Siem Reap & Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is the main reason most travelers come to Cambodia. I finally got the chance to go last weekend. When I decided to move to Cambodia, I told many friends to visit but only one took me seriously and actually booked a ticket. Sheena decided to plan a trip to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam because of my relocation. I love that she just went with it! Luckily, I had a 3 day weekend thanks to a Buddhist holiday called Meak Buchea Day. This holiday also coincided with Valentine’s Day and I saw hearts, flowers and teddy bears everywhere but no displays for the Buddhist holiday.  In case you’re wondering about the holiday, I’m not quite sure what it is but it has something to do with monks listening to Buddha’s preaching.  

Sheena arrived in Siem Reap from Thailand and I met her there on Thursday night. I took a half day from work and got on a 12:30 bus with a pretty reliable company called Giant Ibis. They are pricier than the rest but provide modern buses, water, a snack and wifi. Most bus companies advertise the trip as 5 hours long but realistically it is about seven hours. Travelers in Asia learn to add extra time for all their bus trips pretty early on. There is even a formula, add half of the advertised time to the total advertised time. I spent my seven hours chatting with a lovely Australian couple, probably in their fifties, about their visit to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. They had so many wonderful things to say about Cambodia and were sad to be heading back home to Turkey in a few days. It was refreshing to see an older couple enjoying the joys of travel instead of the usual young backpacker.

Sheena and I stayed at a local guest house called Victory Guest House. It is owned and operated by a Khmer family who are extremely accommodating. They provide free pickup, free breakfast and free water. It was about a 15 min walk to the night market and pub street but we enjoyed the neighborhood and the daily walks.

Thursday

On our first night we decided to check out Haven for dinner. Haven is a local restaurant that operates as a social business. It has a training program for disadvantaged youths where young adults learn life skills, work training, computer courses, and English lessons. The restaurant also provides each trainee with housing, meals, medical care and an allowance. It isn’t for the budget traveler looking for a $2 meal but you can eat quite well for $4-$6. I had the cashew chicken curry and Sheena had the fish amok. We were both very happy with our choices and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful ambiance. Their garden is so serene and was the perfect place to share stories and catch up on each other’s lives

. They close pretty early so we continued the storytelling over some drinks at a nearby restaurant.

I couldn’t get a read on the character of the city during our walks because everything revolved around tourism. You really have to dig and go off the beaten path to get a sense of the real Siem Reap. I found myself missing Phnom Penh.

Friday

We started our day pretty early in hopes of catching the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Surprisingly, it was really easy to find a tuk tuk at 5am.  And we weren’t the only ones with the idea. The ticket booth was packed with visitors. They offer 1 day, 2 day, and 7 day passes. The pass allows admittance to over 50 temples! We opted for a 1 day pass for $20. The ticket agents make you take a photo and then you get a personal ticket with your very own photo. It was too early for me to put two and two together and as a result I look pretty unenthused in my photo.  

Once we got our tickets, we headed back into our tuk tuk and headed to the Angkor Wat. The tuk tuks drop you off at the entrance and then everyone walks in the dark towards the temple. There were hawkers selling everything from guide books to flash lights. Luckily, there were enough people in the crowd that we just followed them in without worrying too much about where we were going. Once inside at 5:45, we staked out a prime spot to watch the sunrise. There was so much suspense and excitement within the crowd but the whole thing was pretty anticlimactic because of cloud cover.

When we realized the sunrise was not going to be anything spectacular, we decided to start exploring the grounds. We entered Angkor Wat from the left portico and were blown away right at the beginning by the details. Ramayana stories were etched in the walls and their intricacy was amazing. There are also over 3000 apsaras carved into the walls and each one is unique. The UNESCO world heritage site is viewed as a national treasure and it was easy to see why. It was built in the 12^th century and covers over 200 hectares. It was a hindu temple at first and then became a Buddhist temple. 

