Siem Reap, Cambodia: Part 2

The past few days have been some of the craziest and most memorable of this entire trip! When we reserved our hotel room on booking.com the hotel said it had a crib, but when we got there they said they didn’t have one. Tyson has been sleeping in our bed the last four nights straight.  So, we decided to go on a search to find a different hotel that had one. We walked into a few hotels near us in the downtown area (including one that also said on booking.com that had a crib) and none of them actually had baby cribs, only ‘extra bed’ options. Oh well, mid-night snuggle time is always welcome! In the end we decided that we’d stay at the same hotel for the remainder of our stay in Cambodia.

Fortunately, Tyson really loves playing with the staff here. We have the unit right next to the lobby so they can hear when he wants to come out so they inevitably call back to him to come play with them. It’s great that they enjoy playing with him as it gives us a bit of relief knowing we have more eyes on him. He’ll just go behind their desk even if they’re working and they’ll drop everything they’re doing to play with him. Pretty awesome and he’s really developing a great personality with the ladies. He loves handing them toys, kissing them on the cheek, giving them big hugs, and chasing them around whenever they try to get something done. After the failed attempt at finding a crib, we spent a lot of time at the pool for the rest of that day and hung out in the lobby with the staff. Tyson was obsessed with bouncing his balloon around with them and throwing a tennis ball back and forth. The ladies love chasing him around and taking selfies with him.

I happened to run into the Australian ladies at breakfast that I had met in the pool the day before and I was really interested in hearing more about their charitable organization and the picnic they planned for the next morning with the kids at the orphanage. A few days before I had actually mentioned to Marshall that I thought Cambodia was the perfect place for us to give back. Before we left for this trip we said that at some point during this trip we wanted to find an opportunity to give back in some way and then I happened to run into the ladies at the pool talking about their organization. I really wanted to go with them and I asked if I could join. They said of course! YAY! All I can say is God works in mysterious ways.

The next day was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! After our morning breakfast I met up with the two ladies along with a doctor they had brought with them that will be doing dental work on 100 children that can’t afford dental care. (Most of the children at the orphanage have rotten teeth because they don’t have toothbrushes and eat lot of sugary candy). The four of us hopped on a tuk tuk and drove a few minutes away to the orphanage where we gathered up all 60 kids and followed each other over to the river. The orphanage only has field trips like this once or twice a year so they really look forward to these outings. Along the way to the river the driver lost site of the car we were supposed to be following so we got a little lost and had to back track a bit. Once the driver found the right spot he dropped us off on the street next to the river that happened to have a few street vendors. One of the vendors was selling freshly cooked crickets and maggots. Yum! The doctor gave in to peer pressure and tried one of the maggots. He said it wasn’t bad and tasted like a soybean. Haha. I wasn’t about to try it myself so I just took his word for it. We ended up buying a cup full of crickets and maggots to bring to the river as a snack for the kids. From the road we had to walk down a steep staircase to get to the river and on the trek down I broke one of my flip flops (Not again!). So I kicked them both off and went barefoot the rest of the time we were there.

All along the river were large open tents set up with several hammocks hung up inside. All the kids were hanging out under the tents either playing or chilling on the hammocks. As soon as we said hello to the people that ran the orphanage we thought it was time to hand out the delicious snacks (crickets and maggots) that we just bought. The kids gobbled them up in no time! I made sure to take pictures of them biting into the crickets with the legs stuck between their teeth, lol. Then I busted out one of the soccer balls we brought and started kicking it around with one little boy. After a while there were about 7 of us out there playing. It was so awesome to see them having so much fun.

After playing with the kids for about an hour it was time for the picnic lunch. The main course was steak, and by steak I mean the whole cow….in one piece. The first thing I saw was just the head placed on a platter. Then I see two boys walking over to the tents holding this huge stick with the entire cow on it. What a sight to see! Even the kids were in awe because they don’t ever get to eat steak since it’s really expensive here. So this was a real treat for them. Everyone was circled around the cow and watching as the guys cut it into little pieces. They served rice and fresh vegetables along with the steak as well as some amazing homemade sauces. The kids were in heaven!

