Sihanoukville

So on the next morning, Panneth came to my hotel early morning, and found a shared taxi for me to go to PP, and the plan was then take a bus from PP to Sihanoukville (where all the beaches are). It was my first and last experience of Cambodian shared taxi. I never knew how one could call a taxi. There are no signs on the taxi, and no phone number to call. I think he just drove around and asked the locals... Taxi usually implies a more comfortable option, but not in Cambodia. Standard seating in a shared taxi is 2 passengers at the front seat, (not including driver) and 4 at the back, not including babies. In my case, there were 2 babies plus 7 adults including me and drivers, cramped in a 4 doors Camery for 4 hours, in which half of it were bumpy dirt roads! I have 2 conclusions: 1) Nothing is impossible. 2) Camry is an extremely reliable car!

The trip from Pailin to PP cost me $12 US and lots of time. The taxi stopped for breakfast, lunch, 2 pee-stops, 1 gas, and 1 complete car wash before going into the city, I'm talking about washing the car inside out, and under, took almost an hour! It's probably because washing it there cost less than in the city. That made me missed my bus to Shianoukville in PP! The only way left was taking a taxi again. The driver was nice enough to ask around for me. The other taxi drivers weren't so nice though when quoting price. Because it was late in the day, and I'm a foreigner, they upped the price dramatically. First one quoted $60US! second one quoted $20US and I had to take 2 seats! Out of desperation, I took the 2nd offer.

Panneth originally came from Sihanoukville. He told me that hotels are very easy to find, prices are all listed in the central bus station. I guess he hasn't went back home for a while. When I get there, I was tired, it was dark, and I couldn't find any signs at all, all I could see was dozens of moto drivers asking you where you're going. I then tried to leave the scene, but one guy kept following. After a while, I realize I had to take a moto because it doesn't look like any hotels are near by. After a competition came in, I was able to get $1 US until I could find a hotel room. Lucky I took that offer because all the guest houses were full! We drove around for more than half an hour, until we got to this very old looking basic hut which called Lovely Guesthouse. There was 1 room left, in the far end corner. Inside was everything but 'lovely', the walls and ceiling are pealing off which seems to be from heavy leaking during the rain season. The room cost $4, cold shower, no AC, no mosquito net. Again, out of desperation I took it, and also because I prayed about it when on the moto. I think the name 'lovely' though is used to describe the people working there. It looks like a family run business. They all seems very caring, and not because they wanted extra money, especially when they saw my legs full of mosquito bites. The mom taught me to use blankets to cover the windows to prevent mosquitoes, the older daughter (the only one knew English) cooked me dinner, and later arranged the bus for me to Siem Reap for $7, and even called the guest house at Siem Reap for me. At the Lovely Guest House, I just didn't wanna go anywhere else...

But of course I had to go out. The next morning, I've booked for a scuba diving trip. The very same moto driver was there waiting for me! I thought it was a nice karma, and he looked nice enough, so I hopped on without asking how much. Big Mistake! I made a mistake in the location so we made a longer trip, at the end he charged me $4! Later I realize, he probably wanted to get back the money he wasted on fuel driving me around searching for a room last night! Lesson learned. Always always ask how much first!

At the diving center, no more scams, however the water wasn't exactly nice. The water looked nice enough from above, but when you get down there, the visibility was only like 3 - 4 feet. I felt I had a better experience in HK! Luckily, there were only 1 other client that day, and since I haven't dived for a while, since when I first got my PADI 5 years ago in HK, I needed the extra care to relearn almost everything! I didn't realize this until I was putting on my gear and ready to go down. I know, I'm always like that! :P Luckily my guide from Germany and the other client Ruth from Switzerland was very nice and didn't show any faces. Ruth even taught me few tricks afterward because I looked like I was struggling :p I did miss some of the dive because in the first round I did something wrong with my BCD, I lost control of my buoyancy and floated back up. Lucky we weren't too deep! And since the visibility was so bad, I don't think I missed much. Anyway, it was nice for me still, at least it was a good chance to practice diving again, as I don't have much chance to dive, and it's too expensive back home.

