Sunday 22nd- Thursday 26th July

Sunday 22nd July 2007
We left Phnom Penh on Sunday morning with much excitement from some members of the team who were looking forward to a delicious snack on the way – this being the Cambodian delicacy of fried tarantula and fried frog! I discovered the best way was to get the tarantula in one go to minimise the time for hesitation and worry! They actually didn’t taste too bad – although the hairy legs were slightly off-putting!

As soon as we arrived at Siem Reap we went to an international church where all the guests had to introduce themselves – we realised that there were more guests there than members! It was a good service with people from many different countries there – England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, America, Canada, Holland, Indonesia and of course Cambodia. However, we were all struggling with the fact that there was under-floor heating in one of the hottest countries in the world! Ahhhhhhh – mind boggling!

We arrived at the BB hall after a long and tiring journey. Our spirits were low and then we saw our accommodation. On hindsight the concrete floor was the silver lining compared to the geckos, frogs, giant spiders, roosters, crickets and mosquitoes which were our unwelcome guests throughout the stay. Despite this we appreciated Reuben and Jason’s hospitality and the entertainment provided by Toffee the dog.

The three day stay provided a number of highlights and challenges, one of which was washing our clothes on the first night in a bucket – which we later discovered had a hole in it. After a good sleep on the first night the workshops began in a classroom on site. We did two workshops a day with a break in the middle for lunch and a rest in the intense heat. A quote often used was ‘I never thought I would lie trying to sleep in a pool of my own sweat!’ We were blessed with delicious food which was prepared for us by the family of Reaksa Himm. Home cooked food was certainly appreciated.

The workshops consisted of English teaching, games, sports, crafts, music, testimony and chatting with the local youth who were a delight to work with. They even taught us some Khmer games and songs.

Monday 23rd July

On Monday it was Geoff’s 46th birthday! We sang happy birthday at every possible opportunity and had an amazing colourful traditional Cambodian cake – they are so much tastier compared to our attempts at home! On that evening we drove into Siem Reap (about 30 minutes drive) which is a popular tourist town. We went to the Blue Pumpkin – a restaurant/café with air conditioning, a crisp white interior and a comfy contemporary take on ‘chaise longe’ plus much needed chocolate, milkshakes and cake!

Other highlights of the BB stay included visiting a silk farm and a crocodile farm (which is run by the local pastor!). It was amazing to see the complex process of creating silk and to realize how time consuming it is to make a silk garment. The crocodile farm consisted of a walled pen with over 40 crocs lying on top of each other, floating in the pool and sunbathing with their mouths open – quite surreal! The crocs get fed every ten days and the worrying thing was that we were there on the ninth, making our stay somewhat anxious!

Wednesday 25th July
On our final day at the BB hall we received cards and letters from the young girls who appreciated our visit. We cleaned the hall and sadly packed up our delightful pink mozzie nets which contributed to the title for our bedroom being ‘the pink palace’! On the road again this time to Siem Reap for a brief one day rest.

Thursday 26th July
On Wednesday and Thursday night we stayed in a small but very nice guest house, with Sarah B and Anna S stuck up at the furthest corner on the second floor at the end of the corridor. Anna W, Anna S, Luke and myself (Suzanne) decided that we would get up at 4am the next morning to get a tuk tuk to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat. This seemed like a very good plan the night before but when the Annas and I surfaced Luke was nowhere to be seen. So after some banging on his door Luke surfaced and we headed off on our tuk tuk. As we arrived at Angkor Wat our hearts all sank. Was this it? It was smaller than we expected. Never mind, we decided to pick our spot and wait for the sunrise. Then Luke hit on a bright idea of walking a bit further forward and much to our relief what we had been looking at had in fact been the gate. We eventually found our way through the gate and took our seats for what could only be described as a beautiful sunrise. We were all glad we had got out of bed to see it.

Following an hour long wait for our Cambodian friends (this is usual in Cambodian culture or so I am told) we piled in the bus and headed for our second temple; the Bayon. This was followed by Ta Prom, used for the Tomb Raider movie, which sparked the male members of the team into life. Although the temples were beautiful, by 12.30 we were templed out and had to head for a cool lunch and then some retail therapy.

To cool us off even more we headed for the swimming pool, as happens every time we go swimming, it rained.

For our evening entertainment we headed to a restaurant/ shed for some welcomed food and traditional Khmer dancing. For some added entertainment Sarah J challenged Dave to a chilli eating competition with himself. He lost, sparking frantic rice eating and water drinking. His recovery was amusing and slow, a little like the background music.

Devotions on the balcony left us thinking about the week’s work in Siem Reap and itching to return to service in Phnom Penh. But the 6:30am meet for the bus meet meant there was no rest for the wicked as we continue into our last week in Cambodia.

Anna W, Sarah B and Suzanne