Once everyone’s food settled it was time to go into the river. (Well, not me. That water was so murky, I didn’t know what the heck was living in there.) The two Australians were brave enough to get on tubes and float out there. The water was so shallow their butts were dragging the whole time and when they got out they were covered in mud (and smelled foul). However, the kids thought the water was amazing and had a great time splashing around. Some of the older teenagers stayed in the tent singing songs while one of them played music on the guitar. They had brought a video camera and were having a great time recording themselves singing. I walked over there to listen to them and they all started giggling and acting silly as I watched them.

It was time for us to head back to the hotel so we said goodbye to everyone and thanked them for sharing their day with us. We hiked back up the stairs to the tuk tuk (well, I hopped on one foot so I wouldn’t step on anything sharp with my one barefoot). The doctor was nice enough to run over to the street vendors to see if any of them had flip flops for me. A few minutes later he ran over to our tuk tuk holding a pair of colorful flip flips that had jiggle bells on them. He said he had bought the biggest size they had and hoped they fit. So I tried them on and my heel was hanging out the back, but hey any two flip flops is better than one.

On the drive back to our hotel the Australian ladies wanted to stop in a small village to check on a house that they bought supplies for the previous day. They have been sponsoring a lady the past few years and helping her build a home, so they just wanted to double check that everything was in order as the delivery guy said it was. We drove on a bumpy dirt road for quite a while and eventually arrived in the village. Just as they’d hoped the house was all put together and is now fully functioning. It was probably a 10ft x 10ft room with just a bed and a tiny kitchen area. Although it was a small shack, it was by far the nicest and largest compared to the other structures in their village. All of the neighbor kids were hanging out at their house when we pulled up. There were probably 10 kids outside and they were so excited to see us. They probably rarely see foreign people in their village since it’s far outside the tourist areas. The little girls took a liking to me right away. One of them jumped on my back for a piggy back ride and then when she was done another girl jumped on my back. They were just soaking in all the attention. We only stayed there for a few minutes and as we were leaving one of the Australian ladies handed one of the kid’s mother some cash. I wanted to give the kids some money too so I handed the oldest girl five dollars. All the kids then started putting out their hand so that I’d give each of them money. I handed out a few more dollars to the kids and told them all to share. All in all, this was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had and really made me think about how well we have it back home. We take so many things for granted from little things like toothbrushes to simply having a roof over our head. Thank you so much Lou, Kathy, and Andrew for allowing me to join you for such a wonderful, joy filled day!

Things get even more interesting in the afternoon. By the time I had gotten back to the hotel it was about 1:30pm and Marshall had planned to leave for the restaurant manager’s (Dawind, pronounced Daywin) party at 3pm. It worked out perfectly that we each had a half day to go do our own thing while the other could watch Tyson. Dawind sent a tuk tuk over to our hotel to pick Marshall up and take him to his Aunt’s house. What happens after this point is so crazy I’m going to let Marshall take the keyboard and talk about it from his own perspective.

Marshall writing:

When the driver arrived he shook my hand and told me to hop in his pink upholstered tuk tuk and we were on our way. He drove through a few streets and stopped to get some gas then jumped on the highway to take us out of the city of Siem Reap. About this time it started to sprinkle so he stopped again at a small umbrella covered stand on the side of the road that sells water, coconuts, and a few other random things. He bought himself a poncho and right about that time it started to rain then unzipped some coverings for me in the back and got back on the highway. The drive was quite interesting. Even though I had some covering over the top and some of the sides that didn’t stop water from finding its way in. Usually it was through the floorboard that was made of 2x4s with huge gaps between them or a massive bus driving by us splashing muddy water everywhere. It was pretty epic. This tuk tuk only went like 30 mph so we had the pleasure of that experience quite a few times.

