AskOksena

>>>What I love about this location is being able to watch the river traffic from the room and breakfast terrace, swimming in the pool in the afternoons and lounging in the cabanas.<<<

(I think we have another Peninsula, Bangkok convert! Special place, staff and friends, indeed.)


Can't thank you enough, Linda, for your brilliant writing. Noticed you have spent time in our fine home of Singapore. Should you ever return to sweet SIN, more than happy to give various lodging, dining, and recreational ideas; good people and special gems we're still discovering. (And can assure you, Singapore Airlines currently offers most efficient and well-tended non-stop service, Barcelona - Singapore.)

Keep up the great work, Linda, and thanks for making this morning Hong Kong departure back home to SIN that much more special. (And should you make it back to BKK in time for Valentine's Day, that Peninsula property does put on quite the joyous and memorable evening; can't wait.)

Good travelling to you and all,

macintosh (robert)


... Singapore Airlines, You're a Great Way to Fly ...

lincasanova

The trip to Bang Melea was very interesting. Our driver made sure we stopped to hear about how the sticky rice is made and watch it being done as well as taste it.

As we chatted we learned all sorts of little tidbits about Cambodians. Such as

Cambodians don't like even numbers. All steps are odd numbers. The number 9 is the lucky number.

We passed rice fields and stilted houses with thatched walls and the typical 4 on a moto family driving past. I am sure the infant mortality rate may have a tad bit to do with this precarious infant balancing in front of papá on the moto. My lord! We were never able to get a picture. But 8-10 month old in front straddling the bike or set atop it in front of Dad, then the toddler, then mom behind to wedge him/her in.
Wow.

I did get a photo of a grandma wrapping up the grandchild in a huge scarf diaper then tying her onto the handlebars of a bike forming a type of basket all in one. Off they went!

We had a very good lunch at a Beng Melea area restaurant. We tried Khmer pork rice. Don't ask me how it was as by this time, food has become a blur to say the least. So many days on the road, So much rice, spring rolls and morning glories.. I am really enjoying my lunches and dinners of fresh veggies here at home!

Force yourself to use the bathrooms at the visitor ticket area of Beng Melea. They are REALLY nice and there will not be anything similar for a LONG time. Glad our driver was tuned into that! He always made very logical suggestions for us to be more comfortable, have better AC at a certain restaurant,(although he said it would be more expensive.. so which place did we prefe?) or nicer bathrooms when possible. He was a blessing and we have become very attached to him.

I imagine this happens to 95% of the people who come here. You get a driver you like. His English is good so you can really have question and answer periods with him and find out a lot and clear up doubts you have about things.

You are told some of his family background.. never too much. But you can feel the suffering just below the surface, and the trip turns into more than seeing temples. More than trying new foods and wondering if you dare eat this or that. More then searching for that perfect handmade table runner or sculpture.

You are seeing a quest to succeed. A quest to make someone happy and love your country. A quest to learn about the tourists' world , prices, study systems, crime,etc. You are making a new friend. And he may ask you how he can do better business.

Our driver was under the impression that everything is so wonderful in Europe and the United States. From their point of view we are obviously all extremely wealthy, even the students, as we/they can come visit his country from so far away for so long without working. I was glad he didn't ask me how many other wonderful trips I had taken in the past ten years.

He was surprised that we have so many robberies in Spain, and that we have soup kitchens to feed the poor and the families who are now losing their homes. He was surprised to know that we have shanty homes outside Madrid with no running water and overrun with rats and lice. He was unaware of the mafias taking Africans in boats across the strait of Gibraltar for 1,000's of euros and then dumping them into the sea or far from shore lying to them that on shore they will be picked up by their colleague and taken to their jobs.

We had some long talks and they were very informative for all of us.

After Beng Melea we went down towards Tonle Sap lake. We passed numerous pagodas. Monks stay for three months in the rainy season in the pagodas. We passed hundreds of ducks on the banks of the lake/river/inlet. They feed them so they don't leave. They use their eggs until the duck is old and then they consume the duck itself.

We passed rice fields and quaint bridges.

We then boarded a private motored boat to take us out onto the lake. it was a pleasant ride, seeing lots of floating houses, a floating school, and very young children going back and forth in boats at an age that would make any Western parent queasy. There was an occasional large, new, colorful house that obviously belonged to one of the wealthiest of the fishermen.

Under the stilted houses many have fish farms under their homes. They let ALL waste fall into the waters of the farm for the fish to thrive on.

