We did a city tour when we arrived in Phnom Penh seeing the killing grounds, genocide museum, and some local temples. Being a Bhuddist country, monks are very prominent in Cambodia particularly in temple areas. But, my favorite part of the tour was all of the cute monkeys at the temple. 🙂
We spent half of our time doing ministry at an orphanage called Love in Action. One of the favorite things that the little girls there like to do is what I like to call the Love in Action Hair Salon. You may come with nothing, but leave with braids and multiple kinds of flowers. They loved doing this and I was fortunate that my hair actually looked great when they were finally finished.
The picture on the right is me and Srey Po. She was the sweetest little girl and one of my favorite orphans.
The other orphanage that we worked with was Good Shephard Orphanage. The picture on the left is Rachel who was our main contact person. She was a delight to know, work with, and spend time with. She is in her 20’s and her family runs the orphanage. It is unlike any orphanage I have ever visited. They max out at 63 kids and have very low turnover. They not only know them by name and know intimate details about them and have close relationships with the kids, but they truly operate as a family. On the premises, you will find brothers and sisters, grandma, Dad, and even a Pastor. It is truly like one big happy family. Working there this month has been the biggest blessing and has really touched my life. In the most unusual and difficult of circumstances I have seen the most loving familly dynamics. I have only been out of Cambodia for a few days and I miss them terribly.
One of the interesting experiences with Rachel aside from working at the orphanage, going for coffee, and going to the market was the day that she brought Durian fruit for us. Everywhere you turn, everywhere you look, every market in town carries THIS fruit. A row of durian fruit are hanging in the photo below. It looks interesting and those who are naturally curious would of course want to know what it tastes like. Let me just say, sorry Rachel (I know you like Durian), but I have nicknamed this “the Forbidden fruit.” Many people say if you can get past the horrifying smell that it tastes pretty good. They lie. I would rather eat tarantulas for breakfast. Grostesque, disgusting, revolting, these words do not begin to describe the taste of the forbidden fruit. Friends, family, learn from my experience… it is not a worthy food investment.
Speaking of tarantulas, Pun, our Tuk-Tuk driver (motorcycle with attached carriage type of thing to transport people) was another blessing while we were in Cambodia. He faithfully drove us anywhere and everywhere we needed to go for the duration of our stay. We also enjoyed spending time with him going out to lunch and playing volleyball. So the day that we bought tarantulas for snack, we invited him to join in. He said he had never tried them before, it was his first time. See below as he enjoys the 5 for $1 special from the market. In the picture, the legs have already been devoured and now he is eating the butt of the spider. He said it wasn’t bad.
During the off hours, I enjoyed having the big city of Phnom Penh at my fingertips. Much different from our past two months in small town isolation, we were now in the big city. I enjoyed readily available high-speed internet connection at the internet cafes, any kind of western food I might want, used bookstores, and my absolute favorite… The Chocolate Shop (specializing in Belgian chocolate). It was fabulous. I have to admit that I visited more than once and fell more and more in love with the place with each visit. After barely eating in Haiti, this was such a blessing! And who wouldn’t love a cappaccino with almond syrup and pistacchio truffles on their day off?? 🙂
