Hello Everyone! I’m so sorry I have not been in touch. Before I get going let me tell my super awesome husband happy 25th anniversary! I love you. Since arriving at our hotel late last night I have not been able to find a phone. One that works anyway. I will try today.
So far it has been a wild ride to say the least. Our flight from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh city (Just 2 hours) was uneventful except for our fine dining experience. While walking to our gate we noticed computers and internet service just outside of a restaurant. We were told that we could use it free as long as we made a purchase from the restaurant. Since we were starving that was fine with us. I ordered a peach pancake. What they brought was a cold crepe stuffed with cream cheese filling and peaches. Drizzled on top was chocolate syrup with lettuce and tomato on the side. I ate it. Hilary on the other hand ordered a turkey club. What she got was two pieces of whole wheat bread with a 3” round slice of turkey and a piece of cheese that looked like egg white. She passed. Once inside the airport we were relieved to see our luggage made it all the way through. Next we cleared customs without a hitch since we had nothing to declare. We exited the airport to find an enormous crowd waiting for passengers. It was a little intimidating but we took a deep breath and started through. We were immediately approached by a taxi driver who loaded us up and whisked us away to our hotel. By now it was 11 pm and the streets and traffic were in full swing. Apparently it’s every man for himself. Drivers and motorcyclists both drive with one foot on the gas and one thumb on the horn with no traffic lights and no particular lane direction. Hilary watched out the window in awe and disbelief. We arrived at the hotel safe and sound to find Lisa waiting in the lobby for us. That was a relief because I was a little worried there may be more than one Elios Hotel and we would be dropped at the wrong one. I have learned to expect the unexpected and have tried to anticipate every possible glitch.
The travel time from start to finish was about 30 hours. I managed to sleep for 1 hr Hilary had two or three. The hotel bed was a wonderful sight. We slept until about 6 and wasted no time heading to the breakfast buffet.
Yesterday we left Vietnam and traveled into Cambodia. Not as easy as it sounds! We had to go through a process to exit Vietnam which was not pretty. Lisa had mentioned that she felt as an American she felt very unwelcome during their few days there. This was more than apparent at Customs. There were several busloads of tourists waiting in no particular order to go through. After laying your passport on the counter for the clerk you had to wait for your stamp. We waited and waited and waited. The clerk took handfuls of passports, processed them and returned them as ours sat. We were told by one of the tour guides we needed to put some money in there to sweeten the pot. Our illustrious leader Lisa gave us a look as if to say “HELP!” we decided to wait them out since we were in this strange country and did not know the exact protocol. After and hour we were all through one by one. Going through into Cambodia was a piece of cake. They are so glad to see the children return. Each of the girls had their permanent visas added to their passports. They are all free to visit Cambodia now with no need of a visa.
While waiting to enter Cambodia our translator Yoen received a call from Hilary’s uncle. He wanted to let us know that he had the family together and they were anticipating her arrival. That was so exciting to be so close to something we’ve been thinking of for so long
Next stop was to visit Hilary’s family on the way to Pnom Penh. It took about two hours to get there. The mood was light as we dodged cows, dogs, chickens and pigs. The girls were counting naked babies (last count was 18). As we neared the village the excitement was growing. Debbie’s husband Mike volunteered to video the visit. Thanks Mike! Once in the village our translator Yoen could not remember exactly which road (goat path) was theirs. We called uncle Lek Nol and he came on his motorbike to take us to his house. He was smiling from ear to ear and straining to see Hilary in the car. His smile grew even bigger. In very short order we arrived to a crowd of about 30-40 curious faces all anticipating what was about to happen. I saw Hilary’s sister Toeun and my heart skipped a beat. We have known this family for 10 years through pictures and now they are standing in front of us. I was told that after surviving the Khmer Rouge invasion in the seventies people were conditioned never to show emotion and for us not to expect too much. WRONG!!! The girls all cried and could not believe their eyes. I have a small portion of video on my camera disc (Ande get the tissues) I will try to upload when I go to an internet café later today. It says more than I could ever try to convey. We visited for about two hours and had many questions which we were able to have answered through Yoen. It took awhile for everyone to stop crying. They were all touching Hilary as if in disbelief. My amazing daughter handled the whole situation beautifully. I was never more proud of her. She held hands with her sisters as they looked at each other in disbelief. After about 30 minutes it began to rain so we were all ushered under the overhang of their hut. To continue our visit. Because we had to catch the ferry over the Mekong we were on a schedule. Hilary’s sister Soporn is deaf and lives with her uncle. Her sister Touen is married and is expecting next month. The oldest sisters Toeung has two children and is now three months pregnant. Both sisters wanted us to see their houses (huts). So we walked through several rice patties to Toeung’s home first. She appears to be doing well as far as the norm for Cambodia. Her other sister Toeun is not faring as well. She explained to us that since her parents have died she had nothing and was married off and sent to live with the inlaws. This may sound cruel to us but arranged marriages are still the norm here. Her living situation is dire. She shares a small dilapidated hut with her husband’s family. While there her mother-in-law showed us a dirty bucket full of fish (looked like our version of minnows). No water in the bucket just a bunch of wiggly fish. She proceeded to lift up the bucket exposing another bucket full of wiggly catfish. This I suppose was going to be dinner. She is now 7 months pregnant and has no health care.