I lost my appetite for fish after that. It wasn't until we hit Bangkok on the return that I could even think of eating it.

The small fish abandon the lake and come back when the lake water has been renewed after the melting up in the mountains. This lake can support a LOT of flooding. The houses' stilts are approximately the height of a four-five story building. it is quite a sight.

The Vietnamese people and the Cambodians have disputes in these villages but now there is an association that intervenes to help solve problems. More and more Vietnamese are coming to Cambodia, we were told.

Once back at shore, we walked along the road through this village encountering people of all ages. You couldn´t help notice the young women's destroyed teeth from sucking on a local product ( beetlenut?). What a shame. A lot of the young children had severe decay in their front teeth from sucking on palm sugar cane . They had black spots or totally corroded teeth on the side of their mouth they used mostly for sucking this.

It is such a shame these young families are not getting the help/education/information or not paying attention to the help that has been offered. I am not sure which it is, but it breaks your heart.

There is also a look of deep sorrow in many of the young girls' eyes that is haunting. Some kids are excited, jumping all over, wanting to see their picture on the camera.. but others have a distant look that is very worrisome.

Cross eyedness, wandering eye, an oversized head and leg deformation were also noticeable in more than one child in a small group of 8-10.

It is hard to see the reality of poverty so close.. in your face.. and realize one's future depends on not only where you are born, but on the government's priorities in that place, and the level of education that you are surrounded by.

How long until the world can help Cambodia and all the other Cambodias at least have clean water, health care and proper schools?

You walk away asking yourself so many questions.

lincasanova

Thank you AskOksena for the compliments! I WISH I could go back soon. I fear it may be awhile before I get that direction again. And I hope the Peninsula has that great rate again sometime! It seems to have disappeared for the time being.

lincasanova

Please don't get me wrong. I know the "World" is doing something for all these impoverished nations, It's just so frustrating not to SEE it happening as quickly as one wishes but makes you wonder if it is ever going to happen nationwide.

Any comments on this?

lincasanova

My husband and I marvel at the young kids managing the flat boats out to to the lake. The others run up to us saying "hello..hello", some porting a baby in their arms, others a toddler who can't run as fast. I take pics of them on my phone they burst in laughter when they see them.

This attracts even more kids from way down the road.. now everyone has surrounded us. I am sure they were hoping for some candy or something but we had nothing to give them.

I also show them pics of our cats which seems to entertain them. One goes running off and comes back later with a cat that looks quite a lot like one of ours. How cute! Another one brings a dog. What I call "THE Cambodian dog". (I think they all have the same father).

We do leave though with sadness and acceptance, that "This is their Life".. but do hope to see infrastructural improvements nationwide whenever I am able to return.

The drive back from the Lake got dark and if there is anything you do not want to do too often it is be on the road in the dark in Cambodia. I would NEVER take a night bus.

Few of the motos have functioning lights. An occasional clever dog escapes begin run over. You come across all sorts of vehicles moving at different speeds. So you do want a very safe driver who understands you are on vacation and NOT in any hurry. Vuthy was great. I am the world's worst backseat driver and felt perfectly safe with him.

I am quite surprised we have not seen ONE accident, albeit a few close calls, and have chuckled at one very nimble COW as well as a few stupid, but lucky dogs.

We went directly to the Sugar Palm restaurant, not realizing we'd need a reservation. They were full and suggested we go down the street to the Hotel Villa., not to be confused with some other "villa" place along the way. Dinner was very good and was $33 for the three of us for one cocktail ( happy hour) 2 beers, water, 1 coffee and three plates and dessert. Sorry no food notes. Was probably more of the same.. spring rolls, pork ribs, some rice and a mango or banana dessert.

lincasanova

Now today we are going to one of the schools that theplf sponsors. Since it is out near the land mine museum that Akira has made, we will visit that first, then go next to the school and also visit Bantry Srei temple this day.

But we are in no rush. We came here partly to get a firsthand view and see the work being done as well as turn in what we have been able to provide with the generous help of friends, family and Fodorites.

Lori and Ponheary were both at the school to lead us around from the classrooms to the outdoor kitchen the nurse's first aid area and where the children dined.

It was gratifying to see the kids all walking off with their bowls of noodles and bread and in an orderly fashion eat their food as they talked with their classmates.

We asked some of them their names and how old they were, and they were happy to answer.

We were given the background of a few of the children who were particularly unusually dire cases, and to see them in this clean, loving atmosphere warmed your heart. The story about "Tien", a young boy who wandered into the school area covered in caked-on mud and refused to get near anyone for nearly a year grasps you as you listen. As you digest what his process must have been, you thank these workers for all they are doing socially here.

