Travel with Vance

It’s been two weeks since I left Cambodia and I miss it dearly. Words cannot describe the love and emotions I felt in Cambodia over the month i spent there. The Khmer people and culture is like nothing I have ever seen before. The locals I met were so polite, loving and giving. Everywhere I went I was greeted with smiles, laughs and amazing hospitality from complete strangers, whom I now call friends. I believe a lot of the Khmer people would give you the shirt off of their back if you needed it. I now truly understand why there are so many westerners living in Cambodia. The Khmer people work long hours for low wages, but live much simpler lives. They don’t need a lot of money or fancy things to be happy (or at least they don’t show it). A lot of the locals I met do not live in the same city as their family, but they always seemed to make the best of it. They called all of their friends their brothers and sisters, even though they weren’t really related. To them everyone is family and you really feel that when you’re around them. I asked one local named Sakada (my taxi boat captain) why he was so nice to a complete stranger and he told me that he believes the good he does will come back to him in his life. I believe this to be true as well. If only more people in America had this kind of mentality, our country would be a much better place.

I met the most amazing people in Cambodia and they will always hold a special place in my heart. Thank you to all of my new Khmer friends, I feel very blessed to have met you. You all made my experience in Cambodia very special and I am forever grateful for all of the love you have shown me. For now I say it’s not goodbye, but until I see you again!

With much love,

Mini Van (My nickname one of my Cambodian friends gave me because they had a hard time pronouncing my name haha)

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

My friends Charnai, Sorphea and Dan took me out to dinner a few times

Koh Rong Samloem, Island of Cambodia

Dan invited us to meet him at his bungalows being constructed on Koh Rong Samloem Island. The Island is very quiet and undeveloped. There is no wifi and electricity is ran by generators. Dan cooked us up a feast and we spent the night playing games, eating and drinking. One of the construction workers even joined us! We spent the night in his partially constructed bungalows for free. The whole experience was one of my favorite memories in Cambodia. Thanks Dan!

Koh Rong, Island of Cambodia

Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem are both islands off the coast of Sihanoukville. I went to Koh Rong first, then met Dan and the crew on Koh Rong Samloem a week later.

Bungalow

Mac and I shared a bungalow on the beach. That was my first experience staying in a bungalow and having to sleep with a mosquito net.

Boat Trip

On the boat trip they took us snorkeling, swimming, fishing, and then bbq’d the fish we caught. Needless to say the captains caught most of the fish. We then watched the sunset and went swimming with the plankton after dark. When you jump in the water at night you can see the Plankton glowing all around you. The boat trip was my favorite part of my trip to the island.

…I had more pictures from the boat trip, but the rest are on Macs camera );