July 29, 2012
Dearest friends,
I fly back home tomorrow. My two months in Cambodia are done and I feel like I could easily stay another two. Last week I finished my field interviews and realized while that process was concluded, my research and study has only just begun. When my final interview was over, going out on the motorbike with my translator through the long, long dirt roads, talking with Khmer mothers and families, sharing lunch with village families, gazing out over vibrant rice paddies and napping in a hammock beneath a bungalow was also over. This time around, at least. Who knows where my future will take me.
This past week I was able to hop on a bus and visit Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam with Crystal. The city was like a much more developed version of Phnom Penh. There were actual sidewalks we could walk on and they had separate lanes for motorbikes and cars. Granted there are approximately 5 million motorbikes in 'Saigon' as the locals still call it, more than twice the population of Phnom Penh. The phở was phantastic. We visited the Cu Chi tunnels north of the city where the Viet Cong had over 200km of an underground tunnel network, built before and during the Vietnam War. The tunnels were typically 2ft by 3ft or there abouts, but they widened a section for tourists. While it makes me cringe, making the tunnels bigger for us 'westerners' was necessary.
I then visited Bangkok, the city of my birth. The Sumativej Hospital where I was born was really nice on the inside. Pianist, cafe, shopping area--they have medical tourism down to an art in Bangkok. I also fulfilled my lifelong dream of riding an elephant. The dear thing was older than me and, apparently a year into her pregnancy. Elephants are pregnant for up to 22 months. Wowza. I also saw gorgeous Thai countryside with China-esque mountains jutting out of the ground. The cuisine was excellent of course-- it's my favorite. I didn't explore the infamous red light district. Given that I traveling by myself, I didn't think it very wise. I did join some USAID colleagues of my dad's for happy hour though. I don't know what they thought of me, but I enjoyed the company none the less.
I'm just finishing a weekend stay in Kampot with old family friends and the time here has been so peaceful and relaxing. As I was kayaking with Malika, a girl my age, we drifted on still water through palm (sort of like mangrove) trees the sprang out of the river. I wish I had had my camera with me because it was so beautiful and serene. Like floating through a forest on water and not seeing anything but green. I didn't have to think about anything but the beauty of my surroundings and the occasional egret being startled from its resting place.
I'm ending my stay here on such a wonderful note and I'm going to miss Cambodia when I leave. Amynah, my fellow researcher in Kampong Chhnang, mentioned how there is a beauty in the simplicity of the Khmer way of life. A beauty in simplicity. I couldn't agree more with her. Life moves at a different pace here. Slower and more at ease. Community is more important than self and the family unit, from nieces to grandfathers, impacts how one orders life. I've spoken with a young intelligent man working and waiting to go to university so that his younger brother could finish school. Children don't forget their parents, they take care of them and support them in their old age. People talk to each other as friends. In Khmer you call those you speak with, whether stranger or family, uncle/aunt or brother/sister. Despite sufferings and trails, people will always grant you a smile. Most Cambodians don't live with the luxuries that we are used to and life isn't always easy but they have an understanding and appreciation for life that can be hard to find in the West.
I'll miss all of this and I can only hope to bring some aspect of Khmer life back with me to the States. I will see many of you soon and I can't wait.
Your srei ('sister'),
Margot
I fly back home tomorrow. My two months in Cambodia are done and I feel like I could easily stay another two. Last week I finished my field interviews and realized while that process was concluded, my research and study has only just begun. When my final interview was over, going out on the motorbike with my translator through the long, long dirt roads, talking with Khmer mothers and families, sharing lunch with village families, gazing out over vibrant rice paddies and napping in a hammock beneath a bungalow was also over. This time around, at least. Who knows where my future will take me.
This past week I was able to hop on a bus and visit Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam with Crystal. The city was like a much more developed version of Phnom Penh. There were actual sidewalks we could walk on and they had separate lanes for motorbikes and cars. Granted there are approximately 5 million motorbikes in 'Saigon' as the locals still call it, more than twice the population of Phnom Penh. The phở was phantastic. We visited the Cu Chi tunnels north of the city where the Viet Cong had over 200km of an underground tunnel network, built before and during the Vietnam War. The tunnels were typically 2ft by 3ft or there abouts, but they widened a section for tourists. While it makes me cringe, making the tunnels bigger for us 'westerners' was necessary.
I then visited Bangkok, the city of my birth. The Sumativej Hospital where I was born was really nice on the inside. Pianist, cafe, shopping area--they have medical tourism down to an art in Bangkok. I also fulfilled my lifelong dream of riding an elephant. The dear thing was older than me and, apparently a year into her pregnancy. Elephants are pregnant for up to 22 months. Wowza. I also saw gorgeous Thai countryside with China-esque mountains jutting out of the ground. The cuisine was excellent of course-- it's my favorite. I didn't explore the infamous red light district. Given that I traveling by myself, I didn't think it very wise. I did join some USAID colleagues of my dad's for happy hour though. I don't know what they thought of me, but I enjoyed the company none the less.
I'm just finishing a weekend stay in Kampot with old family friends and the time here has been so peaceful and relaxing. As I was kayaking with Malika, a girl my age, we drifted on still water through palm (sort of like mangrove) trees the sprang out of the river. I wish I had had my camera with me because it was so beautiful and serene. Like floating through a forest on water and not seeing anything but green. I didn't have to think about anything but the beauty of my surroundings and the occasional egret being startled from its resting place.
I'm ending my stay here on such a wonderful note and I'm going to miss Cambodia when I leave. Amynah, my fellow researcher in Kampong Chhnang, mentioned how there is a beauty in the simplicity of the Khmer way of life. A beauty in simplicity. I couldn't agree more with her. Life moves at a different pace here. Slower and more at ease. Community is more important than self and the family unit, from nieces to grandfathers, impacts how one orders life. I've spoken with a young intelligent man working and waiting to go to university so that his younger brother could finish school. Children don't forget their parents, they take care of them and support them in their old age. People talk to each other as friends. In Khmer you call those you speak with, whether stranger or family, uncle/aunt or brother/sister. Despite sufferings and trails, people will always grant you a smile. Most Cambodians don't live with the luxuries that we are used to and life isn't always easy but they have an understanding and appreciation for life that can be hard to find in the West.
I'll miss all of this and I can only hope to bring some aspect of Khmer life back with me to the States. I will see many of you soon and I can't wait.
Your srei ('sister'),
Margot