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Finally, I am back. Finally, I'm sitting right in front of my laptop in my room again. I would totally be lying if I say that I miss none of this because I had just spent 6 days out of Singapore and in Cambodia which is a country I've never been to before. I had landed back in my homeland around 4 hours ago and I want to write down all these reflections about this trip as soon as possible as it is still fresh in my mind. I can imagine that this post is going to be long long long as I'm going to pour out everything.
Well, Cambodia is a country that is very very different from Singapore. People these consists mainly of Khmer with small populations of Vietnamese, Chinese and other races. Unlike Singapore that has a tiny population of around 5 million, there are around 14 million in Cambodia. The currency used in Cambodia is USD and Riel. There are many things that I saw in Cambodia that are not present in Singapore and I'm going to list it down:
1. Balacing baskets on their heads Ladies in Cambodia would place food like packets of snacks or food ingredients on wooden baskets and balance the basket on their heads. When they are walking down the road, they do not need to touch the basket at all and the basket does not lose balance at all. Simply amazing, but I guess they practice from young. I can't even balance a book on my head, not to mention a basket full of things.
2. Small kids naked Well... people like me who are from other countries may find this funny but I think it's really sad that they have no money to buy clothes for themselves. There was not one, but a few seen to be like this. Some also share their clothes, like example, the older one wears the shirt first while the younger one wear the pants first and then they switch after some time. Really pitiful.
3. People pee-ing in public This can also be seen in Singapore on rare occassions but in Cambodia, it is quite common. I even saw a small naked boy doing this business beside the road on a tiny leaf on the ground.
4. Many people on a single motorcycle Some countries may practice this and Cambodia is one of them. An entire family of 4 to 5 may squeeze onto one motorcycle. What's worse, is that they do not wear helmets. This is extremely dangerous especially for countries with traffic that is super heavy like Cambodia.
5. Cars are parked by the side of the road, on walk way pavements In Cambodia, I guess they must have really really good driving skills because the cars are able to park anywhere. Just anywhere. When you walk on the street, you've to walk by the narrow sides to avoid the cars that are parks on the pavements.
6. Less traffic lights that come with timer Traffic in Cambodia is bad. Really bad. There are less traffic lights and there are no markers on the road at all. Drivers do not really care about others and when people horn at each other, they simply don't care at all. People turn when they want to, not caring about others as long as they are able to turn successfully. This is totally different from Singapore because if you drove that way, your licence will definitely be gone in just one day. Also, because of the heavy traffic, it would take some time to get to place to place even if the destination is just nearby. So if anyone is complaining about the traffic in Singapore, they have not seen worse!
7. Power lines I'm not sure if it's really called power lines, its the electric wires that care from the houses there that are connected to the other wires and they are connected together on high wooden poles for electricity. The lines there are thick and there are many many cluster together all over the place. Some are also really messy.
8. Shops close early When we first arrived in Cambodia, it was at night at around 8 to 9pm but many shops were closed and the next day, I noticed that most of the shops do not open at all. Doing business in Cambodia must be really hard I guess.
9. Stray dogs Singapore has stray dogs. But Cambodia's stray dogs are extremely cute and fluffy! However, I witnessed a man just kicking a cute dog away when it came near. Not judging Cambodians as a whole but I hope not all of them are like that man.
10. No bus or train On the road, there is just cars and motorcycles. There are absolutely no trains from the way I see it. And buses were very very rare, except from tours.
11. Cheap cigarettes Not that I smoke. But I just could not feel so confused when I saw that cigarettes in Cambodia are sold like... USD $2? That is around SGD $3-4 which is really really cheap and they also come in like a whole cartoon.
12. The slums This is the place that I went to where I felt the most taken aback. I actually went to the slums to entertain the children who attend 'school' at this girls' brigade place and it was at the slums so we mad to walk past the muddy roads that was full of litter. It was so saddening when I saw the children so pitiful. They stayed in wooden houses and when bags of thrash come, they do not run away like how we would. They would run to the thrash and find things to eat. And the list goes on and on.... Well, these are the obvious ones that I've noticed throughout this trip and instead of continuing to make this post all about Cambodia, I want to talk about what I've been doing there as well.
The view from the top floor of the hotel
Phnom Penh, the capital and largest city of Cambodia
Ministry of Woman Affairs
The place the entire training programme was held for 5 days
The royal palace of Phnom Penh
In summary, I really had my doubts and hesitated when I was about to go but when I was there, there was really so much to do and somehow I really enjoyed myself while working with others who were also there to support our lecturer. The carrying of heavy equipment, ingredients, cooking and preparing was indeed tiring and draining but somehow at the end of the day, we returned to the hotel with smiles on our faces. Looking at each and every smile on my friends' faces really kept me going. It was like telling me 'It will end soon and we can make it through'. And yes, I survived Cambodia with them.
Of course there were tough times and there were fun times. And it was so kind of our lecturer to always try to squeeze in time for shopping which is always the thing that makes most of us more awake and excited. I bought many stuff like printed tees, bags, pouches and other nonsense and they are really really cheap. All around USD $5. We also could bargain for cheaper prices like USD $1.60 for a piece of printed tee. I bought around 8 of them!
Overall, I really loved this trip, especially all the partying at night and working together when work needs to be done. Unlike other trips, this one is really meaningful to me and I hope the Malaysia one next week will be the same.
On the other hand, the downside of it is that I was really homesick like from the 2nd day onwards. Live there in Cambodia was very different and I had to take care of my things and stuff. I missed many people, especially my bf and my family and when I saw them today, I felt just so so happy. I can even remember that when I left for Cambodia, I started to tear up after I went into the gates. Finally being home, I feel so relieved and I am glad that I've enjoyed all of this.
