Volunteers with kids in Phnom Penh

n true Projects Abroad fashion my trip to Cambodiawas quite last minute! Before I knew it I was sat on the floor of Bangkok airport waiting for my connecting flight to Phnom Penh (and judging by Ian’s blog comments regarding airport preferences, I would totally agree that it is in fact the cleanest airport I have ever been in).

Now, throughout my time at Projects Abroad I have heard numerous stories about the ’Kingdom of Cambodia’ from our ex-volunteer’s and my colleagues, but not once did anyone hasten to add that my main form of transport would be via moto-taxi (baring in mind I am one of those people that refuses to go anywhere near a motorbike!! I might be a speed demon on four wheels but put me on two and you are asking for trouble!).

Moto-bikes in Phnom Penh

The bustling metropolis that is Phnom Penh was just as I expected – loud, busy and full of adventure. Despite my initial fear of the traffic, I very quickly took to Phnom Penh and the Cambodian people. The main purpose of my visit was to work with our staff team, to further develop our Khmer Project and a new staff role. Khmer cultural traditions are an integral part of Cambodian history and still very prevalent in today’s Cambodian society. Of the 10 million people, 90%of them are ethnic Khmers. Our Khmer project volunteer’s have the chance to learn the language (I think I managed about one word!!!), take part in local puppetry, Khmer painting, silk weaving as well as time spent working at the many ancient temples in Siem Reap.

Petro, the Country Director and I, managed to fit in a trip to Siem Reap during the latter part of my trip. After all, it would be a travesty to go to Cambodia and not witness the architectural masterpiece that is Angkor Wat. As a Khmer project volunteer you would spend time at a number of the Khmer temples in the region, as well as working directly with the APSARA authority, (in charge of all Cambodian heritage sites) to conserve and restore many of the ancient statues and ruins. Siem Reap offers a light relief from time to time for our volunteer’s who wish to escape the hustle and bustle of Phnom Penh. The air feels cleaner, the temperature cooler and I was extremely pleased to see….far fewer moto -taxis!!!

Petro at Angkor Wat

Fayes tells us after the jump about one of the most unique things she has ever eaten

Unfortunately, my time in Siem Reap was short lived. There is only one road back to Phnom Penh and not that long ago it was still dirt road. However, I was pretty thankful for the invention of tarmac, when Petro started overtaking on corners at 90mph (I think we call them blind corners for a reason!!). I don’t know about you, but in England a traditional car journey treat might be a bag of sweets to share, so you can imagine my shock when we stopped on the side of the road to buy two cans of coke and a bag of spiders!!!! I think I can officially add that to my list of bizarre foods (and funnily enough, I differed with the opinion that ‘it just tastes like chicken!!).

Faye eating a you-know-what

The majority of Cambodian families all sleep in the one bed (I hope that’s King size!), so if you choose to volunteer with us in Cambodia then you will be living in one of our volunteer apartment’s right in the centre of Phnom Penh. Sophan, our Assistant Country Manager and Nareth, our Desk Officer are frequent house guests and along with the other staff members in the team work incredibly hard to make sure our volunteer’s enjoy their time in Cambodia. I managed to squeeze in visiting as many of our volunteer’s as possible on our Care, Teaching and Medical programmes.

Volunteers at Apartment 1

I have to admit of all the countries I’ve been to; I instantly warmed to Cambodia. The countries recovery from the effects of war, genocide and the virtual elimination of its skilled workforce has been slow, but steady, and you cannot help but be humbled by the kindness of the Khmer people.

-Faye Stickings