Arcoun, Cambodia

I had the best day ever and it was all thanks to the culture of Cambodia. People have always told me Cambodia is amazing and while I didn't think they were lying, I also never understood how it could be that different from the rest of South East Asia -AKA my favorite places, cultures, foods, and people in the world. In less than 12 hours, I fell in love with South East Asia all over again.

We flew from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap in the morning which got us to Cambodia at around 11:30. Stepping off the plane, I was greeted by an indescribable heat. There was no moisture in the air, it was just straight heat and sun at 96 degrees Fahrenheit. Our tour guide, Mr. T greeted us as soon as we walked into the airport - before we even went through immigration or customs. This may be because it was a small airport. Although it could also just be an example of the welcoming culture. The Siem Reap airport had one terminal with 3 baggage claim circles and that is basically it. We handed off our passports to Mr. T and just strolled through immigration and customs. They didn't look at us or talk to us we just walked right through.

Off we went to ANGKOR WAT!!!!! We drove to the ticket office where they took our pictures to put on our pagoda and temple ticket. Every time you enter a temple or pagoda or pass a checkpoint you must present the ticket and the employees at the stop hole punch it. From there, we drove 500 feet where we got off and walked down the road to Angkor Wat. The dirt road we walked through was lined with market type carts and setups on one side. They sold fruit, scarfs, and elephant pants. We also passed children wandering around trying to sell postcards - not to worry though, it was a Saturday afternoon so most of them weren't skipping school. Yet, something that surprised me is that there was no one there simply asking for money, everyone from the children to the adults had something they wanted to sell for a profit.

Angkor Wat was a dream. The area and buildings were massive. It takes more than 20 minutes to walk from one side to the other, we didn't even make it all the way to the t but we were close. Inside the mote and main gates there was some more shopping and inside the actual temple, there was the option to be blessed by a Buddhist monk. After being blessed, which included getting a success and wishes bracelet on my left wrist and getting holy water splashed on me, I got the opportunity with 3 other students to talk to the monk. His name is Poa and he is 33 years old. He has lived near Angkor Wat his whole life and prays in the same spot every day except for when he goes to Buddha on Friday. He spoke pretty good English and seemed to enjoy talking to us. Poa even let us girls take a picture with him which is rare since women cannot stand next to or touch a monk.

After Angkor Wat we headed to our hotel, the Locus Blanc, to check in and enjoy the pool. Once at the hotel, we were told we had the evening to ourselves. We went swimming outside and then to happy hour in the hotel where we listened as a young woman sang renditions of both American and Cambodian songs, including Ed Sheeran. After BOGO happy hour, we walked 4 minutes down the road to a Cambodian restaurant called Madam Butterfly. The food was amazing – a wide array of spring rolls, noodles, and seafood. In Cambodia food is generally served family style; nevertheless, we each ordered our own dish which meant by the time we left we were stuffed. The group split in half after dinner; those who stayed out went to this area called Pub Street. It is basically a block lined with bars, little markets, and lots of food carts with music blasting from every establishment. The block was filled with locals, travelers, and tourists alike. We spent at least 2 hours wandering around and we even had the little fish eat the dead skin off our feet. Checked something else off my bucket list!! It was a weird feeling but it was also super cool - plus it actually worked, my feet were as smooth as a marble. We took a tuk-tuk back to the hotel which was a great end to an amazing first day in Cambodia. The drive took less than 10 minutes and I got to see more of the city as the wind blew through my hair and against my face.

Day 2 came quickly as the hotel called and woke us up at 5 am. My roommate Molly and I changed and made our way to the lobby where we met the rest of the group for tuk-tuk rides to Angkor Wat. I popped out of bed ready to see the sunrise/ I shared a tuk-tuk with one of the other Mollys - we had three on the program which is a LOT. Watching the sunrise over Angkor Wat as the colors changed throughout the sky was absolutely stunning. I saw a mix of pink, blue, yellow, and orange as I stared at one of the most breathtaking buildings I’ve ever seen. We sat among about 100 other visitors all spread out across the grass between the mote and the central temple site. While it sounds busy, it actually looked pretty empty since the temple is on such a large plot of land.

We left Angkor Wat for the last time and made our way back to the hotel for a breakfast buffet. The food was amazing, there was a crepe station, a noodle station, and an egg station. We scarfed down our food and loaded up the bus 15 minutes later all packed and ready for our homestay later that night. The bus took us an hour away to Tonle Sap Lake- the largest lake in South East Asia - where we boarded a wooden boat and sailed around the lake to see floating homes within the floating village on the lake. I was shocked when I saw the homes and the school. Each home was on its own float and had clothing hanging outside. It was chilling to realize that the village only had a one-room primary school even if the number of children attending was so small. This was just one example of something I took for granted in the States; my time in Cambodia showed me so many more examples.