Tien slept under the porch of one of the classrooms for months with the dogs, ate there also as he would not come out when people were around but has finally come out of his shell, allowed himself to be bathed, now a nimble little pistol who likes to tease Lori ( his main contact during his antisocial months) whenever he sees her.

When he started in the classroom as a routine he already knew his alphabet and other pertinent information as he had been listening for months to everything that was repeated in the classroom above his den. He is now an energetic little kid who smiles at you.. might touch you and run away laughing as he retreats.

A widower who lives nearby now takes care of him since all efforts to find his family or to know where he came from have been futile.

If you have not yet taken a look at this organization, please do so, at least to get information about the situation and know what to expect if you visit this country. www.theplf.org

We are so happy to have made contact with Ponheary and Lori. It is only through Fodors that I had read about contacting them if I went to Siem Reap. Just another wonderful Fodorite suggestion that has proven to be a total inspiration.

The land mine museum is another somber visit, just next door to this school We started out there but did not want to be late for our school appointment so we got permission to come back later int eh day to finish up our visit. An american who has helped Akira in the past years, was in one of the rooms and gave us a very personal explanation of how he got involved with this determined young man, ex Khmer rouge. It is a fascinating story .

Here is an old article about Akira before he adhered to international landmine demining pocedures. It is an interesting article.

http://www.mekong.net/cambodia/akira.htm

Here is a more recent article

http://landmine-relief-fund.blogspot...y-20-2009.html

lincasanova

excuse me but I meant to say "widow".

lincasanova

There is a short DVD in many languages you can request to see. They also have a small gift shop where they sell items to help groups of people through their NGO. There is also a residence of landmine victims which is not open to the public for viewing but if you would like to make a donation you can, of course.

There is an American couple working there permanently. It is their home now. The wife is a teacher and the husband ¡oversees the museum and I assume some of the bureaucracy. It is a fascinating place with many articles that must be read to get an idea f the extent of the problem still in the world with landmines.

Many countries are dropping their involvement to much lower levels with the economic crisis, but there are still millions of mines in Cambodia alone that are out there waiting to explode.

Akira lost his wife a couple years ago. His son and brother were at the museum for awhile when we were there. Akira was up north clearing mines with some assistants.

rhkkmk

i wanted to let you know that 1000 B for a van to the airport is a fairly normal price.... 400-500 for an auto. many have to return to bkk empty so it is like a round trip

lincasanova

That's why we contacted the hotel when he wouldn't take what was on the meter plus tolls plus tip. The hotel told us what was on the meter was correct and was what we should have paid.

Had we ORDERED the van ahead of time, it would have been a set price. But this taxi was just standing by when we came down and asked for a taxi to the airport, preferably a van or one with more space in the trunk, so it was to be a metered price, the hotel confirmed.

lincasanova

I will run through the rest of the day.. went up to the waterfall and carvings in the stones there.. I didn't go all the way because I wasn't wearing the correct type shoes. It was a very steep hike so I turned around after awhile and went and enjoyed a very nice cold drink and spoke to a young beet red American who had just come down. The heat and humidity just gets to you.

DH and DS weren't that impressed in comparison to the effort involved in getting there but were glad they didn't turn back. When the waterfall is smaller you can see more of the carvings.. but when it is fuller of course it is more impressive as a water/nature site.

After another stop at the Land Mine museum we were taken back to Siem Reap to the Sugar Palm restaurant for a disappointing,mediocre meal. Not sure what we were expecting, but we had very good food many other places, so, I guess it was just bad luck that evening. The service was really really slow. We got our appetizers after dinner, and finally just got the bill and left.

The next day I agreed to meet the family at Peace Café for breakfast. They were lounging getting ready, and since there was no breakfast at our place this day,( the cook was gone) we decided to try this place I had read about. I went out ahead and meandered around until they go there. It is a really nice calm, funky garden with homemade organic/vegetarian choices . There are pilates and yoga classes during the day as well as a meditation loft on the grounds. I believe they also have rooms for rent.

You will like it if you go.

We then got a tuk tuk for the day and returned to Angkor Wat. This was our low key day, just wandering around re-seeing some sites or looking for carvings we had missed and giving the whole complex another look. It was all so familiar now and so much easier to absorb and look at with even more appreciative eyes. We were so glad to have gone back for a second look to a few places.