We took our time and explored each and every room open to us. The upper level was closed during our visit. Close to the end of the visit, I got a little present from up above. I felt a small thud on m head and knew what it was instantly. I think I was seven years old the last time a bird pooped on me. Thankfully, Sheena had no problem helping me clean it off my hair. After easily spending, three hours at the temple, we headed back to find our tuk tuk driver to visit the next temple.

Our next stop was the south gate of Angkhor Thom. Dehydrated and hungry, we were too busy eating and drinking in the tuk tuk to notice the beautiful statues. Luckily, our tuk tuk driver called our attention to the gate and told us to take pictures. Only then did we realize where we were and the amazing structures around us. There were 54 gods on the left and 54 demons on the right.

We got back on the tuk tuk and headed towards Bayon, known as the temple of faces. Angkor Wat was interesting because of its size and architecture but Bayon was much more engaging because of all the different faces. We spent about an hour exploring here and the nearby structures. And then things got a little tricky. Our tuk tuk driver pointed at a spot on our map and told us to meet him there once we were done. When we went to the spot, we couldn’t find him. We ended up walking back and forth from the temples to the exit three times in the scorching sun trying to find him. We finally gave up after 45 minutes and spent another 10 minutes bargaining with a new tuk tuk driver. We felt really guilty about leaving our first guy but didn’t know what else to do.

We carried our guilt to our next and final temple, Ta Phrom. It was such a special temple. It has not been restored like some of the larger temples and as a result it has a really mystical feel to it. Trees grow amongst the ruins and the roots have taken over the structure. The environment felt other world like and reminded me of Pan’s Labyrinth. Ta Phrom is also famous because scenes in Tomb Raider were filmed here.

After six hours of temple explorations, we headed back to the hotel. We were exhausted, starving and dehydrated. We decided to go out for a quick lunch before we could get too comfortable at the hotel. We chose Hive Café for lunch, a small café ran by two Australians. I had a vegetable curry pasty with fries and Sheena had the Beef Lok Lak. Both were fresh and delicious. We headed back to the hotel pretty quickly because we were filthy. I was so excited to shower and I don’t think a shower has ever felt so good. We both passed out fairly quickly after our respective showers.

Closer to sunset, we headed out to explore the Old market, Pub Street, Night market and the Art market across the river. During our walk, we kept seeing signs for massages and finally decided to get a foot massage. I opted for a 30 min foot massage and a 30 minute body massage. When it was time for my body massage, I was taken inside and I assumed it would be with oil like the foot massage. I proceeded to take of my shirt and my masseuse started laughing and told me put my shirt back on. That was pretty embarrassing but hilarious at the same time. Like Thai massages, Cambodia massages are with your clothes on and at certain points, they even sit on top of you! The massages were amazing and ridiculously cheap. We only spent $5 for an hour long massage.

For dinner, we opted for a casual road side spot. We went to Mama’s fried rice on the corner of Sok San Street and, you guessed it, it had many different varieties of fried rice. Our meal was simple and each dish was only $2.50. We felt like treating ourselves afterwards and grabbed some ice cream for the walk back to the guest house.

Saturday

We got a late start on Saturday, well late compared to the morning before. It was nice to wake up around 9 am and enjoy breakfast in the guest house’s courtyard. We really didn’t have a plan for the day except to take it easy.

Sheena’s laptop had stopped working in Thailand and we spotted a certified Apple store during our walks and were hopeful they could fix the problem. Sure enough they did and it only took them all of ten minutes. The best part was they didn’t charge a thing. I was amazed at the amazing customer service and Sheena was happy to have a working laptop again.

The trend of free things kept continuing. We wanted to get our bus tickets back to Phnom Penh from Giant Ibis. When we got to their offices, they would only take money for one ticket and we never understood why. We left with two tickets and were confused about why they would only let us pay for one ticket.

