After waving my goodbye to my parents, I headed off to Cambodia with my class for a 6-days-5-nights overseas learning journey! This was my first time travelling without my parents. On top of that, I got to go with my new friends and teachers. So, this was a very special trip for me.
As Cambodia is only a 2-hour flight from Singapore, shortly after eating breakfast onboard the aeroplane, we had arrived in Cambodia.
Our first stop was Wat Phnom. I kept silent and paid attention to the statues as I walked the grounds. Since it was a religious place, I kept reminding myself to behave and respect other people's culture.
Mr Ching-Lee, our tour guide, shared an interesting story of how the place came to be. There was a wealthy grandmother went to the Mekong river and found five statues in a tree. Among the five, four were buddhas and the other was unrecognisable. Still, she placed them all in her land as a display to everyone. After she passed on, the land was renamed by the government as "Wat Phnom".
Our next stop was the Royal Palace. I was shocked to see that the majority of the palace is made of gold! As Mr Ching-Lee proudly shared with us about the King's coronation day, I could not but help feel that the money used to build this golden palace could be better used to build more schools so that more children will have the chance to have a proper education.
First night at Cambodia
After such a wonderful first day, I did not expect that night to be a tough one. That night, I had quite a long negotiation with my room mate Dylan. I wanted the lights off (to sleep), while he wanted the lights turned on so that he does not get into a deep sleep. We eventually compromised and allowed just the bedside lights to be on.
However, even after all that, both of us could not sleep! I was still wide awake, noticing all the surrounding sounds. Each second felt like an hour. It was torturous. About 7 hours later, our alarm sounded. Neither Dylan or I wanted to continue sleeping. Our movements were lethargic but we were glad that the first night was finally over.
Howie CHIA
20 Oct 2019
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