Zelma’s Trip

So after getting (probably unfairly) disillusioned with my previous guesthouse I decided to move to a different area of town.  Having previously been at the lake side area I decided to move closer to the town centre and found a place by the river side

Phnom Penh is very different from Siem Reap.  It’s a lot less touristy and abject poverty is horrendously apparent everywhere.  I was aiming to go to the Silver Pagoda and Royal Palace today but spent way too long in a cafe where all the proceeds go to the orphanage behind the restaurant.  I spoke to one of the waitresses for ages and she gave me a folder to read about the orphanage.  It was horrendous and heart-warming in almost equal measure.  There was a page for each child which they had done themselves (there are 28 children at the orphanage).  On each page their name was listed along with familial details which ranged from parents both being killed by aids and landmines to grandparents being so poor they were unable to feed their children.  When I went into the cafe they were singing to a tiny baby who was apparently deserted on their doorstep in December.  Some of the children are from the countryside and others are found in the dumps collecting enough usable rubbish to sell in order to feed themselves.  The children’s own pages had an interests section.  Most of them listed football, learning English and the like.  One of them though listed "smiling" as an interest which touched me.  Another said his interest was "being a joker".  They also had a section about what they wanted to be.  My favourites included one who said that he wanted to own the restaurant and also one who said, "I want to be veterinarian"….he followed this by saying, "..because I love animals.  I once tried to help a bird, I saved him and then a dog ate him.  I was very sad".  I asked the waitress if it was possible to visit the orphanage and she said that the best time to go was in the morning as the children attend school in the afternoons.  Before you get suspicious there were also signed charity declarations etc in the back of the folder.  I’m not entirely sure about the orphanage as I am going to S21 – the main place the Khmer Rouge detained and killed its "opposition" – and the killing fields tomorrow.  When I went on the Battlefields trip at secondary school I was profoundly affected and am not sure if I can managed all three in two days without plunging myself into emotional turmoil.  I am also reading a book about S-21 at the moment just to compound this.

I think I may have given up on my idea of being in Thailand for the full moon on the 20th.  I’ll see but I don’t want to rush to get through Cambodia on that basis alone.  I’ve also spoken to a lot of people who have said that the full moon parties are crazy and very mainstream whereas there are far better parties to be found around the full moon.  We’ll see.

Other than exploring the city today I also got another manicure!  It cost me around 75 cents (US).  I think I’m addicted, it’s my third in Cambodia.  Although it’s honestly a brilliant way to people watch.  You can watch the locals properly without standing there like a gawping tourist.  I got today’s in a market where I didn’t see another Westerner.  I was next to one woman having her hair done and another peeling prawns!