We landed at Phnom Penh an hour after Fifi and Dave Rickards arrived on a flight from Bangkok. Fifi and I went all the way through Chefoo and Faith Academy together. At Chefoo she and I were often in competition to see who read the most books. Now she and her husband Dave (whom I finally got to meet after many years!) are the OMF Directors in Cambodia. It had been 18 years since we last saw each other. This was a visit a long time coming!
(Photo - Fifi, Dave and Andrea)
For a moment I wasn't sure we were going to meet as I was convinced as we came in to land that the plane had a big ‘L’ for Learner on the back and that the pilot had handed over the reigns to someone landing for the first time. It had been a bit of a turbulent ride already and as we came in for the final approach whoever was flying would give a burst of power, then slow it way down, give it another burst of power…Eventually he (or she) decided they weren’t going to be able to land it on the first time around so we roared off and circled around only to go through the whole routine again. While I sort of like flying, I can get a little nervous especially when something doesn’t seem quite right. Evidently this nervousness showed on my face as the even more nervous woman seated on the other side of Andrea saw my face and nearly panicked. Here were two wild eyed people looking at each other, neither helping the other one at all. I don’t know if you have ever been on a rough flight where the pilot does a great job and lands the plane well inspite of the weather conditions. Often (especially in Asia) all the passengers will applaud in gratitude and respect. Let’s just say, there was no applause on this flight. People were very nervous and clearly ready to get off. Andrea’s seatmate and I almost knocked each other over in our hurry to get off the plane! (All of our other Air Asia Flights have been just fine!)
(Photo -Fifi, Steve, Wilsons)
It was so great to catch up with Fifi after so many years and meet Dave and see how they are built so well for the job they are in. OMF has over 50 people working in Cambodia and it can still be a wild and wooly place to live. One of the nights we were there, they had to evacuate an entire family that had been struggling with dengue fever. We were also able to have several hours with Steve Hyde, a classmate of mine from Faith Academy. Steve has been in Cambodia since 1994 and has one amazing and crazy story after another to tell of his time there. It is so fascinating to see where
people end up and how God is using them in incredible ways.
Fifi, Dave and Steve were definite highlights of our days there. The other highlight was our trip to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. (Coincidentally Angkor Wat is also on the cover of National Geographic this month.) There is so much that could be said about this place. I, like many people, didn’t realize that what we were going to see was much more than just one temple but dozens and dozens of millennium old temple ruins that make up this World Heritage site that reveals so much about the Angkorian Khmer Empire and yet also still holds so many secrets and questions. It truly is astounding to walk through so much history and wonder at this lost civilization that ruled this part of the world while Europe was still in the dark ages.
Our photos don't do justice to anything we saw.
We spent a day and another evening among the ruins. If you wanted you could spend an entire week – and you can buy a pass good for a week as well as day passes. Prices are reasonable. Accommodation, of which there is plenty, ranges from the opulent to rooms for just a couple dollars a night. (The US dollar is the preferred currency here!) We stayed at a nice place called the
Palm Garden Lodge ($15 a night including pickup, breakfast etc. A driver to take us everywhere the next day was $35.)
Again so much could be said about what we saw
both at the ruins but also throughout Cambodia including the Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh but perhaps at a later time. Fifi, Dave and Steve again were very helpful in answering so many of our questions.
Duncan
As we trudged and sluffed through the dust, sometimes alone, sometimes with hundreds of tourists/ruin seekers we were often followed by children selling a variety of trinkets and souvenirs. Often barefoot, the youngest would run through their litany… "Lady, Mister…sell you postcard, 1 dollar, 2, 3, 4…”and then repeat the numbers in French and Spanish. The older adolescents and their parents could approach with scarves or cold water. It is often a family business with sometimes one or several families at the entrance of a particular ruin. But it is a business that can also come with great risk.
In a country (like many countries around the world) where so many live in physical poverty, that even five year olds have to work to support their family instead of going to school, surely the temptation exists to make quick money by selling your child for a few hours to make more than you might in weeks or months. I’m not saying it happens around Angkor but it does happen in many places in Cambodia and around the world. Perhaps these kids are safe at a World Heritage site, under their parent’s watch, surrounded by many tourists and officials but even the fact that they aren’t in school sets them up to be at risk in the future. Surely there is a high risk anywhere you find small, beautiful children, exposed in a predator’s playground.
Duncan
How many faces can you find?
The famous tree at Angkor Thom.
Roots...
When you approach Angkor Wat, you don't realize the true size and scope. This aerial picture above (which I did not take) also doesn't do it justice but you start to realize this is a big place...and then when you see the perfect symmetry and scope of the corridors (See photo below), it's impossible not to appreciate how this building was designed and built a thousand years ago. Truly impressive!
Banteay Srei
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