Day 13ish continued

So after visiting the hospital about half the ship went to the beach at the fancy Sokha hotel to relax. And that was our last day in Cambodia.






I wish I could have taken a picture of three people on a scooter: two ladies on the back sitting side-saddle in opposite directions wearing pajamas and no helmets. That would be a very typical scene on the streets of Cambodia, but I didn't think of taking such a picture until it was too late. Yeah, it is an acceptable fashion around there for women to wear pajamas at all times of the day. I heard this goes back to the time of the Khmer Rouge when people were only allowed to wear their work uniforms or pajamas. But that is just what I heard.



Another random observation about Cambodia is that they have no concept of forming a line. This made it very difficult to open the book exhibition some days. We had a roped off path leading to the gangway, but not attached to the gangway itself. This was a mistake apparently because on at least one occasion there was a huge crowd that spread out all around the gangway trying to get on, including many children with no accompanying adult (not allowed). They nearly nocked the girl giving out the tickets into the water. I had to pick up the ropes take them around the crowd to the gangway and then start winching it tight. You could talk and gesture all you wanted to the crowd about forming a line but they would just look at you for a moment with no understanding.


These are just odds and ends I wanted to get out. I got to befriend some of the Cambodian volunteers that helped on the ship as translators and other things. They were mostly 17-19 years old. I didn't get to know them very well but they seemed like a really fun bunch, I was sorry to see them go so soon and I know they were all deeply impacted by their brief experience of the Doulos. They called everyone brother or sister so-and-so, "bradda Moss" in my case. I got some farewell notes from a couple of them and exchanged email addresses. The one guy who I befriended the most was Ratana, from Phnom Penh. He is a Christian and plays guitar and drums at his church. I asked him about what sort of music he liked and he mentioned bands like Simple Plan and Metallica. I asked him if he knew about any Christian bands like Skillet or Switchfoot, but he didn't. I showed him a song by Skillet which he really liked. He had no money to buy anything from the bookshop so I bought him a Skillet and a Disciple CD.

So I feel like I only started to see a part of Cambodia and then had to go. The people I met all seemed gentle and nice. When you meet them it makes you think that they deserve just as much blessings and opportunity as anyone in developed countries enjoys. They just happen to find themselves in difficult circumstances with a horrible past to recover from. So please pray for Cambodia and thank God that he is at work in that nation and his church is growing there.