After sailing around the village, we took the boat back and headed in the bus to lunch. After stopping for a quick lunch we made our way to another temple for a quick 20-minute walk through before carrying on to the homestay in Bong Thom. The homestay was actually much nicer than I expected. We were shown to a large wooden room raised up from the ground on stilts. The room had 29 mattresses, each under a mosquito net. The guys were on one side of the room and the women were on the other. The homestay itself was on a complex with a few buildings and a small mini playground. We also found a grassy path that took us on a loop around half the complex, including into the forest-y area behind the homes. We settled down, claimed beds, and played cards before it got dark outside and dinner was served. Like every other meal, we ate a buffet styled dinner. Our seating was split between vegetarians and meat-eaters. You guessed it, I stuck to the veggies for this meal and it was delicious!

After dinner, we got the AMAZING opportunity to learn traditional Cambodian dance moves and listen to a local band. We danced for two hours as we moved in a large circle slowly grasping the hand and foot movements. The circle was formed around a vase filled with flowers which sat on a tree trunk. This is to represent nature, the goal of all traditional dancing in Cambodia. Nevertheless, as we kept dancing around the flowers, someone was bound to knock it over. That person was the air. No, I'm kidding, according to the rest of the group that person was me. I'm still not convinced.

Exhausted from dancing, we went to sleep only to wake up early the next morning for another full day. Breakfast was a buffet - in case you haven't caught on to this, we eat a lot of buffets because they make it easy to feed 30 people at the same time. At 0800 we left and made our way to a local school - Ecole Primaire de Preahpak- where we repainted the building and helped plant trees to fill the land with greenery. We spend the rest of the time playing with the children and observing the students as they sat in class. The children were are in elementary school - I spent my time with kids of every age. At first, I observed a class filled with children 4 years old learning the fruits and vegetables. During recess, I joined a game of pick up soccer. They all take their shoes off to play on the uneven hilly, rocky, and sporadically grassy plot of land. Their soccer goals have nets with holes and there were no lines on the field. I was one of two girls playing which I thought was interesting as well. As we started playing I realized that the kids are aggressive, there were little boys falling all over the place and running around like crazy people. It took a lot of energy out of me and I have no idea how they do this every day with the sun beating down in 100-degree weather.

Just before lunch, we said goodbye to the school children and the principal before heading back to the homestay for a quick lunch and the 2-hour drive back to our hotel near Angkor Wat. As we left, we gave the students token to remember us by - just little things we brought along including pencils from home that say I love NY and bubbles. The children would bow before accepting the gifts which was just another hint into the amazing culture we were attempting to immerse ourselves in.

On the way back towards Angkor Wat, we stopped at 2 temples. The first was Taprum temple where trees and roots filled the outsides of the temple walls and the walkways so much so that there were wooden planks installed to make it safer for tourists and locals to walk. The second temple, called Angkor Tom, can be found inside the Bayon temple complex nestled in between 2 large Buddhas. The temple was comprised of three steep levels. From the top, you could see over the trees and the markets down below. This is where we spotted a couple in a matching blue outfit covered with bananas. It was truly an unexpected site. Pro tip - don't be *those* tourists.

The hotel manager was gracious and allowed our group to spend the afternoon at the hotel and use the pool showers before our flight. This was nice as it allowed us to relax before our flight. I only spent an hour by the pool before venturing outside the hotel in search of food with my friends. We ended up taking 2 tuk-tuks 3 kilometers to a restaurant called Spoons. The tuk-tuk drivers dropped us off, promising to be back at 1830 to bring us back to the hotel. Their offer was appreciated as we yelled see you later watching them drive off down the road.

Spoons is the absolute coolest place ever and it has nothing to do with the tasty food. If you can go there you should. While we had no idea when we first walked in, Spoons is a restaurant created by a SAS alumni as a part of the EGBOK foundation to help the impoverished in Cambodia get on their feet through education and housing. EGBOK stands for Everything's Gonna Be OK. Basically, this SASer visited Cambodia on his voyage and moved back three years later to start this program and foundation. If you want to learn more you can check out his Ted Talks or just google EGBOK. Needless to say, we talked to our waiter and waitress who were both ecstatic to learn we were currently on Semester at Sea and experiencing what their boss once did. Next thing we knew it was 1845 (6:45pm) and we had to be back and ready to go with our bags 15 minutes later. We paid our bill, donated to EGBOK with the hope of feeding and educating the youth from rural Cambodia, and hopped in the tuk-tuks urging the drivers to hurry back. We made it back at exactly 1900 and breathed a sigh of relief that we (1) would not be in trouble and (2) were not the last ones to arrive. With that, we said goodbye to Cambodia as we made our way to the airport where we spent the next hour scavenging the shops and eating DQ ice cream.

One of the best parts of the field program and my time in Cambodia were the people on my trip and the trip liaisons. While Cambodia itself was a dream, it would be wrong if I did not mention anyone else in this post. When you travel, the people and the tour guides make all the difference. My TLs were Marti - the Executive Dean on the ship - and Kelly - my Education professor. Having the ability to learn and talk to them both outside of the ship environment was something I placed a lot of value on as they made this trip. While 29 students seems like a crowd to move from place to place, it ended up being a great, cohesive group. I wouldn't change my Cambodia experience for anything.