Day 31- I ate a cricket

New day new country. Today I am crossing the boarder after one night into Cambodia.

Last night was a bit of a mare. I arrived into Bangkok after a very pleasant flight (it was only two of us on a row so I had a middle seat between me and a very quiet gentleman. Bliss. Immigration was very confusing and took some time however I think I am getting used to this disorganisation. I then entered the arrival hall where my transfer was supposed to be waiting. After about an hour of walking up and down I still couldn’t find them and had to ask my poor mother to call the UK line to try and figure it out. It was a moment where I just wanted to go home to the safety of my bed. I miss my mother so much, she has always been on my side, she has always been there even when I have been wrong. She is also the one person who even when I am wrong is not scared to tell me. I realised in this moment how now more then ever I would be nothing without my parents. Without my mum I would not be the determined person I am and without my father I would not be as stubborn as I am. They have both made me who I am. Even in this moment when things weren’t going my way I just kept thinking what would they do. My dad would accept what it is and not panic (I don’t think I have ever seen him panic) and my mum would keep persisting for a solution. The signs with all the names on were in absolute chaos and so I ended up rifling through and eventually found the sign with my name on. I arrived at our dorm and met some of the other people I will be spending the next 40 days with. They all seem nice enough.

After not much sleep we were up at 5 to get on a mini bus to Cambodia. Cambodia is yet another country that I don’t know much about. I know they have had an interesting history however I don’t know any details. I also believe that they eat some odd foods (insects and maybe dog?). I think they grow rice. I am imagining there will be some level of poverty. I think the landscape is pretty dry but there may be a bit of green.

We are heading first to the boarder crossing before going into Siem Reap. We got to the boarder and I don’t know what it is with me and visas but it’s never simple. It took me a little longer then everyone else to pass through due to me needing a re entry permit.

Finally I got through and went down to the Cambodian boarder. This was much less stressful and after a short queue I was through in no time at all.

Cambodia is a country with 16 million people living in. In 1863 Cambodia signed a treaty with France which was briefly ousted by the Japanese in 1945. In 1953 Cambodia regained its independence. In the 70s during the Vietnam war Cambodia’s government was overthrown by the Khmer Rouge. They held Cambodia under a reign of terror for 4 years. No spoilers on this one though as I am going to visit a museum on this in a few days time. Good news is though that the Khmer Rouge were overthrown in 1979 and in 1989 the Vietnamese withdrew their troops. These days Cambodia has a parliamentary system with one prime minister.

We went to get some lunch and I tried Amok chicken. It was a delicious green curry with no spice and lots of leafy greens. It was really delicious.

After lunch we had another long drive to our hotel. On the way we drove past a lot of rice fields. The fields are currently being burnt, this is done to remove plants that are already growing and help the plants to come up.

In the evening we went to the New Help Cambodia school which provides free education and basic health care to around 1300 students. The school was started in 2007 and is partnered with g adventures who sponsor the school. We had the opportunity to eat in the restaurant which provides training for adults in both cooking and hospitality. The money from the restaurant goes into supporting the school.