Lessons From The People of Cambodia | Our Travellers Stories

Today Sally fills us in on the take away from her experience travelling with Hands on Journeys…

In our final days I was asked, ‘What pre-conceived notions did you have about Cambodia?’ and I was somewhat stumped. I realised not only had I very ignorantly neglected to learn about this beautiful country in my 22 years, I had also neglected to learn about it prior to entering it.

I had lumped it into the category of South-East Asia and likened it to my experiences in other geographically similar countries like Indonesia and Thailand. During my Hands on Journeys experience I came to learn that Cambodia is quite unique in so many ways, and while there is no definitive answer for why, it’s undeniable they exist. So here are the four most eye-opening experiences and as a result, the experiences that have shaped my now educated notions of Cambodia.

1. I landed in Siem Reap at around 9:30pm Cambodian-time, the night before the official beginning of the tour and was eagerly greeted by our first tour guide, Samnang, a bundle of total energy and humility. During the short taxi ride, he rattled off fact after fact about Siem Reap – increases in population and infrastructure over the preceding years, the central geographical location, religious leanings, describing and explaining landmarks as we drove past.
   
   I was absolutely blown away by the depth of his knowledge and came to think; if someone came to Australia there is no way I could provide such local or national background knowledge, even with private schooling, a tertiary education and endless resources. But he, and every Cambodian person I met, was proud of his country and wanted to share his wealth of knowledge with us. And as uneducated as I was at that point, I was in complete admiration of that.
2. As I said I cannot make a definitive judgment as to why the Cambodian people are as wonderful as they are, or why Samnang was so proud of his country, but I can make an opinion-based judgement. In 1979, after the Khmer Rouge had wiped out half of the Cambodian population, the survivors were left with heartbreak so deep it’s so difficult to comprehend. In this situation you can let the doom of the past swallow you, or you can look forward and have faith that the future is much brighter than the past.My second eye-opening experience was the collective kindness and genuine happiness of every Cambodian person I met, despite the horrors and adversity they faced.  Their smiles, laughter and positivity was so heart-warming and genuinely inspiring it made me think: if they can survive that and emerge on the other side as a united, optimistic and happy country, there’s nothing we in the western world cannot overcome.
3. My third eye-opening experience came in the second village we visited outside Phnom Penh, a population of around 300 people. I quickly learned that hostility and negativity just did not exist in this community. Absolutely baffled, I repeatedly made observations of how there were no threats in this community. The kids ran around freely and wander into their neighbours houses as they please, the older residents socialise in hammocks and at the coffee shop. They work when they need to work, the kids help with no objections.I asked our English speaking host, Daro, ‘How is everyone so chilled? How is there no negativity or hostility?’ and he simply responded ‘Because we respect each other.’ Like it was odd I even had to ask. And I thought back to everyone I’d ever gossiped about or every petty little thing that has ever annoyed me and realised, it is odd that I had to ask. Odd and sad.
4. Some of you who are HOJs blog enthusiasts may have already read that our crew was invited to personally sit, pray and eat with the head Monk of this village. This was a pinnacle moment for me. We were attending a traditional ceremony during the biggest religious festival of their calendar year and it was probably the most laughable fish-out-of-water scene you could imagine. I couldn’t help but think ‘Oh my goodness, we have no idea what we’re doing, we’re probably disrespecting their religion so badly right now.’ But shockingly, instead of being cast out or shot dirty looks we were invited to interact with the head Monk – a privilege most of these devoted worshippers would never receive in their lifetime, yet we stroll on in and are invited to engage in this magical moment. But again, to my shock, we were met with complete acceptance, not only from the head Monk but every person in that pagoda who was guiding us in the ceremony or thanking us for being there.They weren’t spiteful or jealous, it didn’t even occur to them to feel that way. Their pure and beautiful souls welcomed us in and accepted us as one of their own. That lesson that they didn’t even mean to teach has stuck with me, and I hope it will stick with me forever.

There are countless other moments and qualities that opened my eyes during my time in Cambodia and I have said from the very first day that collectively, the people of Cambodia are the kindest I have ever met.

They are the kind of people who make you want to improve yourself, who logistically are less developed than us but in so many ways are so beautifully advanced and their genuinely good hearts are infectious in the best way.

Despite one of the many driving forces behind Hands on Journeys being our desire to give back, the people of Cambodia equipped me with enough lessons to last a lifetime.