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Cambodia 2022
  • Katie Burke
  • Stephen Burke

Cambodia 2022

A 22-day adventure by Katie & Stephen Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 17, 2022
    Cambodia 2022

    It's about to start!

    September 17, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Just arrived at BNE International with hours to spare. Flight leaves 11.50pm (way past my bedtime!)

  • Cambodia 2022
    1We arrived and are waiting for our driver.
    We were then taken to our hotel. Note how high the kerb needs to be in this monsoonal location.Then time for lunch. By time time we found the perfect spot we were hot, remedied by ice cold soda11We strolled the high street shopping precinct.1and enjoyed less urban space along the river near our hotel.And finally, we obeyed the stop sign which was conveniently outside a day spa...3... By having an hour long massage. Bliss! I declare day 1 a success!

    Day 1 in Siem Reap

    September 18, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    We have arrived in Cambodia. The flight into Siem Reap Airport was spectacular. It's hard to describe how much land is currently covered by water during the monsoon. It stretched on endlessly! We were greeted after customs by our driver "Ma" who explained how wonderful it is to have foreigners in Cambodia once again. Losing the tourist trade has been devastating to the country and many businesses are still not open and those that are open are very quiet. But even though the main roads felt much quieter than expected, we still feel like we're taking our lives into our hands when we try to cross the road! Crossings? Forget it!Read more

  • Cambodia 2022
    One story of living through the Khmer Rouge atrocities told through paintings. Harrowing.Some of the many skulls recovered from mass graves on site.1So many vegan cafes, so little time!1

    Birthday adventures in Siem Reap

    September 19, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    Today I really wanted to just walk around and get more of a feel for this vibrant city. We began at Bayon Pastry School - a wonderful social enterprise training up girls from underprivileged backgrounds. It's a year-long program that provides housing with the training, which also includes internships at top notch restaurants. It's part of a larger program that also runs a school and green farming project. Oh - and the food was sensational! We then strolled to the Royal Residence and gardens, where the temple of Phomcheck Phomchom stands; which was particularly busy this week during the festival of Pchum Ben - a 15 day long festival during which time families pay respects to their ancestors. In order to get off our feet for a bit we took a tuk tuk out to the Killing Fields memorial. Not a joyful thing to do on a birthday, but a profound experience. We then made our way to the Old Markets, but didn't spend long (feeling bad that we're not really interested in shopping, which is disappointing to the stall holders who really thought we should buy things!) Then off to lunch at a great vegan restaurant, followed by ... another massage! But I'm the birthday girl, so I can have another massage, right?!Read more

  • Cambodia 2022
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    Bonus birthday

    September 19, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    And a little bonus birthday post: Steve booked us into a fancy pants dinner venue and had advised them it was my birthday. The staff surprised me with flowers, a song, and a rather unique dessert. We got a laugh out of the message written in chocolate (apparently Steve didn't advise of my feminist leanings or my doctorate ;)Read more

  • Cambodia 2022
    1Angkor Wat at sunrise. Clouds meant it wasn't as spectacular as usual. I didn't notice!
    Ta Phrohm. My favourite temple! I love the harmony between nature and buildings.2The trees and stones now mutually support one another.Our guide Chhay. I wish I could offer him a scholarship to attend uni in Australia, as is his dream.2Me being a show-off in Ta Nei where we were all alone.

    Temples and bikes

    September 20, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    Today began early for the sunrise tour of Angkor Wat, followed by a bike tour of the surrounding villages, jungle, and three other temples: Ta Phrohm (favourite!), Ta Nei, and Angkor Thom. We have come at such an ideal time: while tourism is picking up - much to the joy of the people who rely upon it so much for income - it is still only about 1/10th of the numbers usually seen. We consequently enjoyed walking through the temples without the usual crowds, and at Ta Nei, we were the only ones there. The temples were all built around the 12th or 13th century, and while there has been much devastation (often from wars or deliberate vandalism from the Khmer Rouge), they are still incredibly "in-tact" for sites now 800-900+ years old. Our guide, Chhay, was so knowledgeable and a great companion. He was a Buddhist Monk for 3.5 years and he has a passion for education, believing it is more important than money. He also had a wicked wit! Our bike tour wove through muddy village streets, through the jungle, to each of the temples, across a river, and finally, around the wall of Angkor Thom. It was such a fantastic way to see this incredible region. Trip Advisor is getting a five star review for today!Read more

