Blake is back, back again, Blake is back, tell a friend!
Hello again everyone, our Southeast Asia trip has moved on from Thailand and we are now exploring Cambodia. Less than a week ago we flew here not really knowing what to expect, but excited to be here nonetheless. We weren’t disappointed by what we found. A couple of days ago we took a bike ride to three magnificent ruins: Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Ta Prohm. If any of these sites don’t ring a bell then you might want to know that Angkor Wat is the largest religious structure in the world, Bayon is a giant structure of stone heads that represent the ruler during the era it was built, and Ta Prohm is an old temple that was overgrown by massive trees (you might have seen it in Tomb Raider).
Currently we are staying in Batambong at a shelter for sexually trafficked women. At first we were somewhat confused because our observations at the shelter seemed to be merely a school for young village children, and we weren’t far off. Through communicating with the employees at the shelter we found out that most of their funding form other countries had stopped and they mainly relied on donations to keep the organization afloat. At one point in time the facility had up to 30 women that came out of the sex trafficking industry, but now there are only 2. It’s sad to to see an organization that’s working for such a good cause, lose funding and slowly slip away. They have reduced funds but their intentions are still prominent and pure.
Last night we went to a Cambodian circus and it was fantastic! At first I was pretty skeptical about it all and I don’t think I was the only one. As the performance started with three guys riding a bicycle and making wonky jokes with each other in Khmer I almost lost interest, until out of nowhere they started preforming all sorts of flips, handsprings, and tricks. From there on out I was completely zoned in. It was crazy to believe that these athletes were around the same age as us, and afterward we got a picture with most of them.
I feel like everyday there’s something new to see, and something new to do on this trip that makes me say “that was one of my favorite parts of the trip.”
Again thank you to all the family members, friends, and Carpe Diem staff who support us on this trip and are always there for us.
Blake Andrew Henning