came back to the busy city of Phnom Pehn yesterday morning. hired a tuktuk and took a tour of S-21 and the killing fields. i had no idea what happened here just 40 years ago and i was shocked to find out. cambodians killing cambodians. 3,000,000 tortured, killed, and dumped into mass graves. unbelievable. it was a real gloomy day for me.
heard about the big demonstration that will happen today? thousands and thousands of protesters vs. the police on the streets. i was walking to dinner last night and seen all the police cars, trucks, barricades, and equipment on standby for today’s crazy demo.
people die during these demos and i was advised to stay far away. but being the journalist i am, i might try to get a little closer. i hope i can make it to the airport.
i was hungry yesterday when i got back to the city so i ask my driver to take me to eat. he takes me to a very clean and expensive chinese restaurant. i walk in, and walk out. i tell him this is not what i want to eat. i ask him to drive along the back roads when i found the perfect restaurant. stop! i get out, and i explore. locals only!
nobody spoke english so i just pointed to what i wanted to eat. i bet no tourist came here before.
what i ordered? i don’t know.
then i got my meal. it was awesome! fondou style soup with salty egg omelet.
gosh, this soup was the best! everything cost me $2. so good, healthy, and cheap!
yesterday was my last morning at NHCC so i got up super early again and went to eat breakfast with the kids. it was pitch dark and freezing cold but it was ok. the kids smiles warmed me up really fast. we sang, we danced, we played, and we laughed. then i told my little girl Kalyan that i was leaving. she said “NO!” but i promised her that i’ll be back. she ran off somewhere, came back, grabbed my hand, and gave me a gift.
she put a bracelet on my hand and ran away. it really touched me because i didn’t give any of the kids presents. i just gave them my love and that’s really all they wanted. to get a gift from little 9 year old Kalyan meant a lot to me. i will keep this and treasure it for the rest of my life.
my life has definitely changed. how? i really don’t know. didn’t have time to sit down and reflect on the things that happened. i’m spending the next 2 nights in airplanes with 2 stopovers taking over 28 hours to get back home. i will have a lot of time to think what just happened in the past week. all i can say for now is “enjoy your precious life.”
