Phnom Penh, Cambodia- city of stolen hearts

Rooftop view from our hotel of Phnom Penh’s riverfront

Cambodia was always one of those destinations to me that just seemed “out of reach”, so to speak. I mean, when have I ever thought I would go to Cambodia? Never. Sure, before moving to Malaysia I’ve thought about various countries within Asia but Cambodia just never seemed realistic, but then again, living in Malaysia never did either- LOL! Soon after arriving in Asia and meeting other expats, I learned that Cambodia is a “must see”. Everyone kept telling us that the scenery, the people, the culture, the food….all of it, was just amazing. So we started thinking about going but with all the other places also on our list, we never got around to it until recently.

Fruit lady at the Russian Market

There are 2 wildly popular spots to check out in Cambodia- Siem Reap & Phnom Penh. Siem Reap is more of a cultural hotspot with tons of temples (including the ever amazing Ankor Wat), along with food stalls, night markets, and more. We haven’t been yet but it is most definitely on my immediate to do this year of 2014. Phnom Penh is the capital and while it also has some amazing temples, it also showcases a brilliant city alongside villages just outside of town. There is a TON of shopping, a beautiful palace,  fantastic museums and sites, NGO organizations, restaurants, and really just a great laid back vibe you can’t help but get swept up in. Most importantly and what we fell in love with, were the Cambodian people. Just lovely.

Ava making friends at the hotel restaurant at breakfast

David had some work in Phnom Penh and while we typically would have done both cities, with a little 4 month old in tow we had to scale back a bit and just conquer one at a time- haha. Quite the change from our normal travels we are learning :). All for the best though, all for the best. Anyway, We had 4 days/4nights to check it all out. Let me just say, Ava was a total rockstar. We have quite the little traveler on our hands. She’s always up for anything and loves to people watch so as long we were on the go, she was a happy camper. Love that girl. There are a couple things we really wanted to do- check out “The Killing Fields” and see a Cultural Dance show. However, with Ava, those just weren’t an option for us. Next time….

The sketchy crib for Ava

She ended up sleeping in our bed with us much of the night

We arrived on a Friday and checked in to the Amanjaya Pancam Hotel. It was situated on the corner of popular tourist along with riverfront with views of the temples and Royal Palace. You really couldn’t beat that for the price. The rooms were also adorned in lovely Cambodian traditional woodwork and they had an awesome rooftop bar/restaurant that was just breathtaking at sunset. That being said, it wasn’t quite up to the standards we would have liked. A bit too basic for our taste and lesson learned- bring our own pack & play for Ava…even if they say they have one. They brought in this crazy metal structure that looked like it came from a mental institution. Yikes. She ended up sleeping with us most the time- LOL. That first night we just wandered the streets for a bit taking it all in and had a nice rooftop dinner with our little lady.

Busy boardwalk at dusk! (that was actually a group exercise class)

The Amanjaya PanCam hotel

Sunset from the hotel’s rooftop bar

View of the street front he

Saturday we woke up ready to conquer the day. We had already been put in touch with a tuk-tuk driver who was supposed to be amazing. And let me tell you, Polo did not disappoint. We started by wandered over by foot  to the nearby Royal Palace & National Museum, along with just strolling the waterfront. Such beauty! We had lunch at a fantastic find called Friends. It’s actually the #1 rated restaurant in PP. The concept is quite amazing: they take former street kids & marginalized youth and teach them how to cook, wait on people, manage, and more. Its like a training ground for them to build themselves a better future. Quite awesome right?! There are about 10 in existence around the world & there tapas style menu and delicious drinks are worth the visit. Plus its suuuuuuper cheap, as everything is in Cambodia. Next door they have a shop called “Friends & Stuff” where they sell items handmade by the said youth- jewelry, bags, clothes, paintings and more. Its all for an amazing cause and I had no problem supporting them :-).

Elephant love at a temple

Gorgeous Temple

The Royal Palace

More of the Palace

Hilarious! Street-side haircuts!!

Lunch with my loves at Friends.

In the afternoon, Polo met us for an adventure! Side note: do you know what a tuk-tuk is? It’s basically a motorized rickshaw; the driver sits on his motorcycle and a “carriage” of sorts is hooked up to it and away you go. Quite the mode of transportation. Since we really wanted to see where the weekend took us this time around, we let Polo lead the way. Mind you this whole time Ava is in the baby bjorn….yea, lets just say this would NEVER fly in America, and to be honest, I cannot even believe I was brave enough to do it. But when in Asia……

Various countries’ flags adorning the riverfront

Anyway, off we jetted along with streets of PP in our tuk-tuk and just soaked in the sights, the people, the buildings, the cooler climate. Polo had a thought to take us across the river to a nearby village. Well, I didn’t quite think that one out and before I knew it, we were in line to board a “ferry boat” which would take us across the river to nearby villages. The ride was a total of 15 minutes but they were the longest minutes of my life. Maybe you can guess why based on this picture. I cannot even believe we did that, and with Ava no less!!!! My palms were sweating the entire time but its an everyday mode of transportation so I had to just go with it. Once on the other side and on dry land (hallelujah!), we tuk-tuk’d (is that a word?) around the dirt & paved streets. What simple glory. Kids playing soccer (sorry, futbal) in the streets, moms carrying their babes, vendors selling their goods, families cooking in their huts. Wow. I was in love with all of it!!

Ava with Polo in front of our tuk-tuk

Our “ferryboat”

And they told us this is their clearest water of the year

Holy smokes this is really happening!! (Ava is passed out!)

Our “dock” at the other side

We all had to get out so Polo could get the tuk tuk up the steep bank…um yea.

