As we prepared for Bible study yesterday afternoon a curtain
of rain moved across the city of Phnom Penh.
Lightning flashed and thunder cracked as we enjoyed the dry cool comfort
of our apartment. The rain continued
into the evening, but had stopped when it came time for our tuk tuk ride to the
Hope Education Center. The apartment
manager at the desk warned us not to walk in any puddles because the water would
be tainted by garbage and sewage. I did
not expect puddles to be much of a problem because the rain had stopped and we
would be riding in the tuk tuk all the way to the dorm. I carefully avoided a puddle and climbed into
the tuk tuk.
We traveled about 5 minutes down the road until a traffic
jam blocked our path. Our driver made a
U-turn and drove against traffic then cut down a side street. Puddles grew on both sides of the road until the
street was covered and we were driving through several inches of water. Cars and motos flew by splashing water up
from the puddles, yet we continued to stay dry.
Eventually the water became too deep to pass through, so our driver
turned around again. We splashed down another
road, which ultimately had too much water.
We turned around again. One of
the roads contained deep pot holes and we almost got stuck; I envisioned all of
us standing in the polluted water pushing the tuk tuk. But, our driver was able to get us out of the
hole. We cheered as the driver pulled up
to the HEC about 30 minutes later than usual.
I marveled at how I managed to stay dry and avoid the water, but then I
looked into the HEC. The entrance was
flooded. The only way into the center
was through a puddle of about 4 inches of dark water. There was nothing to be done, but grin and
bear it. So we splashed through the warm
murky water. Attendance at Bible Study
was a little lower due to the rain and the flooded streets, but those that were
there were eager to learn. The students
said that the streets seem to always flood in Phnom Penh with heavy rain.
Today was our day off.
This evening we took a short cruise to the Mekong River.
Riverside in Phnom Penh.
Along the way we passed a community of
floating houses and houses on stilts.
Me, Morgan, Emilie, and Candice on the River Boat.