Later, satisfied and having reached our temple tolerance level, the tuk tuk took my family to the guesthouse to get all the bathing suits and I was dropped off at the National Museum. We met later at Frangipani Villas to eat and then use their lovely pool. Nice perk when you spend $5 there! We had a very relaxing afternoon.

Later our son went to a 4 hands massage while DH and I went to La Residence to have a drink.
This must be a very beautiful hotel on the rest of the grounds. It didn't seem to be open to the public outside of the bar and perhaps the restaurant. if I go back I will try to see more of it.

We then met our driver Vuthy at 8 o'clock outside of the Blue Pumpkin as he insisted we have dinner with his wife and baby. We were looking forward to meeting his family, but I have to admit I was getting anxious about the food issue. We had tried to only get together somewhere for a refreshment that afternoon but he insisted his wife had already bought the food and he wanted us to please go to his "room" he rented in a house and have a meal.
We know he would have been very disappointed had we not gone.

He introduced us to his smiling wife and darling baby and then invited us "in" to their "room".

My eyes filled with tears as I had been unable to imagine this is how he lived. We all tried to cover up our deep sorrow as our eyes scanned the bare room with the minimal necessities. Three mats to sleep on the floor. A door I assume went into some type of bathroom. he said they have a shower, but I am sure there is no hot water. There was one light I remember on the wall or ceiling. Nothing extra.

He brought in a rusty borrowed foldable table so we could all try to sit together. He put, as a tablecloth, apiece of thin linoleum that looked like wooden flooring to cover the table.Three of the four plastic chairs were also borrowed from neighbors who were anxious for him to be able to accommodate his guests.

His wife brought in a gas burner plate and put it on top of the table as they later sauteed a lot of vegetables and thinly sliced meats in the pan.

We tried everything. The dessert was green noodles ( like spaghetti) floating in a sweet milk broth. it was a very unusual texture but at least the sweet milk broth tasted good.

Needless to say, we were very grateful to this young couple to go so out of their way for us. It just broke our hearts to see how they lived. And with my being so paranoid about street food in Thailand and Cambodia, you can imagine what it was like to try to enjoy the company and the food.

Even as I write this now my eyes swell with tears remembering our feelings as we left and would speak to each other when Vuthy was not in the room or they had gone out to get something. My husband and son also got emotional as we observed how difficult these people have it.

We assume he has work a few days a week or month with tourists. I'm not sure how people find out about him. Someone made him a webpage in China so he does get some Chinese clients.

We feel in love with this fellow and wish him and his family the best of luck and health.

We were very lucky with all our drivers in Cambodia ( except one, whom nobody recommended...an agency's driver who took us from Battambang to PP).

Tomorrow our fun trip to Battambang. Wish we could have stayed another night! One night was not enough.

lincasanova

I couldn't help not post this beautiful young singer who says it all about any peoples who are in need.

http://videos2view.net/2believe-JE.htm

lincasanova

Battambang is a very fun town accessible by boat or car from Siem Reap. We decided to go by car with our driver and it took a bit over 2 hours if I recall. We contacted the PLF's favorite tuk tuk driver beforehand and he set us up in a fine hotel and took us all over.

We checked into the Huot Seng hotel. $16/double room only. It was very spacious with a fine bed, AC , flat screen TV and they are also building a pool as we speak.

You can walk almost everywhere from here it seemed. Our driver followed us out to the bamboo train, as he really also wanted to go on it but had to be back at the airport so he just came to see where ti was. We said our goodbyes and promised to keep in touch, as our bamboo driver prepared our flat platform to take off on our fun ride along these train tracks.

Our tuk tuk driver, KIM, gave us an upholstered seat off his tuk tuk so we would be a little more comfortable. He was also a sweetheart. Meeting the right people is so uplifting as they make every little happening much more special and at times like these, even more comfortable.

You must do this if you are nearby, They say it is a matter of time until the dismount these platforms and actually reinvest in upgrading the tracks for proper train use again.

Here is a youtube of someone' else's trip and you can see how much fun it is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilJAc...eature=related

lincasanova

This is getting so long I think I'll give you all a break for awhile! Maybe i can condense the following activities and make them more appealing to read!

Clifton

I'm surprised you'd found a tuk tuk driver in B'bang! We only found motos at the time. That's a city with kind of a special place in our hearts. Still sorry we didn't try to do the bamboo train.

If I'd have known you were going (my fault for not keeping up on the boards), I'd have told you about a special wat for kids outside of town, where the monks have a wonderful program going. And I'd have recommended a really nice, plush bus line for the BB to PP leg - $5 per person, w/ comfy seats.

