A week away in Cambodia

Hey all! This week our school is doing a annual PEAK trip. This is a week where our school works with programs either here our out of the country to make trips for middle schoolers and high schoolers to participate in. This year I had the opportunity to go to Cambodia.

Along with 21 others we boarded the early morning flight to Cambodia. From the minute we landed we were greeted by Camp International members and they took us to where we will be staying for the next few weeks to come. 

We stayed in a little village called Beng Malea - in a camp provided by Camps International. This gives you a rural experience and shows you how most of Cambodia's population lives. It was great. We were accustomed to taking cold showers twice a day, having great home cooked meals and enjoying spending the night with our friends, gazing at the stars.

The first day we visited Beng Malea temple. Just like all temples in Cambodia this temple had a beautiful history which shaped the beauty of the temple that stands there today. We went to go get blessed by a local monk- which was very enchanting and fun. We also got to walk through a village and meet some of the people. This opened our eyes and we got to see how people lived. This made us proud of what we were going to do the very next day. 

The next day we did multiple things. We helped mix concrete, and make poles for the school room they were building for the children.  Along with that we were able to teach some of the children that attend the school english and play with them. The children ages went from 4-17. The little ones smiled so much that it hurt to look at them. This made me realise that you have to be happy with what you have. These children were poor, but they were much happier. 

The next day we spent all day seeing new sights. We hiked up a mountains and at the top we played in the waterfalls and ate local food. This was both very fun and super cultural. Everyone was playing in the water fall and children were laughing.  Finally we came back to the camp in time to play with the children once again. We went to bed that night super happy. 

The last and final day we visited all the tourist destinations. We went to go see Angkor Wat, the Tomb Raider Temple and the Four heads temple. The only thing you have to know about Cambodia is that it is HOT. HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT!  We ate in a local restaurant (which served amazing food) and booked in to our well deserved hotel. 

This hotel isn't the Marriot, or the The Raddison Blu but was the probably the prettiest hotel I have ever been in. The beds were comfortable, the showers were super nice and the scenery was gorgeous. 

That night we had fun looking through the night market and we spent all our money on cute souvenirs. We danced to the finally cool weather and laughed while we drank our cokes on the bus back to the hotel. 

The next day was short, for we had to leave in the end. We visited the floating village, the silk markets, the artisan markets and were able to bask in trinkets. We left early in the afternoon and took off for home. 

This trip was eye opening. It was enjoyable, team building and super fun. If you are looking for a bonding experience and a different trip from fancy hotels to rural villages, I recommend checking out Camps International, Dragonfly or Asia Pacific Adventure for a service filled, laughable moment making trip of a lifetime.