Yoen is the facilitator for the Grady Grossman School in Kompong Speu. He suggested to Toeung that we purchase a small patch of land for her and her husband ($1000). He would get her a nice job at the school and her children could attend school free. This is an excellent school and terrific opportunity. She seemed receptive to this as she knows and has told us there is no hope for her where she is now. We told her to discuss this with her family and we will revisit in a day or so. Our thoughts are not to hand her money but to have Yoen purchase the property in his name. She and her husband in turn would pay him a small montly fee. Just enough to make sure they know how to budget and manage a house. Other families have done things like this for birth families only to have them turn around and sell it off. My thoughts are that this would compensate Yoen for his time helping them and if in a year are two they are clearly doing well then we would release them from this agreement. Nothing in stone at this time just a lot of ideas floating around. We also will make arrangements for health care. So much to do.
We spoke to Toueng and explained that there is only so much aid available. Did she need anything or should we just focus on Toeun. She suggested to do what we can for her sister. We explained that in the future we may be able to help her more.
The youngest sister Sophorn is a deaf. She is a very sweet girl. We are looking into getting her some type of education for a trade. This is very common in Cambodia and I need to explore her options in the next day or so.
Today we are traveling to the orphanages to visit the nannies who cared for Sopheap (Hilary’s Cambodian name which we have been using). Next we will travel to the killing fields and back to the hotel. Later this evening we are taking the girls to have pictures taken. They will outfit them in Cambodian dress and do a Glamour Shot. How Cool!
Well breakfast calls. I miss everyone and will try my best to keep in touch.
So far it has been a wild ride to say the least. Our flight from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh city (Just 2 hours) was uneventful except for our fine dining experience. While walking to our gate we noticed computers and internet service just outside of a restaurant. We were told that we could use it free as long as we made a purchase from the restaurant. Since we were starving that was fine with us. I ordered a peach pancake. What they brought was a cold crepe stuffed with cream cheese filling and peaches. Drizzled on top was chocolate syrup with lettuce and tomato on the side. I ate it. Hilary on the other hand ordered a turkey club. What she got was two pieces of whole wheat bread with a 3” round slice of turkey and a piece of cheese that looked like egg white. She passed. Once inside the airport we were relieved to see our luggage made it all the way through. Next we cleared customs without a hitch since we had nothing to declare. We exited the airport to find an enormous crowd waiting for passengers. It was a little intimidating but we took a deep breath and started through. We were immediately approached by a taxi driver who loaded us up and whisked us away to our hotel. By now it was 11 pm and the streets and traffic were in full swing. Apparently it’s every man for himself. Drivers and motorcyclists both drive with one foot on the gas and one thumb on the horn with no traffic lights and no particular lane direction. Hilary watched out the window in awe and disbelief. We arrived at the hotel safe and sound to find Lisa waiting in the lobby for us. That was a relief because I was a little worried there may be more than one Elios Hotel and we would be dropped at the wrong one. I have learned to expect the unexpected and have tried to anticipate every possible glitch.
The travel time from start to finish was about 30 hours. I managed to sleep for 1 hr Hilary had two or three. The hotel bed was a wonderful sight. We slept until about 6 and wasted no time heading to the breakfast buffet.
Yesterday we left Vietnam and traveled into Cambodia. Not as easy as it sounds! We had to go through a process to exit Vietnam which was not pretty. Lisa had mentioned that she felt as an American she felt very unwelcome during their few days there. This was more than apparent at Customs. There were several busloads of tourists waiting in no particular order to go through. After laying your passport on the counter for the clerk you had to wait for your stamp. We waited and waited and waited. The clerk took handfuls of passports, processed them and returned them as ours sat. We were told by one of the tour guides we needed to put some money in there to sweeten the pot. Our illustrious leader Lisa gave us a look as if to say “HELP!” we decided to wait them out since we were in this strange country and did not know the exact protocol. After and hour we were all through one by one. Going through into Cambodia was a piece of cake. They are so glad to see the children return. Each of the girls had their permanent visas added to their passports. They are all free to visit Cambodia now with no need of a visa.