Really enjoying the report. Brings back lovely memories, plus new ideas.

lincasanova

There were plenty of tuk tuks as far as we could see, but we had pre-arranged Kim through theplf.org's suggestion. They had his name on a bulletin board as being reliable so we called him and he made all our Battambang arrangments, even the hotel.

B'bang was just a lot of fun and our day was filled with very interesting stops to show us how rice paper discs, rice noodles and rice flour were made. From the Bamboo train, these stops and Kim's wonderful explanations, we just had a great time.

We can recommend him highly. He will make your stay there really worth the detour!

I will finish this report up soon. I am trying to gather my notes and impressions to best portray what this trip meant to us. Anyone can see the sights, but meeting this resilient hard working people was so rewarding that I hope if you ever go, you have HALF the good experience we did.

Thanks for reading so far.

lincasanova

Actually, we did alot more in B'bang than I had remembered.

We were taken to the Killing Caves and then stayed to see the millions of bats stream out of the nearby cave down on the main road. I didn't go up the hill to the sombering K. Caves.

I was later told the ride up the steep hill on the moto was a trip in itself. My husband was chuckling the whole way up imagining what my reaction would have been if I had ventured onto one of those motos for the ride up.. and then, he said.. the ride down on the narrow path was even MORE hair raising.

Those drivers sure are adept at not gettng killed.

The bats came out of the cave at dusk FOREVER. We finally left as we were not sure how many more thousands would be coming out.. and it was just a never ending black stream that waved across the dimming skyline out to the fields to fill up on insects.

My family went back to the hotel while I attended the circus that was having one of its performances. This French(Canadian?) NGO helps train youngsters in acrobatics and they put on a performance while I was there. They now sponsor ten students at circus schools around the world. One is at Cirque de Soleil in Montreal, Canada.

At the end there was a presentation in English and French talking about the foundation and the monies they need to function.

Our driver took us to White Rose for dinner. He had dinner with us and we all agreed the food was just mediocre. He was apologetic. He thought it used to be better.

Now with my notes I can say we had a great breakfast at Sunrise Cafe. This is the first place the coffee was brought out PRONTO while we waited for our food. We sat outside as the heat was not oppressive yet and the other tables quickly filled up. This is a popular place with homemade cookies and bagel sandwiches.

Kim picked us up and zipped us around to all the cultural visits before taking us to see Enrique Figaredo's Foundation. This is a school/residence I had read about before leaving Spain when I was doing additonal research on charities.

Enrique is a Spanish Jesuit priest who fell in love with Cambodia on a mission decades ago. The residence and church were destroyed during the K.R. regime but have been rebuilt with love and care.

He has dedicated his life to providing landmine victims with education and a rehab center. They also help the elderly and provide free diagnostic medical care and take people to hospitals. If they go to the Figardeo foundation first their hospital bill is 50% less.

There is a resident dance teacher and the dance group actually went to tour Spain to help promote the Foundation. I had remembered seeng them on television when they mentioned that to me. They occasionally have programs so you may want to look into it if you are there.

Our guide knows Enrique as he takes groups of volunteers from Northern Europe there every year.

We bought many handmande gifts in their gift shop and left Enrique a note as he unfortunately had not gotten back from PP yet.

Once again, admiration for such a wonderful job being done by staff and volunteers for these smiling, grateful students. We had alot of fun speaking to them during their lunch. We spent quite awhile here and were made to feel very welcome at this oasis of well kept buildings and open spaces.

Time to go back to the hotel and meet our mystery driver to PP. The driver Kim wanted to take us was away so the hotel had to call around several agencies until they found one with a driver available.

The $55 trip to PP was stressful, to say the least.
First of all, I am not comfortable with other pepole drivng. But until now,I had felt very safe. I was not looking forward to a 4 hour trip with someone who had not been recommended. I asked Kim to tell him that I was very queasy in the car and could vomit if I got scared so please do not speed.

Thank goodness he was told that because I can't imagine how he would have driven otherwise.

It was 4 hours of horn honking, warning every bike, moto and car or truck that he was coming up on them. Not one "toot" but "BEEP...BEEP.BEEP.BEEP..BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP ".

A baby fell off a bicycle onto the road about 50m from us. We zoomed past two guys on a moto, one of them grasping a huge piece of glass by the edges that surpassed the width of the cycle by a couple feet. A cow or two were spared only by the cows' quick reaction to turn back to the shoulder. We also dodged a few mongrel dogs as well as an overloaded flatbed commuter tuk tuk.