After a while I start noticing less traffic and more chickens/cows so I figure we were out of the city. I checked my GPS map on my phone and it showed we were WAY out of town. I look at the time and notice we’d been driving for 45 mins! Where the heck are we going anyway?! He spoke English, but generally in memorized phrases, so I wasn’t able to get much detail out of him. Eventually we turned on a street that led us to some small red dirt/mud roads through rice fields and past small village homes. We drove several more miles into the jungle dogging potholes and runaway cattle then he randomly stopped in the middle of an intersection.

He lit a cigarette, got off his bike and asked me if I wanted one, which I declined since I don’t smoke. He says “oh you don’t smoke huh?...you suuuure you don’t want a cigarette?” I tell him no again, but found it strange how he said that. Why? Do I NEED a cigarette??? He gets on his phone and starts pacing around talking to somebody for about 10 minutes. He then strolled back to the tuk tuk and what he said next I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams. Between puffs, leaning towards me, he casually said “you know pol pot, right? shoot shoot”? I said no. Then he puts two fingers up to his head like a gun and says “you know, like this. shoot”. Then he does a slit throat motion.

At this point my heart it beating mile a minute and I’m thinking I may have gotten ahead of myself by accepting an invitation to go out of the city to an unknown location…obviously, I’m thinking the worst case scenario is completely possible at this point. I tried to get clarification with a forced smile, but I couldn’t understand what he was trying to say. It only added to the concern when the few words I could understand in his response were ‘killing fields’ while he used machine gun and throat slit motions with his hands followed by ‘you know…you know’. NO, I DON’T KNOW!! Are you even the guy Dawind sent to pick me up? Where are you taking me?

Then, all of a sudden, a car drives up to the intersection and tells my driver to follow him. He gets back on his bike and we start going through winding, even smaller streets. Honestly, I did have a few mental freak out moments where I thought I might be in real danger, but for the majority of the time I was confident that I was safe and the driver merely got lost and was trying to make (albeit strange) conversation to pass the time. Though, I really had to rely on my instinct and initial judge of Dawind’s character and the great relationships I saw he had with his staff at our hotel to make the decision to not quietly jump out of the back of the moving tuk tuk and take my chances in the jungle.  A few minutes later we pull up to a house and Dawind steps out of the car we were following with a big smile and waved at me… Phew! (Although at this point I still don’t know why the tuk tuk driver was saying those things to me and was still a bit paranoid).

I walk up to him and hand him a gift of a bottle of rum and a 6 pack of Coke. He thanked me then we walked up to the house with him and all of Dawind’s family is sitting there around a few tables on their porch: Mom, Dad, aunt, uncle, cousin, brother and like seven nieces and nephews. They cooked a huge meal and were waiting for me to arrive so they could begin to eat. Most of Dawind’s family didn’t speak a word of English, but I could tell they were a very loving family and happy to have me as a guest at their home. The rest of the night was definitely one of the best and most memorable experiences of my life.

Dawind’s Mom brought me a bowl, some chopsticks, and a spoon and pointed at the food with a smile telling me to start the meal. I thanked her and they watched me serve myself while suggesting different items to try. This was one of the moments I’ll never forget as they were so gracious to bring me into their home and were the most pleasant people I could have imagined.

The tuk tuk driver ended up being one of Dawind’s friends who works at the hotel we’re staying at (Double Phew!) and sat next to me the entire evening. He was very nice and made sure I never saw the bottom of my bowl. He would use his bare hands and scoop up food to put on my plate. I tried to just put a small spoonful of each thing, but it would inevitably be filled by either him or Dawind with a delicious (and I mean seriously delicious) smattering of this and that. I don’t recall exactly what each serving was, but I know it was all grown or raised on their property. I didn’t know if we were going to eat before I arrived so I had just eaten at the hotel right before I left, but I ate as much as I could and loved every minute of the meal.