We decided to spend our afternoon at the New Leaf Book Café. It’s a book shop, café, restaurant and a rooftop bar.  And they donate 100% of their profits to local causes. The space is very inviting and perfect for enjoying a quiet read. A colleague had given me a book called, “First they killed me father” by Loung Ung for the long bus ride and I decided to crack it open at New Leaf. Three hours never went by so quickly! My book was engaging and my food was delicious. Sheena and I ordered fried morning glory with rice for lunch and really enjoyed the fresh flavors of our meal. I loved everything about the experience. We only left because a large training group came in for a late lunch and it became too loud for us to read.

Before heading back to the hotel, we decided to visit one of the oldest temples in Siem Reap called Wat Bo. There was a lot construction around the temple, mostly new homes for the monks. This was a nice visit because it was so quiet and there were barely any tourists. It felt like we were discovering it on our own. A local student opened up the temple for us and we got to see some well preserved paintings from the 19^th century. Most depicted the story or Rama and Sita. The Buddha statue was also very beautiful. It was also really nice to chat with the teenager and hear about his life.  He was very excited to practice his English with us and hoped to visit America one day.

We headed back to the hotel to seek refuge from the heat and for an afternoon siesta. I really wanted to finish my book and decided to curl up in a papasan in the courtyard of our guesthouse.  The book is an autobiography and Luong, the author and narrator, is a survivor of the Khmer Rouge. She tells us about her family’s move from Phnom Penh to the Cambodian country side with the hopes of escaping death. The story is told from the perspective of a 5 year old and it was so interesting to hear a child’s take on the barbaric period.

While reading the book, our first tuk tuk driver from Friday stopped by to collect his fare. He apparently waited for a few hours for us and finally left around 4pm. I apologized profusely told him we searched for him for over 45 minutes. After apologizing profusely, he took the money and left. I am so glad he came back because I felt really guilty about not paying him.

We had some to kill before our 7pm Beatocello performance. I decided to pass the time by taking a nap while Sheena enjoyed a few episodes of her favorite shows. After a few busy weeks at work, this relaxed pace was such a treat. The concert is free and held every Saturday night at Kantha Bopha hospital. Dr. Richter plays a cello while sharing stories about his work and its significance for Cambodian children. Even though, his work and hospital are extremely important, we left after 45 minutes because the speeches became a little too preachy for us.

We opted to walk back to the town center because the weather was so nice. In the day, you barely walk for five minutes without sweating so a breezy evening walk is such a treat. Tired of Cambodia food, we decided to head to Curry Walla for some Indian. Once seated, the manager came up to Sheena to ask where she was from and gave us some extra attention because she was Indian. I thought it was pretty funny that he did not think I was South Asian. The food was pretty disappointing and we couldn’t understand why it had such great reviews. We called it a night pretty early because we had an early bus back to Phnom Penh the next morning.

Sunday

I forgot to mention this earlier but another perk of going with Giant Ibis is that they pick you up for free from your hotel. This was great because we didn't have to worry about finding the bus terminal. We enjoyed a light breakfast and were picked up by a Giant Ibis shuttle. I was not looking forward to the seven hour journey but was happy to go home.

During the ride, staring at the countryside had a whole new meaning to me. I am so glad Jessica lent me the book because it was really fitting for the trip. I could imagine thousands of families marching on the dusty roads to the labor camps and villages patrolled by the Khmer Rouge. Another humbling reminder that my life is fairly easy compared to what others have endured. Oh and the bus concierge got a call a few hours into the trip telling him to collect the ticket fare from us so we ended up paying for the second ticket after all.

We arrived back home around 4pm and it was so nice to be back. It was great to experience Siem Reap but I prefer the hustle and bustle of the capital. I never thought I would miss Phnom Penh so much. 

Photo Walk in Phnom Penh

Two weeks ago, Jenny and I went on a photo walk around one of the slums in Phnom Penh. The walk was arranged by local group called Photo Walk Cambodia and they arrange meetups about once every 6 weeks. This was a great way to explore a new area of the city while feeling safe enough to capture the highlights on camera. I finally got around to uploading the photos today and have included some of my favorites for you. I hope you enjoy seeing Phnom Penh through my eyes.

