Day 5

After a few of us overslept this morning (*ahem* Ms Catalano), we flew to phnom penh in the shortest flight ever. After a little confusion regarding the baggage, we finally got our luggage and said hello to our new bus driver/tour guide. We found that Phnom Penh was very, very different to Siem Reap because of how crowded the city was and how not tourist friendly or calm it was. When we finally reached the hotel we were less than overjoyed at the very cambodian lunch (the rice was amazing, no joke). We then took the bus to the Tabitha foundation headquarters, where we met Jan, the founder of the organization and were amazed by her interesting stories about what cambodian people have been through from the Khmer rouge. This was unexpected as we thought we were just getting an orientation before we started the house building the next day, instead we listened to gruesome stories which helped us understand the significance of what we are going to do and how much those houses will mean to those poor families who have only known sadness. Later on we visited the Tabitha shop where some of us bought unique souvenirs from the foundation such as Ms J-cat's can tab bag.

After this we took the bus to Tuol Sleng, the genocide museum where we were shown by a tour guide horrific pictures and tools that detailed the cruelty of the Khmer Rouge. It was very difficult for the majority of people to witness these depictions of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot's regime. FOr the first time during our visit to Cambodia, we experienced pouring rain to the point where the roads were flooded. Due to this we decided to have an early dinner, without first passing through our AMAZING hotel. We went to Friends restaurant for dinner, a restaurant run by children saved from streets of Phnom Penh. The food was surprisingly good (especially the dessert). Everyone enjoyed their meals, and the group was split into two tables. Mr Rowat's table had a very fun game called "The Fork-Spoon Game". In the end it was a fun night for a long day. Can't wait for tomorrow!

Authors: Saaz, Yael, Mayank, Moeko



Day 5