Phnom Penh

I got to Phnom Penh on the 18th, and headed for the backpacker region by the lake.  Found myself a dirt cheap, but relatively nice place (Number 9 guesthouse).  As soon as I( went for a wander I bumped into Ben and got invited for a game of monopoly!!!  As it happens, he and Simon were playing with some guys I had previously met in Laos.  It started off slowly, but the night took a step up into a full-blown session.  After the games we headed to the Drunken Frog for a couple more beers, before moving on to the Heart of Darkness Bar.  The journey there was interesting, as we got 9 people in one tuk-tuk.  The club itself was pretty good, although it turns a bit hazy after that.....

An orphan knitting hats to sell at the market

Yesterday was spent in recovery, chilling out in my guesthouse playing pool and reading in a hammock.  For a city, Phnom Penh has a really chilled out vibe and it is a good place to kick back for a while I reckon.  In the evening I had my first Indian curry in 6 months - it was a Chicken Tikka Massala, and it was bliss!  We only had a few quiet drinks and played pool, as I knew I wanted to get up this morning.

Footie at the Lighthouse Orphanage

The reason for the early start was because I went to help out at the Lighthouse Orphanage today.  Enroute, me and Sarah stopped at a market and bought 6kg of fish and loads of vegetables (one of then with the funny name - Morning Glory!) so that all the kids had good food for the day.  The orphanage has about 50 kids so it's good to make food donations.  On arrival I was really pleased to see that the kids seem so happy.  It also turns out that they are pretty well balanced considering their lives (one of the girls was found in a rubbish dump just 4 months ago).  I spent the morning reading books with the kids, who seem really happy to have assistance.  Their English is amazingly good too.  Whilst helping their reading, I also taught them a few new words that appeared in the books.  The picked things up soooo quickly!  I also helped re-lay the mud to help dry up the rain from last night (a pre-wet season rain session), although the sun would have dried it out in the next day or two.  In the afternoon I did the same as the morning, with the addition of playing some football with the boys. 

Reading with an orphan

The whole experience was amazing.  The kids are great, and really appreciate the help both with learning and with the donations.  The fact their English is so good stands them in good stead for the future too.  I only wish I had time to help out for a while.

Tonight is to be a quiet one again too as I want to get up early to hire a 250cc dirt-bike for at least 7 days to see south Cambodia with some freedom and adventure.  Could be a cool few days spent motorbiking!

The workers eat the food we provided.