Mom and Dad Keating came to visit and we kept forgetting to bring our camera with us so we do not have many photos.

We stayed a couple nights in Bangkok then continued onto Koh Lanta, an island in the south on the west coast.

Our time together was short but it was great to see mom and dad.

The Killing Fields refer to the numerous sites across Cambodia where millions of men, women and children were killed during the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979. Just outside Phnom Penh is one of the killing fields, Choeung Ek, which is now a memorial.

The Khmer Rouge had a goal of making Cambodia completely self sufficient. After overthrowing the national army, the Khmer Rouge emptied the capital city within days. Educated men and women and former political leaders were imprisoned and executed. Men and women were sent to work in fields, meant to supply enough food for the country to become self sufficient, and were strictly patrolled by Khmer soldiers, many who were children. Children were separated from their families and desensitized.

In the 4 year rule of the Khmer Rouge almost half of the Cambodian people perished. Millions were executed by the Khmer Rouge and thousands more died from harsh working conditions and lack of medicine, as foreign goods were not allowed in the country.

The memorial site of Choeung Ek was peaceful but erie. The buildings which were used to house execution weapons and DDT (used to spread over the bodies in the mass graves to contain the smell) have all been torn down. As we walked around the memorial site, reading plaques about the atrocities that took place on the land where we stood, we were surrounded by trees, birds chirping and children playing at the nearby school. Life has continued for the people of Cambodia.

The photos below show that today pieces of clothing and bones still surface on this land, reminding those who visit this site of the lives that were lost. The main memorial is the stupa below which is filled with the skulls of men, women and children whose bodies were exhumed. They are displayed here, not to be forgotten.

HOPE has many projects that interested Mary Ann and I. I was particularly interested in the water and micro finance projects. Mary Ann was interested in food security.

We did some research on the organization and found it to be well established (founded in 1975) and well run (only 5% overhead expenses)

HOPE operates in Asia, Africa and the Americas providing infrastructure and developing long term relationships with some of the poorest people in the world.

Find more information on HOPE here: Hope International Development Agency

As we were going to be in Cambodia, we asked HOPE if we could visit an area where they were working. To our great delight, they said yes.

We traveled overland south from Phnom Penh for about 4 hours until we reached the small town of Pursat. We were met by Ly Phealy (project coordinator), Leng (team member) and Pheap (Ly’s husband and volunteer driver for the day). I was particularly impressed that this was not a western-run project. It’s run by locals for locals and the long term benefit for the community.

After we all got acquainted, we drove out of Pursat further into the countryside. I was very excited to get to see these projects ‘on the ground’ for myself. I wasn’t quite prepared for how it would hit me.

I was most impacted by our visit to meet Chea Khean and her family to see
the impact the well has had on their lives. Chea shared with us that before
HOPE’s well project, they lived in a shack on another piece of the property.
They worked the land for food to survive. Each day she would have to walk
over an hour each way to collect ‘local water’ from a pond or collect rain
water from ditches or impressions in the land. This water was not sanitary
and brought with it a lot of illness.

She continued to share that in three short years, their family had
transitioned from poverty to prosperity as a result of HOPE’s well project.
As a result, she now grows enough food to feed the entire family as well as
extra to sell for a profit. It was amazing to experience the joy that just
radiated from Chea as she shared her gratitude for HOPE’s contribution.
This new prosperity means that her youngest son can now complete his
education. At 14 years old, he proudly shared with us that he is completing
his grade 4 and is happy for the opportunity to finally go to school.

I was even more impressed when Chea shared that she was just a steward of the
well and that it belonged to the community. When I learned that another 5
families also used this well with similar impacts on their lives, well, I
had to find our how we can make more of these wells a reality!

So here is the challenge, I want us as a community to work together to pool our resources to impact the lives of a community half way around the world. One well will aid 5 families, 2 wells 10 families, and so on.

This may not be for everyone and that is perfectly ok. But, if your curiosity is aroused then check out more information on HOPE below and get to know the organization and it’s goals. After you’ve done that, let’s talk. I’ll follow up with more details on how a few dollars can change lives.

Hope International Development Agency

Annual Report

Goals

Mission and Philosophy

In the night market we found $3 foot massages and were entertained by a film on Angkor Wat, a great way to spend an hour being pampered while learning about the architecture and history of Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat is a temple that was built in the era of the king/god Suryavarman II (1113 -1150) who had murdered his uncle at the age of 14 in order to take over the kingdom. Built in only 35 years, Angkor Wat is one of the wonders of the world as well as the largest religious structure in the world.