  • Cambodia 2022

    Monsoon season

    September 21, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    We came prepared for Cambodia's monsoon season and so far have been lucky with the weather, with rainstorms usually hitting early morning and late afternoon when we're not out and about. But today the skies have opened well and truly. Our poor hotel staff were battling a river through the reception and outside, the reason for high gutters became apparent (but they weren't high enough!) The poor street stall owners across the street started to see their wares inundated, and local dogs seeking shelter were shooed out of the stores. And in the middle of all of this, we heard music blaring from a vehicle driving at walking pace, followed by a funeral procession of mourners, a float with the coffin surrounded by monks and family, then more mourners, all slowly making their way to the nearby pagoda in the pouring rain. (Not filmed out of respect). With all of these goings on, we were not too bothered that our pick up for Kulin Mountain was over an hour late.Read more

  • Cambodia 2022
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    2Entrance to the Pagoda with our little tour group.

    Kulen Mountain

    September 21, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Today's adventures took us up Kulen Mountain. It's a place of stunning natural beauty, and also of historical significance: in 802, King Jayavarman II proclaimed independence in this area from Java and later  Udayaditavarman II made it the capital of the empire, constructing many temples and residences. We visited the reclining Buddha, which is an 8m long statue carved out of a single large sandstone rock. Estimates are that it was carved in the 16th century. We then visited Kulen waterfall, which was in full fury after this morning's deluge. It was a great day also meeting interesting people from Belgium, Malaysia and Nashville USA.Read more

  • Cambodia 2022
    One of the floating shops. Many of the women had their children with them.

    Kampong Phluk floating village

    September 22, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌧 29 °C

    Kampong Phluk is a village that exists at the edge of Tonle Sap Lake, which is the largest lake in South East Asia. In the monsoon season the reason for the 6 to 9metre stilts becomes very apparent. I utterly loved our time exploring this region, starting with traditional markets in the nearby town, followed by a boat ride to the floating village, where we were able to walk on the only dry land in the area, seeing the local pagoda and walking between a row of houses perched at the edge of this land strip. My favourite moment of the day was when a group of children congregated under a house at rows of desks called out to us "Do you speak English?" They cheered as we came close and invited us into their English speaking class. This is run by volunteers through the Pages Cambodian Fund. We chatted with them as best we could and shared photos and videos of kangaroos and looked at the globe to see where Australia is. Our trip then took us on a paddle ride through the mangrove forest, where entrepreneurial women had set up floating shops on their boats. Somehow we ended up buying chips that we didn't want for prices higher than in Australia 🤣 Our guide, Sok, out together a natty little video of the day... Enjoy!Read more

  • Cambodia 2022

    Kulen elephant sanctuary

    September 24, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    What an incredible experience it was to spend time with elephants in their natural jungle setting! Kulen Elephant Sanctuary is a 300 hectare wildlife reserve where elephants who were formerly used to give tourists rides around Bayon temple, now live free of exploitation. Even more interesting is that some of these elephants may have been used (and abused) by the Khmer Rouge before being taken to the temple work. What changes these majestic and gentle giants have witnessed! Hopefully they are happy and free now, even if they have to put up with tourists! We spent the afternoon strolling along with them as they wove their way through the jungle, eating, mud bathing, and finishing off with a hose off.Read more

  • Cambodia 2022
    Sardines in a bus!
    Victory Guest House2Mis Moi's domainPub streetWhat a welcome to Treak School!InductionInduction2Moi ❤️

    Let the games begin!

    September 25, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    The real reason for our trip to Cambodia started yesterday with the progressive arrival on Sunday of 12 UniSQ Education students, ready and very excited to work with local teachers in Treak Community school. The guest house where we are staying increasingly sprang to life with excited chatter which must be loved by Miss Moi, our wonderful host, who struggled to keep her business afloat through COVID. We had an official welcome at 5pm by Michael (director at Treak), and just as we prepared to walk to dinner, the heavens opened! A fleet of tuk tuks were hastily arranged by the fabulous Moi and off we sped to our first dinner together at a Khmer restaurant (but alas, closed! So Mexican it was!) We then strolled through Pub Street (sensory overload!) on our way back to our accommodation. Today we had our induction at Treak with Michael. It's a student free day, and a good opportunity for the child safety induction and other important information. The students are so excited about what lies ahead and were so engaged.Read more

  • Cambodia 2022
    A Khmer lunch is cooked each day for us and is sensational!

