24 Feb Welcome to Cambodia
And a hell of a welcome it was…
Border Problems
I caught the 7am bus to Siem Reap from Pakse. At the border to Cambodia I stepped out to get my Laos exit stamp and pay a $2 fee to leave the country. It was only me and one other person on the bus originally, but suddenly a horde of tourists came out of nowhere and piled in. The bus was now completely full, and a man made an announcement up front (in English, but with a heavy accent). I didn’t bother to pay attention, it seemed like a big tour group. He said something about food, the border, and coming back for passports and visas.
We crossed the border and stopped at the small markets ahead. Everyone piled out and ordered food or took bathroom breaks. As I was sitting wondering when we go back for our visas and why we passed through already a man starts yelling out names. He’s handing back passports! I went up to ask him what was going on, but he was not to be interrupted.
I started to get anxious…I found the man who made the announcement earlier and asked if everyone had already gotten their visas. He said incredulously, ‘you haven’t got your visa??’
Uh, no…duh. We never stopped to drop off our passports! I stood there wondering how the fuck everyone else got that done! He certainly didn’t collect the passports from the bus. I would have noticed that.
He told me to run. He said that they would wait.
I walked quickly back to the large immigration building and stood in line. When I got to the counter he pointed to the other side of the building. You go there first. So I rushed over and the man at the window says ‘nobody is home’.
Seriously? I am in a hurry, anxious, and nearly in tears wondering how this even happened…that is not what I wanted to hear! Another man came up and pointed out a form I need to fill out. After completing that I went back to the counter and he asked for my passport photo.
Shit…it’s in my big bag. So I ran back to the bus and grabbed my passport photos hoping he had scissors. I ran back, now sweaty and out of breath, and gave him everything. He filled out a visa sticker and said to go back to the original booth for my stamp. There is now a large group of people there. Each had to get their photo taken and fingerprints scanned. I was already hopping from one foot to the next, impatient and worried about the bus, and people kept stepping in front of me. I wanted to say something, but I was too afraid I’d start to cry. Though in hindsight that might have gotten me to the front of the line…
Finally, I sat and put my fingers on the scanner…and it won’t scan. I tried over and over, rolling my fingers and setting them down different ways. The man said ok, try the other hand, but it was no good either. I showed him my fingers with their hard, flat calluses just starting to heal from my weeks of climbing. He waved my hand away imperiously and sent me to the next window. This one takes my passport and flips through each and every page. He removes an old staple and flips some more. He turns it this way and that. He seems to read each visa sticker thoroughly. I’m still hopping from foot to foot. He finally adds his 20 stamps to the book (am I exaggerating? Maybe) and I burst out of the door and start jogging. I slowly come to a stop…
My bus is gone.
No, no, no, NO!
I might have yelled that out loud, I’m not sure. I wanted to scream. But there was no use running now. I walked back quickly and checked the bus still sitting there. I recognized some of the people from the first bus and found out we had to switch buses to get to Siem Reap, but that we were supposed to move our own bags. Obviously I hadn’t.
I checked the luggage area beneath the bus, hoping that my bag was recognized and moved (highly unlikely, but I was feeling desperate). I talked to the bus driver, still trying to remain calm, and he sent me to the restaurant. Luckily, everyone knows everyone in Asia and someone had the other bus driver’s number. They had me describe the bag and said he would look for it and if found would leave it at a gas station up the road.
I took some deep breaths. I sat down without looking anyone in the eye. I calmed myself. Even though I don’t have my bag yet, they must have it. And besides, I have all of my important things with me already. It would suck to lose all of my things, but it’s not that big of a deal. Calm down, Mallory. Breathe.
A couple of hours later we pulled into a gas station, and there it was, leaning against the wall. I nearly whooped for joy. I walked back on the bus trying not to grin like an idiot. Sweet success!
This is the second border I’ve had difficulty with. I hope this isn’t becoming a trend!
Siem Reap
The road into Cambodia, though a major highway, was rough and bumpy. It felt like we were riding down a dirt-packed back country road. The sun burned saffron ahead as it slowly lowered in the sky. I’ve never seen the sun such a color. It looked like the end of the world.
In Siem Reap it was dark. The city center was too far to walk in my exhausted state. I gave in to a motorbike taxi who was hounding me and he dropped me off near some cheap hostels. I stayed at a backpacker hostel that was pretty nice and only 3$, but went straight to bed.
The next day got a SIM card (Smart brand, 10$ for 6Gb and 12 minutes for calls) and grabbed noodle soup at a shop I saw several locals eating at. I have no idea what it was called, but it was across from the Smart store and by the Serpent Dish Monument/fountain. $1.50 and delicious!
I called my contact, Savannarith, at the school I am volunteering at, and hired a tuk tuk to take me out there. I hate expensive rides, but it would have been a long walk with my big bag and Savann couldn’t really explain where his school was to me.
The driver got to the town of Lolei, and we went down a couple of dirt roads, stopped for directions, etc. When we arrived Savann immediately came out with his arms open wide in welcome. I set my pack down and we helped push the tuk tuk out of the sand. I got a quick tour of the home the volunteers share with him and his family, met the other volunteers, and got straight to work at the Angkor Legacy Academy.