Although Angkor Wat is the most famous of the Temples of Angkor and definitely worth a visit, I found Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm (used in the filming of Tomb Raider and Two Brothers) to be more interesting and wondrous.

Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world having been extensively carpet bombed by the US during the Vietnam war. As history is told here, Laos was an undeclared party during the war and pledged support to neither party. As the Ho Chi Minh trail (which runs through northern Laos and Vietnam) was a potential supply line for the Viet Cong, the US army heavily bombed the area resulting in heavy civilian casualties. Unfortunately, many bombs or UXO (unexploded ordinances) did not detonate on impact and remain active and in the ground today. They still take approximately 1,200 lives per year.

As heartbreaking as that is, the spirit of the Lao people remains strong and they openly welcome all foreign visitors. We have met so many wonderful locals who have made the time to sit and talk to us and want to teach us about their country.

Laos has really stood out from the other countries in South East Asia because they really treat foreigners as part of the community. In so many of the countries we have visited thus far, foreigners are treated as outsiders-until a relationship is established. In Laos, everyone is treated the same. Everyone receives the same treatment and the same price regardless of whether you are a local or foreigner. This has helped me to let my guard down a bit and really open up to new relationships. It has been a great experience for us and hopefully for our new friends too.

From Vientiene, we travelled by mini bus to Vang Vieng to spend a few days for my birthday. Vang Vieng is a beautiful place to be in nature and relax. We found a great bungalow (Banana Bungalows) overlooking the river for $10/night and decided to stay put for a few days. We hiked around, met some locals and MA and I spent an afternoon just floating down the Nam Song river. It was a great way to spend my birthday and I met a lot of new friends.

Our ‘tour guides’ through the caves in the mountains…

A hot air balloon on the banks of the Nam Song:

Banana Bungalows:

From Vang Vieng, we travelled by mini van for 6 hours to Luang Prabang, the former capital and cultural hub of Laos. There is a lot of French influence here in the architecture and food. We just arrived last evening and are looking forward to exploring more!

Now it’s time for us to continue on with the spirit of this trip; meeting new people, experiencing different cultures and learning new ways of seeing the world.

We’re currently on our way from Hanoi, Vietnam to Vientiene, Laos via bus. It is supposed to take somewhere between 24-30 hours. We just negotiated the Vietnam/Laos border in just under 90 minutes so I’m hoping this means we’ll be closer to 24 hours.

Laos and Sri Lanka are the two countries that I am most looking forward to visiting because they are a little more remote and less traveled. As I write while looking out the bus window, I am super excited to meet the people and learn more about the country.

Here are a few photos through the window of the bus. Note the beautiful red dirt roads everywhere!

We explored caves, celebrated new years with friends, hiked up a mountain on Cat Ba Island, enjoyed a polar dip on new years day and took in the beauty of one of the new wonders of the world – Ha Long Bay.

Below are some photos from our time in Hanoi.

Visiting the temple on the lake. There is a legend about a turtle and a sword, so it is good luck if you see a turtle. We haven’t seen one yet.

The St. Joseph’s Cathedral.

The Hanoi Hilton, the jail in Hanoi has been used over the years to imprison activists, communists and American jet pilots shot down during the war. At times prisoners would use their time in jail to educate themselves and each other in order to make their movement and resistance stronger.

Enjoying street BBQ.

Afterwards we went into the main part of town and found a church with Christmas mass, followed by a Christmas concert performed by local children.

We spent tonight at the Christmas Eve Gala: Let’s “Choi” & Cheer Night. Most hotels have Gala’s which you are automatically charged for when staying on Christmas Eve (which seems to be celebrated more than Christmas Day).

The Gala was interesting with a variety of food, contests, prize draws and local entertainment such as singing of Christmas carols and dancing. I appreciated the opening speech, which reminded us that the reason we were celebrating tonight was because of the birth of Jesus.

Lloyd got his photo taken with Santa who was giving out presents to the children at the hotel. When we got back to the room, I checked NORAD’s site which tracks Santa around the world and Santa is in Vietnam, I think we may have met the real Santa.

During this time of year, at Christmas, we wish we could be celebrating with our friends and family at home. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with many blessings in the New Year to come!