Nurturing Young Minds

Back in December, I visited four villages in Kep and Takeo province to check out locations for new community preschools.  When our team got back, we finalized locations based on feedback from the community leaders and the number of kids in each area. Last week, we went back to these locations and saw the final phases of construction for each school. I could not believe it. Usually, in the field of development, you have to wait a while to get results so this was a highlight for me. 

Today was the first day of school! 100 kids will now be able to start preschool in their communities for free. Parents will not have to worry about transportation, materials or school fees. I am still in awe of how quickly and efficiently we were able to pull this off. I can’t begin to describe how excited I am about this. This is why I am came here. It is so rewarding to see this project come to life .

We have two more in the pipeline and will continue to expand if we have the support of new communities and resources to help fund the construction. You might be thinking how can this be sustainable. Well, one of the things I love about Aide et Action is that we don’t come in and try to be the heroes. Instead, we speak to commune and village leaders about their needs. We then come up with a plan of action where they are just as much of a stakeholder as us. They need to get community support, they need to find a teacher, they need to find volunteers to build it and they need to allocate a small portion of their annual budget for education. Once they accomplish these tasks, we help them with teacher training, parent workshops, we provide school supplies and we pay for the construction materials. The school is always called a community preschool, not an Aide et Action school. This helps the community leader in getting support for their citizen and it shows the citizens that they are part of the process.

The goal is to make education a primary and necessary component of every child’s life. If we can convince each parent of this through our preschools then they will continue to advocate for new schools with their local governments and the local governments will push the agenda with the national government and so on.

We are relying on the power of education. It’s ability to empower people because it is a fundamental precondition for economic, social and political development.

Before & After

http://www.trevolta.com/travels/Volunteering-for-6-months-in-Cambodia-15132

Obsession with fair skin

If you drive on the roads of Phnom Penh, you will notice women on bicycles and moto bikes wearing gloves, socks with sandals and a hoodie on top of their regular outfit. No, it’s not because they are cold and they are not protecting their skin from the sun (intentionally anyway). It is to prevent their skin from getting darker. I first noticed the makeup. Women here wear foundation about 2-3 shades lighter than their complexion. Most Cambodians have naturally beautiful skin and are gorgeous so this was strange for me to witness as an observer. But I soon realized this was the culture.

I grew up with this in Pakistan and then saw the same thing in India. I remember the fair and lovely ads where a dark skinned girl would go for a job interview and get rejected. She  would then go back for the same position with the same qualifications after using Fair and Lovely for 8 weeks and would land the job. It was infuriating.  Just like in South Asia, Cambodians consider light skinned women more beautiful than the rest. It is difficult to find a picture of a regular woman around the city. Instead, you will find photoshopped models on billboards, on tv, and in photo studios. It is believed to be easier for a light skinned girl to find a husband. They are also treated with more respect. Ah Khmao is a frequently used derogatory nick name and it means “little darky”.  I wont go in to racism and discrimination but it definitely exists towards Africans and African Americans. Skin whitening creams are everywhere. Some salons offer bleaching treatments with powders they cannot name. When I asked a woman about it, she said it burns her face but the results are worth it!

A lot of tourists get Cambodian costume photos done during their stay. These are similar to the Cambodian wedding & family portraits. Even though these are great souvenirs, they also demonstrate the culture’s obsession with skin color. Everyone is lighter and no one looks like themselves. That is part of the charm for tourists, to see the transformation for themselves.

On Friday, I attended Phnom Penh Designers Week and was hoping the progressive modern group of designers would set the right example. But I was wrong. All of the designers only used light skinned Khmer models and one even used white cakey makeup to make the faces whiter. The venue was packed with Phnom Penh’s elite and the media and this would have been a great place to make a statement.

I am not sure why this disturbs me as much as it does considering the bigger problems of the world. But I hate that young girls will grow up believing they are second class because of their skin color. They won’t even try to be the best because they do not see the point. A social order has been created for them and they know where they stand. To me, the saddest thing in life is wasted potential.

