Today was the last Khmer lesson in the morning, and I was glad. I'm all for being able to speak the language when you go somewhere, but Khmer is really hard and I really just need to practice. Afterwards, I had some free time to browse the internet and work on some logistics until that afternoon it was off to tour the Royal Palace/Silver Pagoda. It's the biggest tourist attraction in town, and although I have no idea anything about it's history I decided I'd feign excitement and go along. When we arrived, I wasn't surprised. Its, well.....a palace. The gates are heralded with two uniformed guards (copying Buckingham palace?) and a sign to keep walking to walk to the ticket booth. The line was pretty long, all tourists with big Nikon cameras hyped to take pictures of the pretty Khmer architecture. I noticed a number of people occasionally making their way back out, and I was worried they were saying the place was closed or packed to capacity or something. As I made my way to the front booth, there was an enormous sign indicating which styles of dress were appropriate for entry and which were not. Of course, people are getting kicked out for showing up in tank tops and short skirts. As I would usually find this funny, it must have sucked to have to go back to your tour bus while the rest of your tour enjoyed the grounds.
I took some great photos of the inside of these buildings, and I've yet to understand when they were built. It's fabled they're ancient but the structure of it would seem they are from the last century at least. I was in the Silver Pagoda, but didn't notice the floor! I remember it was carpeted, but I was standing on like a billion dollars worth of silver and didn't once look down. The Silver Pagoda is now a museum of sorts, theres the giant Buddha and then around it are displays of artifacts and pieces of silver. When I entered the Silver Pagoda I had to take off my shoes and put them in one of two sets of bins--one where a guard was watching and another that was not being monitored. Wearing my $5 sandals I bought in Tanzania, I had to put them in the guarded bin--they were my own personal souvenir!
The Silver Pagoda was a really nice treat and look into Cambodia. After this I went to a presentation by an international NGO called Childsafe that works to protect children from sexual crimes and trafficking in southeast Asia. Their work has become so successful that their programs now stretch across to Latin America and Europe. I thought it was great to hear how they educate businesses and local workers about how to protect children, sort of setting up a network of people that may pick up on suspicious activity as they conduct their business. They educate hotels, guesthouses, moto and tuk tuk drivers and restaurant employees in Phnom Penh and Siem Riep. They also advertise presentations to tourists, to warn them about smart travel in Cambodia and throughout southeast Asia. I've noticed street children especially along the riverfront. They don't openly beg for money, kids usually sell books and maps or souvenirs hanging from a box around their necks. Childsafe warns that by day these children work selling goods and are pimped out by adults, keeping the money in their own pockets. Tourists are more likely to unknowingly support these children by purchasing books and souvenirs, and its tricky to avoid them these kids are so cheeky! Someone must be teaching them English, since many of them can make jokes with tourists. They know their geography and can make jokes in different languages. However, I'm glad I got this education so that I'm more aware of situations that put children in vulnerable situations.
The most shocking thing I learned with Childsafe was the number of illegitimate orphanages around Phnom Penh. I've noticed in several tuk tuks I've taken around town there are advertisements about visiting orphanages in town. Childsafe warns that visiting orphanages is unfair for children and is an invasion of privacy. Our presenter likened it to visiting a zoo, saying tourists come and visit the children as if they were animals. I thought it was strange that people come to visit orphanages, at least not without hoping to make long term contributions or volunteer time. Childsafe helps promote against these visits and making legitimate opportunities for tourists to learn about and help children. They are part of another organization called Friends International which has stores and a restaurant in Phnom Penh, proceeds of which goes towards the cause.
Tomorrow I head over to Wat Opot for a full week, and I'm very excited! I hope to learn so much while I'm there, it'll be great to see another side of Cambodia besides Phnom Penh. And I've been dying to get away from this apartment!
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