Mikelah, Shalea, Emma-Jane and Mrs Pond.

Following an appetising breakfast, featuring outstanding omlettes, the group met for our daily devotion before proceeding to our bus, to go to the Tabitha Centre. At the Centre, we were warmly greeted by Janne Ritkses, the founder of the Tabitha Foundation. We proceeded to the rooftop where we participated in an orientation session alongside a group from Alfred Deakin High School ACT, where Janne provided us with a riveting snapshot history lesson on Cambodia. The students were horrified to hear some of the accounts that she shared of the atrocities of the genocide that occurred during the reign of Pol Pot. Janne also told us about what we would be doing during our house building days and provided us with a list of rules that we must abide by while visiting the village. Some of the rules included not holding babies under the age of two otherwise parents would think that you want to take the child as payment for the houses, don't take their money or eat their food, leave your belongings on the platform provided for the group and they will not be touched by the locals - anywhere else, it is considered community property, don't react to any injuries but seek very quiet attention from an adult of the same sex, boys should not touch girls and vice versa as only people who are married touch people of the opposite sex, etc. Following our briefing session, we perused the impressive collection of silk items that had been produced at Tabitha and a number of purchases were made.

We then alighted the bus to brave the traffic as we made our way to Toul Sleng S21 Museum, a former high school that was converted to a secret prison to detain those who were thought to be traitors of Pol Pot. 22,000 people were executed at this prison. The High School was closed because Pol Pot insisted that education cease. The Khmer people needed to undertake physical work and this did not require education. We were able to view rooms where prisoners were kept and row after row of the photos of people who were detained and executed. There were signs around the buildings that you are not to smile or laugh while visiting the museum. There were also a number of information panels on the current trials taking place under the international war crimes act, where four former Khmer Rouge leaders are facing trial. This was a very sombre occasion for our group, but gave an important link to the state of poverty that still exists for so many in Cambodia.

Time for lunch and today we visited the FCC, Foreign Correspondents Club, on the riverside. This was a restaurant and meeting place for journalists during the lengthy periods of unrest in Cambodia and still operates today as a public cafe. We were able to sample a range of items from their menu.

The highlight of our day was, without a doubt, our visit to the Sunshine Centre. Our College has been supporting Sunshine Cambodia for many years now and our visit to Phnom Penh provided an opportunity for students and staff to see first hand the operation and wonderful work of the centre. As we were arriving, the rain started to bucket down. It was so heavy, that it was not possible to talk to the children, who were sitting in straight lines in their main meeting area. The rain was not going to let up, so the staff found a PA system to set up. Mr Conoulty led a short devotion on the lost sheep (adapted for the local audience by changing the animal to a lost cow). Our students played the role of cows and Owen became our lost cow. We then sang songs with the children and played some games with music. Following this, we then presented the gifts that we had brought them from our Service Week program along with the ample supply of skipping ropes and extensive stationery supplies. They were delighted with these gifts which will be put to great use. Our team greatly enjoyed the opportunity to play games and dance with the children. It was certainly a wonderful opportunity for them to think about how they can bring happiness to the lives of other people.

Due to the downpour, some roads were a bit flooded as we were leaving Sunshine, and we had to jump a number of very large puddles. From there, we visited a supermarket to buy some lunch and snack supplies for our house building day. Back to the hotel and then off to another restaurant for dinner. This time, we we dined at the Tamarind restaurant which served a combination of middle eastern and local cuisines. We also had a table on the rooftop of the restaurant and were joined by Ms Hetherington as Mrs Pond had tag-teamed with her at the hospital.

A speedy return to the hotel with our very friendly tuk tuk drivers brought the evening to a close. All ready for an early start for our house building day.

Photos Traditional Dancing and Dinner

Waiting for dinner

Iced tea was nice but the drink on the left tasted remarkably like Listermint and a touch of disprin.

Entree.

One of the musicians. Such gentle music.

Dancing. Note the flexibility in their hands and feet.

Soup.  Looks mysterious - tastes delicious.

Coconut dance.

Peacock dance.

Photos from Temple Run Day

Getting up close to the locals.

Elephant ride anyone?

Sometimes the journey is as much fun as the destination.