After diving, I took quite a hike through the rocks went to one beach to another, and finally went to a more quiet one, called Independence Beach, and sat down and enjoyed the sunset. I think it's the first time I ever sat in a pure white sand beach looking out at the endless ocean, with a direct sunset view! It was very nice! Few things I've noticed though, the sand in the nicer part of the beach seems to be imported in as it changes color in different area. Also there were security guards, and seems that locals were kept off the nicer parts. I sat in a lounger, which looks like belonging to the hotel behind, but since nobody came ask me to leave, I stayed there until the sun went down. Almost completely down, as I still have to get back before dark, before the burglars come out...

Pailin - volunteering work

Pailin is the place where I did volunteering work for Alliance Global Serve. I guess I'm kind of a special case for them, because I think usually people go in a team, and people usually have some kind of subsidies from church. I had neither. I was able to get free lunch and dinner at Panneth's place because of that :)

I have to say that for me, it seems the trip to Pailin wasn't finalized until the very very end. I mean the very end, because all along I wasn't able to contact Ka Lun, and couldn't confirm that AGS has made all the arrangements for me, even when I arrived Cambodia. I was only able to contact some local personnel nearby, who English wasn't very good. Thanks the Lord, everything was fine at the end!

At the beginning, I thought I was going to just hook up some computers, and then I can g do my own things there, but because of some parts failure, and my own inefficiency due to the fact that I haven't fixed a computer for some time, it took me 2 days to hook up everything! At one point I was worried that I would only be able to finish 1 or 2 computers, and I wouldn't know what to report back to AGS. Thank God, everything was finished as planned at the end.

At first, Ka Lun has planed quite a bit of activities for me, but due to various factors, most of them didn't happened. However, at the end I did met her English class. Even though they couldn't speak good English, I was able to communicate most of the time, but of course couldn't go very deep. Some of them even helped me out to fix the computers. I feel many of them are smart, and want to learn more. However they lack the resources and opportunities. In the very last night, we gathered at the church to have a little gathering. Nothing was planned, we just chatted, and at the end they showed me a Cambodian game. Now when I think back, I wish I have done more that night, and more initiations.

I originally planned for 3 days in Pailin. However because of lack of activities there, when chatting with Ka Lun about my original plan to go to the beach, she suggested me to leave one day early to go there. After some thoughts, I decided to take her advice. I'm still not sure if I've made the right decision, because it seems that I've done so little in Pailin and I don't know if the Lord would have shown me more if I have stayed for 1 more day.

I do have to admit that at the end I was worried about my health if I stayed longer. My guest house room was full of little mosquitoes, I already had bites everywhere on my legs and I was quite worried about malaria. But then I could have just easily switched to another hotel...

Pailin

After Kampot, I took the bus first to Battambang, then to the small town Pailin. There I met Ka Lun, the missionary from HK, and Panneth, the local pastor there.

Ka Lun is a typical HK girl, just finished her hotel management degree. She has been in Pailin for short term mission a couple times before, but this time she's staying here for 1 year. Her living condition is same as Panneth. There's no running water. Water is collected into a huge jar during rain season, then using a bucket to pour out water for different uses, like washing dishes, flushing the toilet, or taking a bath. There's no air conditioning or hot shower. Those are OK when nothing happens. But when you're sick, those things could become very valuable. There lots of diseases, and medical care is not good. I thought I was tough going to Cambodia on my own, but living in Pailin for a year, or even stay here for life, is just unthinkable for me! On the other hand, Ka Lun is considering staying here as a missionary for an even longer term! It is incredible how the Holy Spirit can stir up a person to give up so much in HK to come to a place like this to serve Him! I'm completely humbled by her example.

Panneth, whom Ka Lun is working with, is a very quiet man. When you talk to him, his response is always very short, and often lack elaborations. When I talked to him the first time on the phone, I thought he didn't want to talk to me. Later I found out he was a former Khmer Rough soldier, that explained a lots of things. Later when I had more chance to talk to him, I found that he's just as friendly as any other people there. I didn't ask him about the war, or how he became a pastor, because I didn't have time to build up the relationship and I didn't want to be too intruding, but I'm sure he has gone through a lot of things!

