One Short Day

What can you learn about a country in one day? Nothing? Everything? I walked away from this day believing that the Cambodians are hurting. Life is changing for them and life is hard. We saw unbelievable poverty and I’m sure we only got a glimpse. Electricity is sporadic, the water supply, too. Garbage is everywhere and there are whispers of corruption and mistreatment.

We docked in Sihanoukville, a port city in Cambodia and joined a shore excursion organized by a fellow traveler. We found our guide amidst many vying for our business for a day. Johnty, we quickly learned, was a teacher by trade but the pay was so poor, he worked as a guide, too. I wonder if he left his class this day to be with us. Our first stop was a fishing village, full of smiling faces, children posing for our cameras, shopkeepers eager, again, for our business, fishermen hard at work, pungent sea smells and garbage in every corner. We drove about 30 minutes to the local market. The roads were unbelievably bad, even in the city. The market, like many others, offered everything imaginable. We exchanged a bit of money for some Cambodian bills and began our walk. We left proudly with our purchases of Rolex watches and Gucci/Oakley/RayBan sunglasses. Right! Any buyers?

We visited two beautiful wats, the Wat Leu and Wat Krom, and saw a blessing ceremony given by the monks. We also observed the monkeys hanging out there. Independence Monument was beautiful as well, nicely situated in a city park. Cambodia has a beautiful beach here and we enjoyed some cold ones, enjoying the breeze, the sand, and the locals selling their wares.

The lunch affair was the highlight of the day for me. A few fellow cruisers had seen enough and asked if we could just all go back to the ship. We balked and I’m glad we did. The Don Bosco school offers opportunities to learn a trade for some of the uneducated street kids in the area. The culinary division fed us a scrumptious lunch consisting of traditional Thai food (and you know I love that) including a shrimp/squid salad appetizer, baked curry in a coconut leaf and an amazing passion fruit dessert. The performing arts division entertained us with a traditional Thai dance and blessing. After that, they give us a tour of the school. If offered such hope to those lucky enough to be a part. There was a visit scheduled to th local public school but fellow passengers had no interest and asked to go back to the ship. To the ship we went. I’ll always wonder what I missed.

It is doubtful our plans will bring us back to this part of Cambodia anytime soon. If we do, there is a chance we’ll see some new tourist attractions. It’s hard to imagine but China seems to have redevelopment plans. The US, praised by our guide, as a great help to the Cambodians until a few years ago, at the request of the Prime Minister, is no longer providing financial assistance.

It’s a country that has our heart!