Khmer Style

It has been awhile.  Where could I possibly begin?  Let's just fast-forward to Cambodia because I just arrived back after a nine day vacation there.

There are many reasons why I love SE Asia, but the number one reason has got to be the contrast.  I left one of the richest, most developed countries in the world, flew less than three hours, and arrived in a country that is totally different, and nearly an opposite.  Although Cambodia is a third world country, do not assume any negativity.  The people were extremely nice, the food was cheap... I loved it there!

I spent my time with my friend Derek and many of his friends.  It was so encouraging to find that Derek has a large friendship circle made up of people from several different Christian NGO's in Cambodia.  I had the chance to meet many of them.  I was most excited to hear each person's story.  How on Earth did they arrive in Cambodia's capital city, Phnom Penh, after growing up in Iowa?!  The stories revealed to me that our life plan thankfully is not created by us.

Major Happenings in Cambodia:
1) Many people don't know that less than 40 years ago Cambodia experienced a three year genocide that wiped out nearly 3 million people from their population of 8 million.  I had the chance to visit one of the hundreds of killing fields and a prison in Phnom Penh that were used during the Khmer Rouge genocide.  I have never seen anything like it and I still feel as if every part hasn't registered in my brain yet.  It truly is unbelievable what humans are capable of; luckily, we have the opportunity to use those capabilities for good.
2) I scratched another one of the seven modern wonders of the world off my list, Angkor Wat.  Derek and I spent two and a half days in the city of Siem Reap.  Much different than the capital city, it was full of tourists, hotels, a large variety of restaurants, shows, and many fish spas (a fish spa is a pool of water containing small fish who will gladly eat the dead skin off of your feet for hours, of course I tried it)!  The Angkor temples were incredible.  Still standing after 700 years, the temples were mostly architecturally sound and full of amazing wall artwork.
3) One day I had pumpkin pancakes, muffins, doughnuts, and bread.  Leaves aren't falling, but I can do my best to experience fall.


I could go on about my time in Cambodia, but I would much rather tell you the rest in person.  Plus, I just got back today.  I still need to figure out what I actually learned.  As always, thanks for reading and have an incredible day!