The Turning Point

I have officially been a resident of Phnom Penh for two months now and it has finally started to feel like home. I remember the uncertainty I felt during the first few weeks. I remember asking myself questions like- Do I really want to stay for six months? Should I leave in three months? What is the point of all of this? And now I can’t imagine leaving early. I look at everyday as an opportunity to learn something new, to explore, to discover. 

I started French class on Monday and after a few tries, I finally found the right class for me.  I was supposed to be in an expat class for beginners but there weren’t enough of us and  I got bumped in to the next level but it was too advanced for me so I switched to the Khmer beginners class. This class has 15 Khmer students, 2 Canadians and me. Aside from learning French, I also get to learn about Khmer culture. On Thursday, I learned that the color brown is considered skin color here. You are either white or you are not and anything that is not is considered black. We were going over colors and the teacher pointed at me and said brown but the class was confused. So he explained the concept to them and then apologized and explained it in English to the 3 of us that don’t understand Khmer. Can you believe that? It so sad but yet so fascinating. Hearing anecdotes like these is my favorite part of traveling, when you actually learn about the culture by experiencing it. 

On Thursday, I also dropped my phone 3 stories down from my class balcony. I was admiring a mural across the street and wanted to take a picture when it fell out of my hands. Everyone watched it fall and I was hopeful someone would try to catch it and also hoping that someone wasn’t a thief. When I finally heard the sound of my phone hitting the ground, I ran down to retrieve it. At least a hundred people were watching in silence. When I picked up my case (it did not have a single crack) and my phone, everyone just had a look of sadness on their faces. It felt like I was in a movie..lol. I made my way back up and all my classmates asked if it was ok and if I was ok. I was surprisingly calm. I think if I was home, I would have immediately called Asghar to probably complain while feeling sorry for myself. But here, I sat in class and started repeating phrases after my teacher. I didn’t dwell on it any further because my new surroundings have taught me that this was actually nothing in the grand scheme of things. 

I also love my class because it is the one of the few places I am seen as an equal to my Khmer neighbor. No one is viewed as smarter or better. It gets tiring to be seen as a foreigner that can be exploited or as someone that is superior because of where they are from. Getting a tuk tuk or moto or going shopping requires a certain level of stamina because you have to mentally prepare yourself to bargain. The price for foreigners is usually at least 50% more than the price for locals.

I did want to get my phone fixed but I also did not want to pay $200 so I asked Gareth’s girl friend, Sokunthea, if she could join me for a few hours of shopping at the Russian Market. Russian Market is about 5 minutes from my apartment and a place where you can literally find anything and everything. We went on Saturday morning and it was such a different experience for me because I was accompanied by a local. No one was asking me to buy anything or pushing me to stop at their shop.  It was refreshing to be able to shop in peace. I was finally comfortable amongst the people. I went to the tailor and ordered some linen pants, I bought a dress and I found someone that could fix my phone. Because of Sokunthea, the asking price was fair and there was no need to haggle. She also showed me parts of the markets I had never seen before. I even found the famous ice coffee shop!  Mr. Bunnareth has been making ice coffee in the same market for 30 years and his coffee is considered one of the best in Phnom Penh. I was so excited that later in the afternoon, I came back to the market with a few friends to show them all the new places I had discovered because of Sokunthea.

I finally have a sense of assurance here I have not had since I left Jacksonville. I finally feel comfortable. I love the work I am doing but now I am enjoying the city too. Coincidentally, Our City festival is in town this week. It is Cambodia's first and only public festival to bring together creative ideas from Cambodian citizens. It is inspiring to be here to experience this wave of change, to see innovative ideas from locals that want to change their city and country for the better.  And I am eager to experience Phnom Penh through many different perspectives over the next four months. So much so that I even joined a crowd sourcing site for travelers to make sure I do not run out of money while volunteering. If you are interested in learning more you can do so at http://www.trevolta.com/travels/Volunteering-for-6-months-in-Cambodia-15132

Weekend in Singapore

I visited my 29^th country over the weekend, Singapore. My cousin, Saima, moved there a year and a half ago with her husband and I have wanted to visit ever since. Once I arrived to Cambodia, she quickly and generously booked my ticket. It is great having awesome older siblings. I took a half day on Friday and arrived in Singapore around 6pm. I had one goal for the trip, to eat as much as I comfortably could while seeing Singapore’s sights.

