Postcards From Britt

The best way to truly experience another culture is to spend a night with a local family in a rural Cambodian homestay. This experience was so authentic and to embrace the simplicity of their lifestyle was very grounding. From the unfamiliar customs, homemade local cooking, language barriers and simple home comforts! It is a truly unique experience and one that I will cherish forever.

We ventured out to a village in Kampong Thom province. This village is close to the temples of Sambor Prei Kuk.  Once we arrived at our local homestay we were greeted by the family that were taking us in for the night and they showed us around their home. 

There were 2 houses built on stilts. The upstairs area was an enclosed sleeping area which was lined with mattresses on the floor. Each mattress was cordoned off from each other with curtains and mosquito nets. The downstairs area was completely open with hammocks hanging between the stilts and a large table for dining.  This area is used for family gatherings and dining. There was a small and very basic kitchen which had no fridge.  There were no western amenities apart from one western toilet (thankfully)! The bathroom consisted of a squat toilet and two water wells with a small bucket scoop, for showering. No one in our group opted to try the bucket shower, however, after exploring the area, I felt so dirty from all the dust and the heat I decided to try to bathe the local way. To take a bath consisted of pouring cold water over yourself, apply some soap, then rinse off with another scoop of cold water. It was a little tricky but I felt refreshed afterwards.

After we met our host family, we walked across the road to where the locals get there ice from. There were local kids everywhere, who were shy at first but soon started waving to us and giggling.

The local chief took us to his home, where he runs a free English school for all the children in the community. The children ride their bikes from miles away, just to have the opportunity to learn English. We got involved and taught them some lessons, we played skipping games and ball games.  Afterwords, they sang us songs and as we were leaving they all wanted to give us hugs as they said good bye. The children were so beautiful and it was such a great experience to get involved in the community in this way. 

We decided to hop on an Oxen cart ride and enjoyed a slow paced tour through the village and out to the rice paddies. We were here in the dry season, so it the rice paddies were all dried up and it was extremely dusty. We were sitting in the back of a rickety, wooden cart which was pulled by two oxen. It was not the most comfortable modes of transport but we couldn’t stop laughing because the oxen-cart that were following behind us, kept getting closer and closer.  A little too close for comfort! The dust was swirling up around us as we rolled through the countryside. Cambodia is known for their agriculture and this rural village was essentially the heart of Cambodia. We stopped at the rice paddies next to a dried up pond just in time for sunset. In the distance you could hear a local singing and herding a herd of water buffalo under the sinking sun. There were no sounds of cars or usual metropolitan noises. It was quite a peaceful and calming experience.

After returning to the school to get the bus back to our homestay, the school kids followed us on their bikes. They peddled so hard to keep up with us but eventually, we lost them in the dust.

When we returned to our homestay, we had a traditional Khmer, home cooked meal. Which consisted of rice and pork and of course an Angkor beer! After freshening up with our bucket shower, we went upstairs to bed. The family that lived in the home slept downstairs in the hammocks and the children slept in the closest next to the kitchen so we could have the privacy of the upstairs beds.

In the morning, we woke at the crack of dawn to a natural alarm clock. The local dogs were noisy and the rooster was crowing. Emma and I went to the explore the local temple, Sambor Prei Kuk. These temples are older and more ancient then the temples of Angkor. They were built in the 6th century. There is not much of the temple that remains, not only due to decay over the years, but also due to looting from the years of war. There were a lot of land mines buried in this area, so we were warned to stay on the path.

On entering the temple the ceiling was not very high and so we had to be careful of falling bricks. Conservation efforts have been slow as the locals rely on visitors to help fund the project as it was not yet a UNESCO World Heritage Site (as of July 2017, it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site). There were oxens wandering through the grounds. The bush was quite dense so it was interesting finding remains hidden amongst the trees.

Once we returned to the homestay, we had breakfast consisting of rice and pork. Before thanking our hosts and heading off for Phnom Penh.