Pictures from Cambodia

After much work, here are my pictures from Cambodia with descriptions. Merry Christmas! :

Phnom Penh
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23700&l=7c979&id=545165722
Kampot
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23794&l=dfd03&id=545165722
Pailin
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23852&l=2b740&id=545165722
Sihanoukville
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23965&l=55857&id=545165722
Siem Reap
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=24101&l=f3380&id=545165722
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=24102&l=58cf8&id=545165722
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=24104&l=7a8ee&id=545165722
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=24105&l=4f27d&id=545165722

Kampot

Even though Angkor is the highlight for most people going to Cambodia, for me I enjoyed Kampot just as much. In some extend, I would rather stay in Kampot for the whole week than to spend the same time around the temples in Angkor. I've spent only 2 days in Angkor, and toured most of the important temples. It's a "been there, done that" kind of thing. But for Kampot, I've spent the same amount of time there, had much less to do there, but I didn't want to leave when it was time to go. It's that lay back feeling that attracted me.

The guest house I stayed in was a big factor I think. I stayed in a small little guest house called Hang Guest House. It's a little house hide away in the back road, facing the river. In the morning I would go to the front porch area where the restaurant is. At 7 when nobody's awake yet except for a few workers sweeping the floor preparing for business, and the little doggy sniffing around, looking for a morning pat, I would sit at the table facing the river and do my daily devotion. 1 or 2 fishing boats would pass by quietly. A cow or 2 wandered into the front yard tried to eat the grass, but little doggy tried to scare them off.

Pastor Ng - always happy

Before my trip, I was concerned about the local condition, so I asked Raymond Chan for some advice. He immediately urged me to contact Pastor Ng there because he was worried about me traveling alone there. That's how I got hooked up with Pastor Ng. (Pastor Ng actually is Drew Gor's uncle)

When I looked at the picture he sent me in the email before I met him, he looked like a very serious man. But after the first hour we met, I started to realize he actually is a lay back person, very kind, and like to laugh. He always wanted to help me. He has actually called couple times when I was traveling with Hisar, to see if we were OK! He laughed so hard when we told him we took Hisar's little car up to Bokor Hill where the roads are usually only driven by 4X4! It was kind of awkward though when he called us while we were at the massage :p

Currently he's ministering at a church there. When I went to the church, I thought I was in the children worship. But in fact in Cambodia, the majority of Christians are younger ones. It was interesting to hear them sing Khmer version of "在耶穌裡我們是好朋友", and hear Pastor Ng spoke in Khmer in his sermon! Their praise & worship was really long, and music was really loud! Their main instruments were the synthesizer and the electric drum, plugged into big speakers in a small room. Well, Cambodian always like it loud, as I found out later. At the end of the service, there was a sharing time, and it was very touching to see people came out to share without hesitation! Even though most of the sharings weren't really big thing. It was more like a chicken got lost and God helped get it back.

Hisar - a special encounter

Before my trip, Pastor Ng has introduced me to Hisar, an Indonesia missionary in Cambodia. He said he'll be able to show me around and help me out in Phnom Penh. We exchanged a few emails and I found out he has a kid center in Phnom Penh. He also teaches people in need to drive tuk-tuk or sell other stuff so they can help themselves get out of poverty. He's 2 years younger than me, and already he's doing so much. I was fascinated about his work and was quite looking forward to meet with him.

First day in Phnom Penh, after my walking tour around the city, I called his number from my hotel room. He immediately said he'll meet with me. He came to my hotel in 15 minutes and picked me up to have some coffee. He was extremely friendly, and showed much appreciation when I gave him the gifts for the kid center. He started telling me his stories, one after another. Soon I realize this person is really no ordinary person. God has done so much in his life, and he's really surrounded by miracles. He's the kind of person you'd read in books and see in movies. I've never dreamed of actually meeting someone in person like him, and hear the story first handed!

Before I've arrived in Cambodia, the Lord has spoke to me clearly that I need to finish the GFA book. After half way through the book, I know that God wants me to support either the GFA or someone directly. As I talked more and more with Hisar, I felt, perhaps God wants me to help him, and support his ministries, financially. However in a place like Cambodia, you don't just give away money like that, there are scams everywhere. For a careful person like me, this is just too wild for me.