Friday

Saima met me at Changi airport and we took the MRT straight home to drop off my bag. I was so happy to use public transportation again! It was refreshing to be independent and not worry about bargaining techniques or language barriers. Our first stop was Satay Street near Lau Pa Sat market. This little street had about a dozen vendors comprising of Malaysian satay stalls, side dish stalls and beer vendors. We got a dozen sticks of chicken and beef satay. They were absolutely delicious and were a perfect introduction to my foodie weekend.  When most people think of street food stalls, they think of rodents and they assume their stomach will have a reaction. Singapore hawker markets are different. The country prides itself on its cleanliness and that is evident in the food stalls. Each stall displays their grade openly.  I didn’t see anything below a B during my trip.

Our next stop was to Maxwell house hawker center for Tian Tian’s Hianese Chicken rice. Unfortunately for me, it was closed and I did not get to try Singapore’s official dish. I will just have to go back for it. We explored Chinatown en route to our next destination and It was filled with people shopping for Chinese New Year. They streets were beautifully decorated and there were red lanterns everywhere. We walked through Mosque street and its beautiful red and white buildings followed by Pagoda street with Jamae Mosque and Sri Mariamman Temple. We made our way into the night market and walked in and out of all the little side streets before stopping at our next destination, a restaurant within the market known for its Szechuan cuisine. We ordered shrimp fried rice and a beef pepper dish. Both were absolutely delicious. I even tried some coconut water but don’t really understand why people love it. Our last stop for the evening was Club Street, a street filled with bars and restaurants which is closed to traffic after 7pm.  I loved the energy and atmosphere here because it reminded me so much of nights out in New York or London with friends.

Saturday

In the morning, we  headed downstairs in our pajamas for one of the best roti paratha stalls. This was a very simple meal of fried paratha stuffed with onions and eggs and it came with a side of daal. This was a quick meal because we wanted to get ready and start exploring. Since there are no public parks in Phnom Penh, I was desperately craving some park time so naturally we headed to the Botanical gardens for a lazy morning. The grounds are huge and free. There are beautiful sculptures everywhere. They also have an orchid garden and its costs $5. I left Arzi and Saima in the main lawn and went to see the orchids. They were beautiful and the garden had lots of great photo opportunities. Once I had my fill, I met up with my hosts and enjoyed lying on the grass and staring at the sky. Sometimes, you miss the simple things the most. 

Our next stop was Arab Street. This colorful neighborhood is home to some of the best Middle Eastern food and Sultan Mosque. We came here for Usman’s nihari and kebabs. Our lunch was a great balance of spice and flavor and fulfilled my craving of mom’s nihari. The area also houses lots of cute boutiques and gift shops. I loved all the street art in this neighborhood, especially with the mosque as a backdrop. We were tired and decided to head home for a quick nap and wardrobe change for the evening. 

After maybe sleeping a little too much, we got ready to head to Marina Bay Sands to catch the sunset. We went up to Ke De Ta for nice views of the water and Gardens by the Bay as well as the Singapore Skyline. It was beautiful! The bar gets very crowded so we headed back down pretty quickly. Maria Bay Sands has three towers and a mall. The mall reminded me of the malls in Vegas- huge, beautiful and expensive. We had to walk through most of it to get to the water show. Every day at 8:00pm and 9:30pm, the hotel treats its visitors to a free show which involves fire, music and projections on the water. It is about 20 minutes long and not quite as elaborate as the Bellagio but a good show nonetheless.

Next, we walked over Helix bridge and headed to dinner at Gluttons Bay. This is probably the best hawker center in the city because of its waterfront location and amazing food stalls. We opted for some chili crab, fried rice and carrot cake. Carrot cake was not our dessert. It is a radish dish with eggs, garlic, spring onions and turnip. You can also get it blackened which is with soy sauce. It was indeed a gluttonous meal but totally worth it.