Our family closed our eyes and endured the torturous honking with only one, male, poddy stop by a tree, and practically kissed the ground when we arrived in the congested city of PP where it was impossible to overtake anymore, much to our driver's frustration.

lincasanova

All in all the drive from BB to PP is not necessairly scenic until you get a bit closer to PP where the lushness of the vegetation and irridescent green rice fields are more prevalent.

We noticed more mosques and muslims closer to this city.

There seemed to be speed traps also as our driver suddenly started driving "normally" without his spurts of overtaking and speeding.

Phnom Pehn

We stayed at Hotel 252. We really liked this simple, elegant hotel and pool. We had a great rate and enjoyed the staff and owner who readily chatted with all the clients. Breakfast was very good and the pool was a welcome respite every afternoon. Near here are several streets of boutique galleries and food places.

However, this is the only place we were reminded by our hotel staff to hold on to my purse or not take it when we went out at night since a worker had been robbed very nearby.

Of course this is to be expected in such a large city but we had become very lax about worrying about street safety on the rest of the trip.

Our pre-arrranged tuk tuk driver, John, was waiting for us later and whisked us off for a city tour and dinner along the riverfront. After a tasty dinner we went up to one of the roof top bars along the riverfront to enjoy some down time.

PP is not a particularly attractive city. At least, this was our impression. It does have some nice Wats and a Royal Palace ( which we decided not to go to because of time), but its size and congestion are a reminder of the contrast between Siem Reap, its countryside feel and the "big citylife".

In fact, our stay here was focused around some of the most somber sites in Cambodia, the Prison and the Killing Fields Memorial Park. If you do go to the K. Fields, take the time to listen to all the stories on the audio guide as they are first hand accounts of survivors.

In Cambodia one realizes anyone over 30 has been through a LOT, and those younger endure the aftermath of such suffering.

Our BB guide was raised in a refugee camp for 15 years, dressed as a girl with long hair to assure him of getting fed even when rations were low and only allowed to women and girls. Men and boys were excluded at times, so suddenly the camp had a very high percentage of girls when rations became a common problem. The AID workers knew what was going on but turned a blind eye.

Just one of many many stories embedded in my memory of this enchanting country.

After the K. Fields we went to the shootng range but declined to fork over $40 to shoot anything. I guess there is quite a following here.

Our trip is winding down. We will soon part ways with our son, whom we won't see until August, and surrounded by this gloom, still have to visit the Genocide Museum.

I quickly get a feel for the place, pay tribute to the many, many photos of the vicitms but pass on the hour long movie. I did buy a book from one of the seven survivors of the prison. I tell my family and John I will meet them for lunch at The Boddhi Tree just across the street from the "museum" when the movie is finished. I have just come to the end of my wanting to see anymore.

What a lovely place: The Boddhi Tree. I read about it here on Fodors from someone's trip report and am so glad I did.

They train young Cambodians to be waiters and chefs. The food was good and the atmosphere very, very nice. We had two orders of squid with lime juice, a couple shakes, a brie with smoked eggplant sandwich, fried rice, water, creme brulee,and another pseudo cheesecake dessert.

I highly recommend this place. I also picked up some interesting local English newsletters that I found extremely informative about local politics and problems that are being addressed. I also bought several gifts at an NGO next door.

My husband and son were very somber during our lunch. Cambodia was having an effect on all of us. For the better, but heart breaking. We were so glad to have gone but underestimated the impact each and every person we dealt with would make on us forever.

Before returning to the hotel we stopped at the Russian Market. We liked this market much more than the central one. There were some interesting shops bordering the market stalls on side streets that had more antique-like things that were more of a novelty than the scarves and bags and shirts seen everywhere else.

We bought several pairs of Khmer type trousers that are very confortable and loose fitting, as well as a package of striped silk note post it pads ( which when I opened the pack at home, a few were stained on the other side so be sure to open the pack and check each side for water stains) and some ties.

To end our day, after our swim we ended up watching a documentary on TV in the room about recent footage of the 26,000 American soldiers who were in a concentration camp in Germany. It was a very touching story, includng survivors' statements.

We ordered room service and made it an early night, with much, much to think about, past and present.

Clifton

Thanks again for the report. And for reminding me of the Sunrise Cafe.

She really does a lot, by the way, for the local street kids that go back and forth to the little garage-like shelter just down a few doors down.

lincasanova

Clifton, It sounds like you have really spent a lot of time in some of these places.