Our first day in Cambodia was mostly consumed by travel. By the time we flew to Siem Reap, drove to the hotel, got settled, and grabbed a late lunch, it was mid-afternoon. From lunch, we drove to the first cluster of temples built by the Khmer empire, which reigned from the early 800s all the way through the 1300s. Now, they are amazing ruins covered with intricate carvings all over the huge sandstone blocks they are made of. We were able to explore the Angkor Thom and Phenom Bahkeng structures for about 2 hours before we sat down for dinner.
The following morning we woke up at the crack of dawn to see sunrise at the Angkor Wat temple. Semester at Sea seems to have an affinity for waking up people at the crack of dawn, even if there isn’t that much to see. How do we make sure a group of 20 something college students don’t go too crazy at night? Give them something they will feel guilty about missing at 6 AM? I see what your doing Semester at Sea. I see what you are doing. Anyways…this is the largest and most famous of all the structures that comprise the ancient capital of Angkor. It is pretty cool but no different at 6 AM verses mid-afternoon or even mid-morning. The rising sun is kind of hidden by the massiveness of the structure. It was still pretty freaking cool to be there. We were able to go back again after brunch at the hotel and it was still cool 3 hours later.
see me? i'm that little gray dot in the left hand corner.
After that second trip to the temple, we drove to the offices of an organization called EGBOK. EGBOK was started just 3 years ago by a Semester at Sea alum who graduated from Cornell’s hospitality school. He told us that he had fallen in love with Cambodia the first time he traveled there, with his family, even before Semester at Sea. He decided to use the skills he had learned at Cornell to start EGBOK and do his part to help rebuild Cambodian society. Recognizing that the tourism industry was growing rapidly in Cambodia and that many of the high-end hotels were hiring their employees from outside of Cambodia, from places like Vietnam, the Phillipines, and Malaysia, he decided to create an organization that trained Cambodians to work in the hospitality industry. After getting a brief explanation of the organization and its model, we were able to meet some of the students and tour one of the sites where they hold their classes.
part of a land mine that had blown up near by.
That night, we sat down to a four-course meal completely cooked by EGBOK students. It was excellent and super gourmet. It was great seeing the pride the students had for what they were doing and talking to them about it. That dinner really helped me to understand the many ways in which EGBOK benefits the students who participate in its program. And, to see a Semester at Sea alum putting their experience and skills towards something they are passionate about was very inspiring.
The next morning, we went to the Ta Prohm temple. This was by far the coolest temple, in my opinion. It is where they shot the movie Tomb Raider. Trees and vegetation have overrun the ruins and grown in the most bizarre places and ways. One tree was growing right on top of an archway. Like, how does that happen? It was so cool. In the afternoon, we took a boat to a floating village, which probably would have been a lot cooler if it wasn’t the dry season and boat did not keep getting caught on the bottom of the lake…That afternoon, we headed to the airport to return to Vietnam. I was bumped up to first class on a fluke. It was a short flight but I highly recommend flying first class next time you are in Cambodia.
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