After a while, a few more of Dawind’s friends showed up and at first they weren’t interested in talking to me that much. After we all had a few beers they started opening up and telling me about their lives in Cambodia, jobs they hold, and their families. They also felt very envious that I am an American and am able to travel the world and they are limited in their ability to get Visas because they are Cambodian. Here in Cambodia it is very difficult for the citizens to get visas into other countries so most of them never leave the country. Dawind’s dad told me that I should come back to visit Cambodia and bring an American wife for Dawind so he can go live the dream in America. Some worked at the hotel we’re at and they mentioned that they see Tyson in the lobby and said he is ‘very courageous’ and looks so strong, confident, and smart. Ahhhh, thanks!

The entire evening, Dawind and the tuk tuk driver kept popping open Angkor beers and pouring them into each of our glasses. The driver was collecting the tabs from the beer and checking them to see if there was a prize. Apparently, you can win anything from a free beer to a new motorcycle. We didn’t win anything, but he strung them all together and made me a couple of bracelets out of them to take home to Shelly. We would cheers often and sometimes it seemed for no apparent reason. I’d guess we clanked glasses 50 times that night, always with a big smile from everyone and a courtesy hand on the heart or elbow/wrist depending on the age of the person, ‘rank’ in social class, or position at work to show more respect.

Throughout the evening I mostly chatted with Dawind due to the language barrier. When they spoke their language (Khmer) to each other I would usually just nod my head politely and tried to match their facial expressions. Not sure why I did that since I had no idea what they were talking about, but was probably still a bit nervous. Occasionally, the driver would tap me on the leg and teach me a word or two in Khmer like friend, ice, and thank you. Dawind’s Dad was a very happy go lucky guy and would talk at me as though I understood everything he was saying. I would just ensure Dawind was also paying attention and he’d translate/summarize what he just said then return the favor for my response. I was mostly curious about his ability to be so happy and build such an amazing family. He said that as a father you must do everything you can to provide for the needs of your children so they can grow up and accomplish on their own. He is a wise man.

After a while the women and children went inside and started to play music and dance (jump around) in their living room. At this point it was getting dark and there was no end in sight to the night. Beer and conversation flowed endlessly and we were all having a lot of fun just hanging out and talking business, politics, and family. It felt just like hanging out with friends back at home, except every so often a chicken would hop on my foot and freak me out or an ox cart would go by on the road which led to more interesting discussions about their daily lives.

I looked at my phone and noticed it was getting pretty late knowing I still had an hour drive back home. I wanted to be back at a decent time so I could get a good night’s sleep before Tyson woke up in the morning. As any parent knows, if you decide to stay up at night, that doesn’t mean you’ll get to sleep in in the morning, especially if you’re only air conditioned refuge for the entire family is your one and only hotel room. I figured I’d call it a night and I stood up to thank Dawind and his family for the wonderful evening. The whole family stood up from the table to send me off and seemed extremely happy that I was able to join them for the evening. Everyone came outside and waved as the tuk tuk pulled away from the house. A perfect send off to an amazing time with a fantastic family.

On the way back, the tuk tuk driver slowed down and said “want to go to massacre tomorrow?”. I think to myself, great here we go again. Then I piece together “You, wife, and son want to go tour the area of the massacre that happened?” and was able to connect the dots that the entire time he was trying to sell me on taking a tour with him the following day. Geez Louise, please don’t do that to anyone. Ever. Again. Good grief! This also taught me to do better research into the history and cultural hot spots before we visit a country. A simple Google search beforehand would have saved all that tension and misunderstanding. My bad! Talk about a night to remember that started off a bit dicey and ended with an overwhelming amount of love poured out to me. It’s definitely an experience I’ll never forget, that is for sure.

I’ll have so many fond memories of this experience for the rest of my life and I’ll be forever grateful to Dawind and his family for his kindness, generosity, and care they showed to me. A big (THANK YOU) Dawind and I know you’ll do amazing things in life both professionally and in building your own great family!