Angkor Legacy Academy
Savannarith started ALA in 2011 to give the children in his village access to free English lessons. He feels that young children today need to learn English in order to have a future outside of the poor village. Many more jobs become available to them if they can communicate with tourists. Without additional education most children end up as farmers or laborers impoverished in the same village they grew up in. Savann also has a food program providing basic food staples to local families, and a clean water and hygiene education initiative to teach locals why clean water is important and to teach them to wash their hands and bathe.
ALA is a non-profit organization and is completely funded through donations. You can visit Savann’s website here to learn about his school, come volunteer, or donate to the program. All teachers are volunteers, and when there are no volunteers Savann teaches (there are 12 different classes per day currently). A cash donation goes towards the food program, and just $35 pays for 50kg (110 pounds) of rice and condiments for a family. Rice is a major food staple here. Malnourished mothers are forced to supplement breast milk with rice water. Children whose families cannot afford rice or food must work to help provide and end up dropping out of school, perpetuating the poverty cycle.
Lolee in Lolei
It was a Saturday when I arrived, so instead of teaching we were making art for the walls of the two classrooms. The girls had already done a few things that looked great, but they had big plans. We spent all day drawing and painting, with a brief break for lunch. At 5:30 we stopped and went to watch the sun set over the palm trees, then headed back for a traditional Khmer dinner made by Savann’s wife, Ol (an amazing cook!).
During the week we teach, two teachers to a class if possible. My name, Mallory, is hard to say in Asia because their ‘r’ and ‘l’ is the same and sounds like ‘rl’. Gina and I came up with the nickname ‘Lolee’ while in Thailand and I adopted it here. Since all teachers are volunteers and often don’t stay longer than a couple of weeks the children are used to new faces. Teaching is challenging, for though it is free and the children choose to be there they are fidgety and loud, and often disruptive. It is great to play games and sing songs, but hard to get them to focus on a lesson. Some of the children are really there to learn and are doing very well, but each class has kids at many different levels based on when they can make it to class so it can be hard to move forward.
What they really help is someone to organize lesson plans and an order of progression for the kids. Maybe write down some good learning games. To determine how and when some children move up a level or if they can group similar levels together. I think if there were more of a focus on building the school’s structure than working on so many different projects that more of the volunteers would be willing to stay longer term or larger organizations would take notice of his work. But who knows, I’m not familiar with the government here. He is still doing amazing things, but it could definitely use some assistance and support.
The kids may make me want to pull my hair out sometimes, but they are the sweetest little people. They give you drawings after class and want a million high fives. They just have too much energy and don’t understand most of what we are saying! We all play with them after class as well, sometimes passing the soccer ball or dancing, playing tag, singing songs. I’ve never seen children so independent or grow up so fast in such a different way.
We finished painting the inside walls of the classroom and the front of the school to make it more bright and fun for the children. They love it, and constantly point at the pictures to name the animals or point at the map and wonder which country that is. It was wonderful to see how excited they were to see it. A few of the little ones even helped us wash the walls before painting (not that we could have stopped them from helping!).
Over the weekend we attended a birthday party next door. It was hard to miss it – they spent 2-3 days setting up tents and a speaker system. They started the party Friday evening by playing music at ear splitting volumes until 11pm. A few locals danced zombie-like in a circle, taking slow steps to the music and swaying their arms lazily. Our entire bedroom, maybe the whole house, was vibrating violently.
We woke up at 5am on Saturday when the ear splitting music started once again. After a lazy morning trying to ignore the noise we all decided to try joining the party. Ross came with a bag of beer and we were led to an open table where they set down clean chairs and a few plates of food.
Everyone was dressed in their best. Some of the women were in beautiful evening gowns, the men in suits or slacks. We felt a bit under dressed, but we were a hit anyways. We were immediately joined by someone wanting to share a toast with us. We toasted again, and again…and again, and again! The cheers-ing never ended!
More and more locals joined us and we all shared beer and they were dancing around our table. Cries of ‘chul kow!’ (Cheers!) rang out. We finally got up to join the dancing. Everyone began to encircle one table and dance around it. You apparently can’t dance outside of the circle, or you get pushed back in. The DJ invited us all to his table and then the karaoke started. A drunken Ross was lip syncing a Cambodian song he definitely didn’t know, we all sang I Will Survive, and Feli, Cris, and Facu sang Despacito. It was a riot. By just 4:30pm we went back to the house full, drunk, and full of laughter.
I have now stayed at the school for twelve days, teaching and painting and playing with the children. I have met some wonderful people in my time here and I will miss the constant calls of ‘t-cha, cha!’ (Teacher) and high fives, discussions with new friends, the delicious food and comfortable atmosphere at Savann’s home, and even the younger children crawling all over me for piggy back rides and tickle fights. I will especially miss the stunning sunsets and the children racing across untilled fields trying to catch the hot air balloons overhead.
I am leaving here with new friends and travel companions, and am excited for the next grand adventure! Now, to the Angkor Wat and the beach!
Expenses
My internet was very spotty in Lolei, so the expenses I tracked and logged here did not save, and I’ve lost all of the data. I’m going off of memory now, but it’s mostly accurate.
Transportation: $37 (visa) + 13
Lodging: $3
Food: $8.50
Alcohol: $4.50
SIM: $10
Donation: $150 (55 req for stay)
Total: $226
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