Passing by the local Temple

Construction was everywhere. They are paving more roads. I don’t know why, but it kind of made me sad.

Locals strolling the streets

Home on stilts so they don’t lose everything in the common floods

More homes on stilts

Gorgeous kiddos playing

I thought they were cattle….nope, water buffalo. Soooo skinny!

After about 20 minutes, we arrived at our destination: a family’s home where they hand-make silk items for sale. Not only do they make silk items for sale, but they make the actually silk….with silkworms….there….in their house. Amazing. They invited us in for water and fruit, then showed us how all of it works and even let us try our hand at it. We left with some goodies of course :). What a fun way to spend the afternoon. After another gut-wrenching trip across the river, we zigzagged through the city taking in the sights and arrived back at our hotel spent.  Another quiet evening on the rooftop enjoying the views and rehashing our day.

Serene road leading up to the family’s home we visited

Making silk scarves!

Ava was a tropper and our hosts so kind!

Silkworms in action!

Love the colors of this pattern- to be made into clothes, curtains, pillowcases, and more!

Sunday we called upon Polo again to take us around. This time we wanted to check out some shopping. He took us to both the popular Russian Market as well as the Central Market. The Russian Market gots its name from back when the Russians had a lot of influence and stake in PP. The name stuck. We enjoyed both markets- though the Russian Market was more my style. They had tons of stalls selling western type clothes for $5- I’m talking Banana Republic, Old Navy, Gap, & more factory items that don’t make the cut to send to the USA. That plus loads of Cambodian silk scarves and items and it was a fun time! The Central Market was more cheap knock-offs and touristy items but still fun to look about.

Old lady selling meat in a hammock!

So much stuff- everywhere!! A tad overwhelming but if you look, some great finds!

She was pooped after our shopping spree- LOL!

For lunch we strolled along the riverfront to the FCC. Amazing open-air restaurant serving up a delicious asian-western fusion that was perfect alongside their mouthwatering pitchers of Sangria. We loved this little break! As an added bonus, just next door was a shop by the name of Happy Painting. Stephane Delapree is a french-born Canadian artist who does amazing cartoon-like depictions of Cambodian life. A friend of ours told us to check him out (she also was the source of numerous other restaurants recommendations for us). We absolutely fell in love with his work and bought an original and a screen print copy to take home and frame. If you find yourself in Cambodia- check him out. Such vibrant and beautiful depictions! As an added bonus, he led us a few doors down to his favorite Italian resultant for dinner. Sounds crazy right- Italian in Cambodia? But wow, it was heavenly. The Chef is Italian and moved to Cambodia, fell in love, and thus his restaurant came to be. Side note, the western food that we indulged on while in PP was some of the best I’ve had since living in Asia and now I know why. Tons of people go to Cambodia to work for various NGO’s and end up staying because they fall in love with it and make a living doing what they know. Have I told you how much I love this country?! I wish I could give you the name of this hole in the wall but I cannot find the business card and I just can’t remember. Just head to FCC and its a few doors away. Trust me. Worth it.

FCC- super cool open air restaurant along with riverfront.

Ava was enjoying the view from the FCC

Momma enjoyed some yummy Sangria!!

Finally Monday arrived and we got ourselves ready for a huge morning we have been waiting for all weekend: we had a big meeting date with the folks on the ground with Transitions Global. For those of your who don’t know, Transitions Global provides restorative care for the female victims of the sex trafficking trade in Cambodia. We were introduced to them via Abolition International, of whom we are huge supporters of. About a week prior to our trip I saw on a FB feed something about TG and I realized they had an operation in PP. Immediately I emailed my contact at AI and within a day he connected me to the folks at TG and they were all too happy to spend some time with us, showing us around their operation, and introducing us to their staff and their rescued girls. I cannot divulge any names of their buildings nor show you pictures due to safety reasons for the girls rescued as well as the amazing workers who are helping them. But I can tell you a little bit about what we learned.

I hope I do TG some justice here…..TG works on a smaller scale, allowing up to 20 girls at a time in their program between the ages of 13-18. If there are younger or older girls referred to them, there are plenty of other NGO’s in PP ready and willing to take them in. TG is specific with how they operate. They provide housing for the victims, and equally as important, they also provide schooling for them & counseling. They bring in teachers & counselors (many of those we met Americans) and they teach these sweet, innocent, kind, warm, and loving girls that they CAN have a life after being victims of the horrific sex trafficking trade. There IS a way out. They run a tight ship what with curfews, homework, chores, reward charts, counseling sessions, dress up & play time, but all of it gives these girls a stable and safe place to heal and to grow up so that they can eventually transition to a life on their own where they have knowledge of worth and skill sets to make a life for themselves. They need to heal both physically as well as emotionally. It’s been a rough road for these girls and the rest of their lives is just waiting for them to explore. They need a safe shelter to heal and to learn and to grow into the women God created them to be.

Did you know that in the sex trafficking industry within Cambodia, sexual acts start for as little as $3?! Did you know that most of the victims are sold from their own families selling them for money so that they can stay afloat?

It’s all just horrific.

David and I walked away (with Ava) with tears in our eyes. Meeting these girls who were just so sweet and learning from the workers how the system operates was something I will never forget as long as I live. It was a game changer folks. We’ve always been supporters of anti-sex trafficking organizations but now we have been given the gift of action. We know that beyond David’s work in KL, God has meant for us to do more here and I am excited to explore what that is and how it will pan out. Something to pray about & to stay tuned in for….

We loved Polo and our time in Phnom Penh!!

What a lovely, lovely, lovely city: Phnom Penh, Cambodia, you have stolen our hearts.

She was wiped out after our long weekend of fun! We loved you PP!!

Until next time, take action~

Kimbra