Siem Reap and Phnom Penh

Well our time in Cambodia flew by! That has to be my favorite place we visited so far, especially Siem Reap. The life style and atmosphere is so different from what we are use to in America. I think the last time I posted we were going to build toilets in a nearby village. Our trip was successful. We helped in the building of composite toilets for a family in the village. The toilets actually turn waste into fertilizer the family can use to grow food. The lady we built the toilet for was in her 60s, and if I remember correctly she shared her home with 7 of her children and grandchildren. After we laid the foundation and the guys dug the trench for that family's toilet some of us went to another family to help put the walls and roof on their toilet. So, we actually helped two families that day. One of the best parts of my time in Siem Reap was interacting with the locals. Although our communication was somewhat limited by language barriers, we always found a way to communicate and interact.

After Siem Reap we visited Phnom Penh for a couple of days. Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia. It is also the location of S21 and the Killing Fields. We spent one day visiting those two locations. It wasn't a pleasurable experience, but it was necessary to visit. Visiting S21 and the Killing Fields was as pleasurable as visiting the Holocaust Museum in D.C. S21 was a former high school that the Khmer Rouge turned into an interrogation and torture sight during their reign the late 70s. I walked into some of the cells and I could actually feel the weight and heaviness in that room. You could see scratches on the walls from prisoners and the tools used to torture them. I will never forget that heaviness I felt when I was in that room.

On a much lighter note we are going to the Tiger Temple today. Things in Bangkok calmed down and we decided to visit Bangkok. We arrived here Sunday morning or Saturday night U.S time. We are staying here until we fly home on June 8. Yesterday we saw the shopping center that was burned during the protests. It was a huge very upscale shopping center, but now it is just a burned building. I'm glad we decided to visit Bangkok, so far I love it! Well I'm off to pet a Tiger. What are you going to do today?