Gluttons Bay is conveniently located next to Esplanade, an outdoor entertainment space. We met my friends Priya and Paul here to catch a free performance. The band wasn't the best so we decided to head to Clarke Quay instead. It was nice to walk along the river and take in the skyline and views of Merlion park, which houses Singapore’s official mascot the Merlion. The Merlion is a half merman and half lion creature and is probably the oddest thing I saw in Singapore. Clark Quay is a nice waterfront area of shops and restaurants and it reminded me very much of Birmingham’s waterfront area. We sat and enjoyed good conversation by the riverfront before calling it a night.

Sunday

We started pretty late in the morning and headed straight to Shiraz for some Shawarma. I had the lamb and it was comparable to the cart guy in NYC. I think I covered almost every type of protein during this trip. After our brunch, we headed to the shops on Orchard street in search of some linen pants for me. I could not find a single pair in the massive shopping district. I finally gave up after an hour and requested to leave the neighborhood. I felt like I was running out of time in Singapore and didn’t want to waste my remaining time in a mall. 

I was curious about Tiang Baru and since Saima and Arzi had never been I wanted them to explore something new with me. It is considered one of the oldest and hippest neighborhoods in Singapore.  We headed to its bakery for probably the best coffee I have had since moving to Asia. The baked goods were equally amazing. My blondie was so good, I was picking the crumbs off of my plate. We walked around the neighborhood and discovered an independent bookstore called Books Actually where I got some reading material for the trip back to Cambodia. I want to come back and spend a day exploring this neighborhood.

I loved everything about Singapore! I am a big city girl at heart and it was great to experience a large city with great infrastructure, public parks and public transportation. I ate to my heart’s content and was thoroughly spoiled by my lovely hosts. I know I will be back!

Protests in Phnom Penh

Cambodia has been in the news over the weekend after a week of protests.  These protests turned deadly on Friday when 23 protesters were injured and 4 were killed. A mass rally and march were scheduled for today but they never took place because the government banned all public gatherings and evicted the protesters from Freedom Park. These workers are demanding higher wages. There are over 800 garment and shoe factories in Cambodia and they employ 600,000 people, mostly women. Currently, the monthly salary is $80 per month and the government just raised it to $100 per month. However, factory owners don’t recognize this raise. Factories have been shut down and GMAC (Garment Manufactures Association in Cambodia) refuses to reopen until their safety is guaranteed. Workers are demanding a minimum of $160 a month. This salary often covers a household in Phnom Penh as well as family in the provinces.

Many of us view Southeast Asia as a cheap travel destination. When I decided to move here I thought I could make it work on my $300 monthly stipend. But I was wrong. My rent with utilities alone comes close to $200. Food and transportation are well above $100 a month.  I have to supplement my income with at least $200 from my own savings each month. And trust me when I say I try to spend the bare minimum. I can’t even begin to imagine how anyone can survive on just $80 and send money back home. Here is a great chart showing the difference in minimum wage vs. living wage http://www.cleanclothes.org/livingwage/living-wage-versus-minimum-wage

Garment factory workers work long hours in poor conditions to create products they can never afford.  After the events this week, I have really started to think about my shopping habits and the clothes I wear. I only brought a fraction of my clothes to Cambodia, things I don’t really mind ruining and leaving behind.  But after living here for 6 weeks, I have come to realize that I really don’t need everything I have and can easily live with less. Asghar has always pushed for this way of thinking but I always found an excuse to buy a new top or new skirt. Now I see a human life attached to each item of clothing. I see it as something that was made with someone else's sweat and blood.

Why don’t we care? The garment industry and its sweat shops have been in the news for years. Bangladesh alone has received extensive coverage after the factory fires. But nothing has changed. The working conditions are still poor and the wages are still low. We have the power as consumers to demand more. We support this industry blindly and willingly and it is not ok, at least for me and I hope for you too.