Things that are not uncommon in Cambodia...

Things that are not uncommon in Cambodia..

• 5 or 6 (the most we saw was 7) people on a Moto (the most common mode of transportation for cambodians, essentially a cross between a motorcycle and a scooter) 
• 10+ people in a tuk-tuk (the most common way for tourists to get around, it's a moto towing a small passenger cab)
• at least 30 people piled into a van
• Haggling with Tuk-Tuk drivers
• Monks on motos, on laptops, on cell phones, on facebook
• Fish foot massages
• Paying under $6 for a massage
• Eating insects (mainly tarantulas) sold on the side of the road
• Eating frog legs at a restaurant
• Tiny Bananas
• Food served in coconuts, banana leaves or pineapples
• Women chopping meat on the sidewalk
• Raw meat and fish sitting out all day long in the market in 90 degree heat
• Market stalls where vendors sit on top of their merchandise because there is no space
• Children waving at large busses
• Children wearing no pants and/or no shirt, usually no shoes
• Children selling nicknacks on the street, outside temples, on the Habitat site, anywhere there are tourists
• Paying 1/10th what you would pay in the states for just about anything

Tuk-Tuk




Very Crowded Van




Monk on Facebook

Fish Foot Massage: $3

Fried Rice with Shrimp in a pineapple

Amok in a coconut

Amok in banana leaves

Frog Legs and veggies in spicy sauce

Assorted Fried Insects

Eating fried tarantula while holding live tarantula

Tiny Liz with tiny Banana



Monkey



School children who waved at our bus every morning






Typical Market stall

Heading Home

Yesterday we finished up the houses, cleaned, built a small garden area in front, and decorated the house with flags, balloons and streamers. then we had a very meaningful home dedication with the family at our respective houses. It was wonderful to look around at the small group of people in our houses and see friendly faces from Cambodia, south Korea, Mexico, Nepal, and the states who all came together for 5 days as strangers but were leaving as friends.
From there we ate dinner with our homeowners after closing ceremonies. In the closing ceremony the st. Vrain affiliate performed a country western line dance to represent the states, the kiwis shared a Haka and the young Cambodian translators did a hip hop dance. Finally we all got up and followed a Cambodian line dance. It was a fun celebration. Our dinner was prepared as was all our lunches by a habitat homeowners daughter who started her own catering company. What a great job she did for 400 people.
We all felt rewarded and sad as we walked back to the buses and said our last good byes.
We are ready to head back. Sitting in the airport as I type. We are not to excited about our 31 ish hours of traveling ahead but we will try to make the best of it. Maybe will see a bit of Seoul.

4 down, 1 to go!

Another very warm day here in Phnom Pehn! Our group continues to work hard alongside the skilled Cambodian workers And other volunteers. Its getting easier every day to communicate with the locals with hand gestures and facial expressions. We started today a little behind but were able to finish up the brickwork on both houses! We also raised trusses and put part of the tin roof on today. Just like raising trusses in Longmont or dacono, it's not a job for tons of people so there was also a lot of brick cleaning and window painting aka "finish work". Looking forward to finishing touches and the house dedication tomorrow!

3rd work day

2nd work day

A bit hotter today. Reached the top of the windows with bricks today. Trusses tomorrow?

Day one construction

Yesterday was our first day of building. Our group is divided into 2 houses. Houses 18 & 19. When all 350 volunteers arrived in the small village of Oudong yesterday we were greeted with a fanfare meant for a king. "it felt like we were about to start the Olympic games" said Nicole. There were traditional drummers in the start, with traditional dancers dressed like monkeys, an ox cart just like the one on the logo filled with fruits and veggies which led the procession. Then all the kids from the local element school lined the streets and sang a welcome song. When we got to the end the homeowners were there to feet us with garlands. Finally we entered the dinning tent area where they officially kicked off the build. Then numbering around 400 with homeowners, skilled masons, workers, volunteers, translators, and staff we got to work. The organization of this was so smooth. We built 10 layers and put in windows on our house in one day. Breaks were organized as well as lunch and the efficiency of the build as a whole was incredible. Our house had Americans, Koreans, Cambodians and one Mexican ( that would be Chuy) all working together smoothly and efficiently without language. As I worked in a team of three with two young korean girls I thought of Millard Fuller and Koinonia Farms and wondered if they ever imagined there idea would grow to this.

Angok Wat at sunrise

We left the hotel at 4:50 this morning to see the sunrise at the most famous of the temples Angkor Wat. Our tour Guide, Kanha, took us around to the eastern gate, much more secluded than the western entrance. We walked by moonlight through the trees to the perfect spot to watch the sunrise over the majestic Angkor (meaning city) Wat (meaning pagoda in Thai).
From there we continued on to the temple and explored the intricately carved reliefs on the temple walls. The reliefs were of battles and there were so many details. They were so detailed that the soldiers had different designs on each shirt.
Then we hiked up to the top and got a 360 view of the Angkor Wat complex.
Back to the hotel to rest and eat breakfast and off to the floating villages in the afternoon.

Temples, statues and stairs oh my!

We left early this morning to visit more of the Angkor complex. We visited first the "Tomb Raider" temple. It's called that because the movie was filmed there. Trees have over taken the temples with their roots growing in and around and through the bricks. It's a magical setting perfect for a movie set.
Next we visited another Hindu temple and climbed all the way to the top. Incredible views made this one worth the steep small stairs to the top. Next on to the wall, baths and more temples. (Perhaps someone with a guidebook ought to write this so they can intelligently talk about which temple we visited.)
That was just the morning! Here are some pics.

Day One - jet lag recovery day?

Today was supposed to be our recovery and rest day but this group was too excited to rest. We did get a late start after a lovely breakfast in our hotel at 10:30. First stop About Asia tour company office. About Asia is a non-profit tour company specializing and based in Cambodia. 100% of their profits goes to support education here. We met their founder and CEO, Andy.
Then our ambitious group visited two temples with lunch in between. After a quick afternoon siesta we visited one of the schools that About Asia supports.
"dirty but happy" says Libby
"make sure to learn the phrase no thank you when you learn thank you to tell all the vendor children" Nicole
" well organized, team is growing as new members arrive" Tom Dunn
Oh and Chuy got a chance to crash a Spanish lessons at the school. Knew that Spanish would come in handy.

Arrived! First stop International Hospital

Well after about 24 grueling hours of travel we arrived safely and healthy (well almost) in Siam Reap. Tara's eardrum ruptured on our second flight. Currently we are in the hospital getting her checked out. The doctor is getting her all fixed up, cleaned up and drugged up ( antibiotics and anti-inflammatory.) Pray for a quick and safe recovery so her return flight won't be so painful.
Our bags did not make it with us. We landed in Seoul at 6:23 and our flight to Siam Reap left at 6:30. Needless to say we were running ( really running) late. They held the plane for us and while we made it our bags did not. We will get them tomorrow evening when the head of the baggage at the airport said he would personally deliver it to us.
So tired and ready for a good nights sleep.