    Treak School

    September 28, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    The UniSQ students have slotted into the daily life of Treak School so well. Many of the children have emerging English skills which has presented a good challenge for our students who are quickly adapting and modifying their approach; such excellent insight into some of the challenges of their future diverse classrooms. We are also quickly learning how some of our cultural norms are considered rude here (eg pointing) and we're all constantly berating ourselves when we slip up. Each day represents two "shifts": morning and afternoon. Children attend the school for only half a day (either morning or afternoon), and then attend the other half at the local government run school which only really covers maths and Khmer. Treak focuses on enriching their learning and opening up opportunities by teaching English, science, art, and recently, a personal and social capabilities course. The work they do is so important and has great potential to transform the lives of these children who otherwise may only ever consider farming or a small handful of other subsistence jobs.Read more

  • Cambodia 2022

    Phare Cambodian Circus

    September 29, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    I've been slack in keeping up to date so these next few posts come late. Last Thursday we attended Phare, the Cambodian circus. This is one of the many wonderful social enterprises here in Cambodia, and was he droppingly (is too a word!) good. I'll let the information from the website and the attached photos tell their story:
    Phare artists are students and graduates from Phare Ponleu Selpak’s (www.phareps.org) vocational training center in Battambang. The association was formed in 1994 by 9 young men coming home from a refugee camp after the Khmer Rouge regime. They were greatly helped during that time by an art teacher using drawing classes as therapy and wanted to share this new skill among the poor, socially deprived and troubled youngsters in Battambang. They founded an art school and public school followed to offer free education. A music school and theatre school were next and finally, for the kids who wanted more, the circus school. Today more than 1,200 pupils attend the public school daily and 500 attend the alternative schools. Phare Ponleu Selpak also has extensive outreach programs, trying to help with the problems highlighted in their own tales.

    Phare The Cambodian Circus offers these students and graduates somewhere to hone their skills and a place to earn a decent wage. Money that will take them out of poverty and give them self-respect and freedom. From https://pharecircus.org/    Read more

  • Cambodia 2022
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    Back to the temples

    October 1, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌧 30 °C

    Last Saturday was the students' turn to visit the temples, and even though I'd seen them only 1.5 weeks before, I unselfishly traipsed along with them (purely to support them in a professional capacity 😉). I enjoyed the different perspectives I gained by entering and moving through each temple from a different direction, and hearing different stories from our guides. And while the weather was dreadfully hot, it meant we got some better pics of the Angkor Wat sunrise.Read more

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    My leisurely Sunday

    October 2, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    After such a huge week I very much needed a day of rest. This began with a light breakfast at Little Red Fox cafe (owned by an Australian so good coffee and great vegan options!) followed by a yoga class. My tuk tuk driver didn't understand my desired destination on the map and ended up giving me quite the detour but we eventually got there, laughing about the mix up. After yoga I had planned on a bit of lunch with Becca (on site coordinator) at a lovely little social enterprise cafe then back to my room for some rest, but we met up with some of the students and ended up strolling the streets of Siem Reap until dinner time! Not quite the physically restful day I'd planned, but leisurely all the same.Read more

  • Cambodia 2022
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    Plastic bricks (not of the Lego kind)

    October 4, 2022 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Treak Community School is part of a larger organisation, ConCERT (Connecting Communities, Environment & Responsible Tourism) with a vision to turn good intentions into the best possible help for disadvantaged people in Cambodia. One initiative they have developed in response to a range of needs is the creation of bricks using plastic waste. Each brick contains the equivalent of 20 plastic shopping bags. Not only does their manufacture sequester plastic waste (the plastic acts as aggregate), it creates jobs for people in the village, and the bricks are used to build toilets and even small houses for those in need (usually widows who are unable to work). We had the privilege of participating in making 100 bricks. We only need to do this 70 more times to make enough bricks for a house 😁The idea and formula all came from the fabulous Salin, seen in the last photo with her husband Michael (founder of ConCERT) son Lehow and Michael Senior who has just moved from England to live out his days in Cambodia. They are beautiful people with generous hearts and a great sense of humour.Read more

  • Cambodia 2022

    Australia Day. Yes, we changed the date!

    October 7, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    After three amazing weeks in Siem Reap (2 of these spent with the UniSQ students in Treak School) it was time to say goodbye. On our final day at the school, our UniSQ students led Australia Day activities, including art making inspired by Aboriginal processes of mark making to represent animal tracks (led by Bella, a proud Gunngari student), ball games (including tunnel ball) and singing and dancing. It was a huge hit with all involved and a fitting celebration to end our time in Treak. Tears may have been shed as we said goodbye that afternoon. I am so proud of our students and the way they rolled with a number of unexpected challenges and program changes, for the way they acted with integrity and excellence, and among it all, how they embraced every opportunity to have fun. I certainly hope this is the first of many such trips!Read more

    Trip end
    October 8, 2022
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