While waiting to enter Cambodia our translator Yoen received a call from Hilary’s uncle. He wanted to let us know that he had the family together and they were anticipating her arrival. That was so exciting to be so close to something we’ve been thinking of for so long
Next stop was to visit Hilary’s family on the way to Pnom Penh. It took about two hours to get there. The mood was light as we dodged cows, dogs, chickens and pigs. The girls were counting naked babies (last count was 18). As we neared the village the excitement was growing. Debbie’s husband Mike volunteered to video the visit. Thanks Mike! Once in the village our translator Yoen could not remember exactly which road (goat path) was theirs. We called uncle Lek Nol and he came on his motorbike to take us to his house. He was smiling from ear to ear and straining to see Hilary in the car. His smile grew even bigger. In very short order we arrived to a crowd of about 30-40 curious faces all anticipating what was about to happen. I saw Hilary’s sister Toeun and my heart skipped a beat. We have known this family for 10 years through pictures and now they are standing in front of us. I was told that after surviving the Khmer Rouge invasion in the seventies people were conditioned never to show emotion and for us not to expect too much. WRONG!!! The girls all cried and could not believe their eyes. I have a small portion of video on my camera disc (Ande get the tissues) I will try to upload when I go to an internet café later today. It says more than I could ever try to convey. We visited for about two hours and had many questions which we were able to have answered through Yoen. It took awhile for everyone to stop crying. They were all touching Hilary as if in disbelief. My amazing daughter handled the whole situation beautifully. I was never more proud of her. She held hands with her sisters as they looked at each other in disbelief. After about 30 minutes it began to rain so we were all ushered under the overhang of their hut. To continue our visit. Because we had to catch the ferry over the Mekong we were on a schedule. Hilary’s sister Soporn is deaf and lives with her uncle. Her sister Touen is married and is expecting next month. The oldest sisters Toeung has two children and is now three months pregnant. Both sisters wanted us to see their houses (huts). So we walked through several rice patties to Toeung’s home first. She appears to be doing well as far as the norm for Cambodia. Her other sister Toeun is not faring as well. She explained to us that since her parents have died she had nothing and was married off and sent to live with the inlaws. This may sound cruel to us but arranged marriages are still the norm here. Her living situation is dire. She shares a small dilapidated hut with her husband’s family. While there her mother-in-law showed us a dirty bucket full of fish (looked like our version of minnows). No water in the bucket just a bunch of wiggly fish. She proceeded to lift up the bucket exposing another bucket full of wiggly catfish. This I suppose was going to be dinner. She is now 7 months pregnant and has no health care.
Yoen is the facilitator for the Grady Grossman School in Kompong Speu. He suggested to Toeung that we purchase a small patch of land for her and her husband ($1000). He would get her a nice job at the school and her children could attend school free. This is an excellent school and terrific opportunity. She seemed receptive to this as she knows and has told us there is no hope for her where she is now. We told her to discuss this with her family and we will revisit in a day or so. Our thoughts are not to hand her money but to have Yoen purchase the property in his name. She and her husband in turn would pay him a small montly fee. Just enough to make sure they know how to budget and manage a house. Other families have done things like this for birth families only to have them turn around and sell it off. My thoughts are that this would compensate Yoen for his time helping them and if in a year are two they are clearly doing well then we would release them from this agreement. Nothing in stone at this time just a lot of ideas floating around. We also will make arrangements for health care. So much to do.
We spoke to Toueng and explained that there is only so much aid available. Did she need anything or should we just focus on Toeun. She suggested to do what we can for her sister. We explained that in the future we may be able to help her more.
The youngest sister Sophorn is a deaf. She is a very sweet girl. We are looking into getting her some type of education for a trade. This is very common in Cambodia and I need to explore her options in the next day or so.
Today we are traveling to the orphanages to visit the nannies who cared for Sopheap (Hilary’s Cambodian name which we have been using). Next we will travel to the killing fields and back to the hotel. Later this evening we are taking the girls to have pictures taken. They will outfit them in Cambodian dress and do a Glamour Shot. How Cool!
Well breakfast calls. I miss everyone and will try my best to keep in touch.
1 comment:
Thank you for sharing your journey with us. It sounds like a wonderful adventure. It was awesome hearing about the moment Hilary met her family - it must have been so emotional.
Have fun ladies!
Your cousin Luanne
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