Claudia outside Baphuon Temple

Jack and Zoe approeciating the view fron the temple

Temple entrance gate

Mr. Phan explains

Group photo outside Angkor Wat  - look at the reflection.

(Mr Phan knew all the good photo locations)

Angkor Wat - spectacular

Monkeys are cute but naughty. You can't see the cardigan they stole from a tourist in this shot.

Ta Prohm Temple - famous for Angelina Jolie 's 2001 movie, Tomb Raider.

Mrs Pond channeling Angelina

Siem Reap to Kompong Thom photos

View from the bus.

Lunch - in a pineapple

View from our restaurant

Definitely bogged

Temple at Sambor Prei Kuk (Lion Temple, two lion - as our lovely guides pointed out with such enthusiam)

Some of our guides with their silk scarves for sale - you buy?

Gem (not Jemima or termite mound) is on the left.

Yes.  There is a temple under that tree

Dinner at Run Amok - and it tasted fantastic!

Waiter! More ice. (Within minutes of the snake bite)

Kompong Thom to Phonm Penh

Miss Clarksmith spent a rather uncomfortable night with a swollen leg packed in ice before we loaded up the bus and headed off to the capital city of Phonm Penh. The journey for her was difficult because of the bumpy road and traffic, and she was quite relieved to see a wheel chair waiting for her as we arrived at the Royal Rattanak Hospital. Here Miss Clarksmith had to undergo many, many tests so that the exact nature of the venom and its impacts could be assessed. Rest assured that she is in good hands with very comfortable surroundings. The food is pretty good here and the selection of gourmet meals is impressive. She is very disappointed that she will be unable to participate in the rest of the trip and will miss out on our visit to Sunshine Cambodia and the house building. Your prayers for her recovery will be much appreciated.  

After dropping Miss Clarksmith and Mr Fowler at the hospital, the group proceeded to the Hotel Cambodiana for check in. At this point we farewelled our wonderful guide, Mr Phan, and met the next guide for our next phase of the trip. After settling into our impressively sized rooms with very comfortable beds, we proceeded to the Royal Palace. We learnt that the long time revered former King Norodom Sihanouk died in October last year and his grandson has become the new king, King Norodom Sihamoni. The palace grounds were immaculately kept, with manicured lawns and gardens. Monkeys also wandered various parts of the gardens and were even seen to chase one of our group. The various buildings in the palace grounds were highly decorated, with generous gold gilding both inside and out. A particular feature of the visit was the Silver Pagoda, which included fifty tonnes of silver within the floor tiles, each of which were solid silver. 

Following our palace tour, we proceeded to the Sisowath Quay to commence a sunset cruise on the mighty Mekong River. As we were alighting the boat, it was apparent that, despite the time of day, it was not going to be a sunset cruise after all, but a storm cruise. The group was able to spend the first five to ten minutes on the rooftop before torrents of rain effectively blocked the view of the city skyline. Despite the rain, it was a most enjoyable experience for the group.

Mr Lim then returned us to the hotel, where we departed for our dinner restaurant experience. We travelled to the Lemongrass Restaurant by tuk tuks, which was a novel and exciting experience for all. The restaurant served sumptuous food, with many choosing delicious satay skewers. Following this, the return trip to the hotel featured a healthy competition between the tuk tuks about who would avoid the traffic to get to the hotel first, which resulted in great hilarity as the lead tuk tuk was held up in traffic.

After a long day, the group were keen to get to their very comfy beds and enjoyed a settled night.

Siem Reap to Kompong Thom

After a smooth checkout and a wave goodbye to our lovely Prince d'Angkor Hotel we packed our luggage onto the bus (to the roof in some places) and headed off to Kompong Thom in central Cambodia.  

The journey is approximately 100 km south along Cambodia's national highway.  We were all surprised at the chaotic nature of the traffic and the wide variety of vehicles travelling the two-lane route, although a times we were funnelled into one lane. Seems like the NSW RMS don't have a monopoly on that at all. We saw motorcyclists laden with extraordinarily large loads of baskets, pots and pans, plants, people and a wide variety of farm animals. Pigs and chickens were very common. Other traffic included ponies and motorcycles pulling carts, foot traffic, bicycles, water buffalo drawn vehicles, 4WDs, cars, tourist laden buses and all manner and size of trucks. Many of the vehicles had passengers added atop precarious loads, a bit like a hay ride for some I would imagine, and one heavily laden truck also had a hammock slung across the back with a sleeping passenger.

