It’s been a busy first 48 hours here in Phnom Penh! After leaving the airport we received quite the warm welcome at the One Up Banana Hotel, complete with a cool drink and cold, menthol-scented towel. The manager Arun taught us the Khmer greeting of Sampeah, as well as a few useful phrases to get around with. We walked to Cafe Soilel for a quick lunch before exploring Wat Phnom and getting a very brief crash course in Buddhism. After a quick rest, we had an amazing Khmer multi-course dinner complete with a morning glory salad, ginger fish, and some strange gelatinous coconut dessert (that wasn’t as much a win as the other courses) at Lotus Blanc. We we were in such a food coma and the group was so exhausted from their 24+ hour of travel that we went back to our hotel after the evening showers had passed and sank into our beds for some much needed rest.

This morning we visited Daughters of Cambodia, an organization that offers skills, training, and medical care to aid women who want to get out of the sex trafficking industry and start a new life in their community. We had a lot of questions answered and had a good discussion with one of the local managers about what it means to be an NGO and the impact (both good and bad) they can have in each community. We also discussed the government’s role in the regulation (or lack thereof) of trafficking and what kinds of issues that raised in the country’s political agenda.

After our discussion, we headed upstairs to the modern and relaxed cafe run by Daughters of Cambodia called Sugar and Spice. While we waited for our food, we played a game that made us laugh and relax after such a deep conversation. Lunch came and it was just as delightful as the crafts some of us had purchased to support the community.

After lunch we jumped in our tuk tuks and headed to tour the Chueung Ek Genocidal Center, a.k.a. The Killing Fields, and the high school turned torture prison, S-21. These two sites were made infamous by the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot from 1975-1979. An audio tour of the Killing Fields gave us time to walk and reflect on the historical pain that the country still carries. At S-21 we were guided through the high school and we learned about the horrors that occurred there. At the end of our tour we were given an opportunity to meet and take a photo with one of the two surviving prisoners.

This evening, we tuk-tuked our way over to the quaint Phnom Pehn Night Market where our senses were dazzled by the lively environment. The students were given an opportunity to visit the various vendors, explore some new culinary surprises (which included a grilled squid stuffed with a cucumber served on a stick), and listen to some live Khmer music all before reconvening and heading back to our hotel for much needed rest.

Sweet Dreams from 1Up and stay tuned,
Jordan & Lisa