Shopping at the Russian Market, Cambodia - A Fun Experience!

Since the 1980's, there have been numerous NGOs, church groups and charitable organizations in Cambodia doing a variety of good work to help this country. The same week when we were there, there was another mission team from Hong Kong volunteering at the Girls' Home. We were given permission to tag along with them for a day hitching a ride on their chartered vehicle taking them around.

Early in the morning, We arrived by Tuk Tuk at the girls’ home to meet up with the HK team. Being a little early, we went for a coffee at one of the coffee booths close by. It appears that Cambodians love their coffee and there are coffee shops and coffee stalls everywhere in the city. Due to the hot weather, coffee shops were our favourite places to escape from the heat and to do some of our preparation work while we were there.

The bus arrived right on the dot and it took us to the Market known to the locals as the Russian Market. It is a busy shopping place with numerous stalls selling everything from clothes, shoes, jewelry, toys, dry fruits, species, and fresh food too as well as artwork pieces by local artists. etc. This is also an excellent place to buy souvenirs and gifts to take home for family and friends. I was at the market before but never spending much time to look around.

This time we had more time and I could enjoy myself browsing over everything. Hea. Took us to a dry fruit vendor who brought out samples for us to try. It was funny that whatever samples the vendor gave us to taste, we ended up buying them! I could have lost myself in the Russian Market for at least half a day. But there were many other things on our itinerary so we moved on to the next thing.

We had lunch at a restaurant close by. From the outside, the restaurant looked like a humble place and we could have walked past without noticing it. But it was a nice restaurant with good ambience and the rustic décor giving its customers a feeling of being close to nature. We loved the feel of being outdoor and were busy snapping pictures here and there. The food was delicious too!

We also went to the Independent Square in the downtown area and spent sometime by the waterfront. It was a busy place with many locals and tourists alike on a fine Saturday afternoon! The team went for dinner together and we headed home and had our dinner at S. favourite restaurant close to Joy’s house. A fun day for us!

RT, Russian Market Phnom Penh, Cambodia Jan. 2025

It's the Cambodian People Who Make the Difference!

Since my retirment over a decade ago, I have been volunteering and sharing my skills and experiences with younger teachers and school leaders in a few different countries. My volunteer work has taken me repeatedly to places such as Panama, China, Africa, southern USA and Cambodia.

My husband and I thank God for good health and mobility which enable us to have travlled extensively to many places. For some of these countries, I have visited more than a few times. We have always enjoyed seeing new things, learning about different cultures and meeting new people.

This is my fourth time visiting Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I am no stranger to this country. However, our visit this time is very different and exciting as I am learning and expereicning so much more about the people and culture of Cambodia! What makes the difference this time? The people!

We are being welcome and embraced by the new Cambodian friends we have made online over the past year. What a difference it has made to our visit!

Instead of being in our hotel drinking wines and enjoying the amenities, we are interacting and having fun with the Cambodian people. Instead of dining on fine food by ourselves, we are sharing meals, cracking jokes, playing games and sharing tons of laughter together!

Instead of shopping for meaningless junks for ourselves, we are giving small gifts as tokens of our appreciation to the hardworking teachers, and social workers who are making differences in the lives of the next generation. It gave us so much joy when we saw the young people's faces lit up as they opened their small appreciation gifts.

They also gave us some gifts to show their love for us and for supporting them! Their gesture of appreciation touched us deeply!Thank you, our Cambodian friends, for teaching us that it is better to give than to receive! Thank you for the amazing dinner, your gifts to us and the fantastic time we had together! You are terrific and we can't thank you enough for making our trip to Cambodia such a joyful experience! RT, Phnom Penh Cambodia

Sihanoukville, Cambodia - A Town I Could Hardly Recognize from My Last Visit

Friday, Jan., 2025 We went on our first car trip outside of Phnom Penh today. Because there were six of us incuding the driver, we needed to rent a van for the day. The last time I went to Sihanoukville was more than a decade ago, therefore I was excited to visit this town once again.

I didn't remember going on any highway the last time and it took the bus more than four hours to get to our destination. But with the new highway, it only took us a little more than two hours to get there. Along the highway, we aslo found new pitstop buildings, stores, restaurants and clean washroom facilities which didn't exist before. Progress takes time and we are glad to see that Cambodia is getting better each time we visit the country.

We made a stop at a rural church where a Cambodia minister was holding a bible teaching session for a group of Cambodian pastors and church leaders from the rural area. we learned that most rural pastors do not get a salary but they are tentmakers trying to support themselves. Unable to attend full time bible school, they are doing some intensive training and leanring on the weekend every month. I sincerely salud these dedicated pastors making these kind of sacrifices and serving their people in the rural communities. After visiting the rural church, we drove around Sihanoukville for a quick tour. I could not believe how much this seaside resort town has changed since I visited it last time. It used to be a quiet small resort tomw with only a couple of hotels big enough to accommodate our youth training group and the children of the vacation bible camp. But in a span of a decade, the facade and the feel of this resort town has completely been transformed. Now, there are numerous hotels, restaurants and casinos making Sihanoukville a much busier place than it used to be. These economic development might have brought more business to the city as well as the problems associated with them. It has also taken away the innocence and the tranquility of the Sihanoville we onced knew and loved.

I found one place that didn't change in Sihanoukville. The seafood restaurant by the river where we used to have our nice dinners with our team members. It is still there, just as beautiful as I have remembered it. It is still serving the delicious fresh seafood we so enjoyed a decade ago! We loved sitting by the water, enjoying the breezes the great food and with my current teammates! RT Sihanoukville, Cambodia