The scenery too was varied and also gave a great insight into how people lived outside of the tourist centres. Houses, markets, schools and other buildings lined most of the roadway but we were treated to some spectacular rural scenery and postcard perfect scenes in the rice paddies. I really liked seeing some of the farmers in ponds washing down their water buffalo who really seemed to be enjoying the back rub. Every now and then we encountered an election rally - very noisy and detrimental to traffic flow. The participants all wear the same coloured shirts and wave their party flags whilst sitting three astride on motorbikes or crammed onto the back of utes and trucks.  Enormous speakers ensure that all and sundry get the message at the rally, and several blocks away.  

Cambodian children generally start school at around 7 am and finish at 11 am then head off home for lunch. Quite often we encountered the end of school traffic rush and congestion, although mainly bicycles rather than cars, and the students looked so sweet in their uniforms.

Our lunch stop was at a lovely open air restaurant overlooking rice paddies. There was some enticing local fare on the menu, curries, stir fries and soups, much of which came beautifully presented inside pineapples, banana leaves or coconut shells. Many, however, chose chicken and chips and a few in our party are clearly longing for some more familiar cooking.

After lunch we went off road for a one hour trip to the Sambor Pre Kuk temple complex deep in the forest. There are more than 100 structures here scattered around and dating to the early 7th century.  Many have unfortunately suffered from time, neglect and bombing. One temple at the eastern gate has been spectacularly ripped apart by an ancient tree and there are several bomb craters evident amongst the ruins. We were followed around by a group of children who must regularly follow tourists around the site. As soon as they saw our bus they hopped on their bikes and pedalled furiously to keep pace. As soon as we disembarked each of us found ourselves with one or two little guides who made themselves known to us and wanted to know a little bit about us. The boys all seemed quite taken with being referred to as Mr. Handsome by the children. Our guides were quick to point out hazards such as tree roots and uneven paths and also showed us the bomb craters and gave us some information on the site. Miss Clarksmith was convinced her guides name was Jemima until I was pointed out that the young girl had been indicating termite mound - not really easy to see how the two words could be confused but it would be much clearer to you if you could hear the accent. At the end of our visit we all bought ridiculous quantities of scarves from the children who were all very eager to make a sale. Look for them when we return! We also shared Minties with the children and had we known that the chorus of "You buy. One dollar", "From the bomb" and "Watch out madam, tree root" was so easily stemmed by lollies, we might have shared them earlier.  

The road to and from the temple complex was in a varied state of repair and had clearly been washed away in some areas. In a couple of places we encountered bogged vehicles and watched as a truck reversed quickly and smashed into a bogged truck in order to clear it from the road. We all had to get off our bus to lighten the load and it took a bit of a run up to clear one of the hazards along the way. It was quite exciting and also quite bumpy.  

We made it to our villas in Kompong Thom late in the afternoon and spent some time relaxing by the pool. The rooms were surrounded by lovely lush vegetation and there were several frog ponds around the complex and during the evening they made quite a noise. Dinner was just around the corner at a lovely little restaurant owned by a former New Zealander and his Cambodian wife. We were treated to some freshly prepared pizzas, burgers and fries in the small family run place. They were not used to such large group numbers so we had plenty of time to sit around, enjoy each other's company and watch the little geckos work hard to keep the insects away from us.  

Unfortunately, following our lovely day there was an incident when Miss Clarksmith, on her evening rounds checking each of the villas, was bitten by a snake. The snake was not sighted but it was very painful for her immediately and it became clear very quickly that it was not simply an insect bite. A trip to the local hospital reassured us that the snake bite was not venomous, however, the venom was causing a reaction and swelling. The hospital staff were helpful and efficient and our tour guide was an able translator as Mr Fowler, the hotel staff and medical staff crammed into the treatment room so that none of the action would be missed. Miss Clarksmith put her foot down, not literally, however, when it came time for the injection of pain killers, and the room was cleared.