Getting (dis)oriented

Chocolate pancakes for breakfast at the hostel! We started the day with a tuk tuk tour of the city before heading for our volunteer project orientation...the thing was, nobody had told us we were headed for the project, so when our tuk tuk veered off into a network of narrow lanes with the other volunteers' tuk tuks nowhere to be seen, for a minute we did wonder if we were being kidnapped.

Met Maz (the fifth and final member of our group) and Toyah and Maddie (volunteers working at an orphanage). Visited Library 1 (actually a school, not a library!) and the childcare centre where our orientation took place. We walked through the rubbish dump slum where the kids who come to the volunteer schools live. Walking through a slum is so different to just seeing one on TV. An adorable pair of girls followed us around giggling and grabbing our hands as we walked. This was our first experience of how cheerful many Cambodians remain despite their less than ideal circumstances.

Exploring the slum

Rubbish dump by the slum

Later, we stocked up on lunches for the week at the Lucky Mall...intrigued by 'fried ice cream', I bought some only to find it was revolting. Made up for the disappointment by buying cake.

In the evening Kimlay and Ritthy took us to a restaurant used by the locals where we barbecued our own meat and squid on a table-top BBQ. I gave the squid a try despite not being a seafood fan...can't say it's grown on me. As the restaurant was aimed at locals rather than tourists, the whole meal plus two giant kegs of Angkor beer came to just $2.50 each!

DIY BBQ

BBQ night

As everyone else went to bed, Alannah, Toyah and I hung around downstairs where we were tricked into downing more beers with the staff, who were having a leaving party for one of them.

written by

lucy3119 on August 7, 2011 from Phnom Penh, Cambodia

from the travel blog: Cambodia 2011

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