Right before the trip, I've started to read about a very small country called Bhutan. Because of its first election, it was on the news, briefly. And I remembered this country from the documentary "The Other Final". For some reason this country fascinated me and I started to read more about this country. The peaceful and simple people, the beautiful highland landscape, it's isolation from materials and technologies, have caught my attention over the fact that I was about to leave for a trip I've been planning for months. I thought to myself, it would be so cool if someday I can go to this country!

As me and Hisar continued to chat, out of the blue he mentioned this country. I thought I heard wrong. But he continued, that when his work is finished in Cambodia, he wants to go to this country, and do exactly what he's doing in Cambodia! Although this is just in his very early stage of planning, the fact that he has this tiny little unknown country in his mind, and at the same time in mine, I knew God has been planning for this!

Later on, God through different ways told me the amount I need to give, and the way I need to send the money. It's just an incredible feeling that suddenly God spoke to me so clearly and directly.

As extraordinary as Hisar is, he's still a person, and he has his down time. When I met him, he was just about to run dry and stressed out by all the hard works surrounding him, as he later shared with me. When he heard that I was going to Kampot, he immediately offered to accompany me. In the following 2 days, our friendship grew as we traveled together. In our adventure together, we had our tough times, and we had our fun times. We had times of worries and frustration, and we had incredible times laughing our butts off!

We went back to Phnom Penh late Wednesday, and I missed his English class in the kid center. I still regret it, but at least I know what God wants me to do now.

My Cambodian trip continued as we parted. As he went back to his normal life, and I continued on my adventure, this special encounter with Hisar seems to have ended for now. However, it is not for God. Incredibly, on my last day in Cambodia, as I flew back from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, ready to take the flight back to HK, I bumped into him in the airport! He was just picking a friend up from the airport! We were so happy to see each other! It seems like as if God wants to remind me that I need to remember this person as I go back.

Phnom Penh - the first encounter

I know many people are very eager to know what happened in my trip to Cambodia, but so much has happened in the trip that I really don't know how to begin. I guess I'll tell it bit by bit.

No matter how much I've read about Cambodia before, Phnom Penh is still quite shocking to me at first. Thanks to Pastor Ng who picked me up from the airport and shown me around the city a little bit, I was able to settle in with a boost.

After a few instructions about the traffic from Pastor Ng, I've learned how to cross the road the Cambodian way: "Walk calmly, don't run, even if cars are charging toward you, the bikes will see you and steer away." Sometimes I find I have to walk toward the oncoming traffic so that they can make a way for you, otherwise you'll never be able to cross! On the first day, I can't believe I actually walked around the city all by myself!

Knowing the country has gone through such a terrible history, I find that Cambodians are surprisngly friendly. People always smile at you, and not everyone are trying to squeeze money out of your pocket. Yes, in the Cambodian point of view, when you don't speak Khmer, you are rich. There's a big possibility that people being friendly to you just because they want something from you, but in most cases, Khmer people are just very simple people, the only barrier is the language.

However, the country has a very deep root in their idolism. For hundreds of years, it has been the same way. In front of many homes, you'd see miniature temples posted up, which supposedly housed a god who would protect their home. When you see Angkor Wat, it is just a super scaled up version of these little temples.

Before my trip, I felt very clearly that the Lord wanted me to finish the Gospel For Asia (GFA) book. As the book says, I know that the gospel can bring these people out of their hardship and poverties. However, there are still lots of work to be done in this place, as I discovered later on.

When I went to the national museum, there are lots of sculptures of different gods, some have missing body parts. However, whether the sculptures are intact or not, they are still continued to be worshiped. It is hard to understand why they would worship a god with missing head or arms, ..etc. Sometimes people would sell offerings to give to the gods. When I was walking around the national museum slowly, trying to appreciate the marvelous hand work on these ancient sculptures, an old lady with a very kind face smiled at me, and spoke to me with a very soft voice, wanted to sell little flowers to me to offer to the god. When I see her innocent face, suddenly I remembered what I've read in the GFA book, it suddenly made me feel really sad. Because despite her kindness, her soul is trapped unknowingly by the darkness.