Cambodia & Thailand 2006

2006-03-10T18:14:00.000-08:00

Being carried in piggy-back

This man was so sweet and so cute!

All done!

2006-03-10T17:57:00.000-08:00

Dad saying thank you.

On their way home

2006-03-10T16:26:00.000-08:00

We're #1!

She had to be carried in.

Dad speaking at the ceremony

Chanta hoisting a recipient into a chair. See another person crawling up to the chair behind him.

During the ceremony, sitting with the dignataries. That's the general (Deputy Prime Minister) on the right.

2006-03-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

Gotta love DSL! Here are more pictures from the ceremony in Siem Reap that we couldn't upload before.

Being carried into the ceremony

Happy Recipient

This kid was a crack up!

2006-03-07T22:10:00.000-08:00

Well, we've enjoyed our romantic rendezvous in Thailand. We're surrounded by sunburnt Euros sporting banana hammocks. Today we walked down one of the most touristy beaches, Chaweng, and saw several topless women (the tourism books in Thailand specifically say not to go topless unless you want to offend the locals). Some of the women, in dad's words, "should be arrested" for going topless in their not-so-attractive bodies. That is what I thought about the 300 pound man who was sitting at the bar drinking a beer in a speedo. It's been quiet, actually "dead" around here, and relaxing, but we're ready to get back. We'll have each enjoyed two 90 minute massages which were FANTASTIC! And of course the Thai food is excellent.

So we fly to Bangkok tonight, where we'll stay in the lovely Day Inn which is actually situated in the airport, before leaving in the morning to fly to Tokyo and then LA. We land in LA at 10 am on Thursday.

2006-03-07T22:04:00.000-08:00

2006-03-07T22:02:00.000-08:00

Paradise...

2006-03-07T22:01:00.000-08:00

That's me on the left!

2006-03-07T21:47:00.000-08:00

Eat your heart out Kevin!

2006-03-07T00:49:00.000-08:00

4 people on a moto!
Hitchin a ride home
School girls crossing the street. The bigger girls are making a line to stop cars from running into the smaller ones!
If you look closely, you'll see the baby on the right has a hairlip. This woman said the baby was left at the foot of a temple. Where is Dr. 90210 when we need him?

2006-03-07T00:45:00.000-08:00

Dannell! Bring me home with you!
Pet, Chanta and Channy
"One two three smile!"

Dad getting the "royal treatment" fan service on a hot afternoon.

2006-03-07T00:43:00.000-08:00

Shopping.

2006-03-07T00:41:00.000-08:00

The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh.

2006-03-07T00:39:00.000-08:00

Guess what? Yep, more monks!

2006-03-07T00:35:00.000-08:00

More monks.

2006-03-07T00:33:00.000-08:00

More Khmer Rouge. Read the Security of Regulation - shocking.
There were other photographs of the woman with the baby in the electric chair, but I couldn't bring myself to take pictures of them.

2006-03-07T00:29:00.000-08:00

Temples

2006-03-07T00:26:00.000-08:00

Typical restaurant along the Mekong River in Phnom Penh.
Dad so shocked to see that all of our luggage arrived when we first got here!
Monkey girl.
Hotel in Phnom Penh.
Showing the natives what they look like on digital camera!

2006-03-07T00:09:00.000-08:00

Chanta on the left, Pet on the right.

2006-03-07T00:06:00.000-08:00

Some artists' depictions of the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge.
Yes, in that first one, they are pulling out finger nails.

2006-03-07T00:03:00.000-08:00

Pictures from our first lunch in Phnom Penh. You can see I had a hard time adjusting to Cambodian life. The Mekong river is behind me. And that's the gourmet kitchen!

2006-03-06T23:53:00.000-08:00

More shots from the village on Sunday. The man laying on the floor with an IV is one year younger than dad. Not sure how he got an IV, nor who puts it in for him. The man sitting cross-legged on the floor was very nice - notice they have no furniture, no possessions, but they do have a TV! I guess that's a blessing since he's been immoble and couldn't go anywhere.

2006-03-06T23:51:00.000-08:00

On the phone with Tori trying to figure out what kind of knock-off designer purse to get her.

2006-03-06T23:50:00.000-08:00

I got the balloons out for the kids, but the old ladies liked them too! I hope they shared. The guy in the tie is dressed up for a wedding that was happening that morning.

2006-03-06T23:48:00.000-08:00

More creative transport.

2006-03-06T23:44:00.000-08:00

Creative transportation. We've seen it all, and we got some good shots after the wheelchair ceremony in Siem Reap. Motos, Tuk Tuks, bicycles, wheelbarrows...whatever it took to get that chair back home!

2006-03-06T23:42:00.000-08:00

A not uncommon sight in Cambodia. But in 9 days, we only had one close call on the road, thanks to Chanta. I shouted an explicative, dad was napping and needless to say was curious about what had transpired. Good thing mom wasn't there.

2006-03-06T23:39:00.000-08:00

Please don't take our "fish, fish, fish" comment too literally. The food here has actually been really good, and very cheap! In Cambodia we could have a 4 course lunch for 4 people for $11! At dinner we'll have course after course of yummy food, beer for all, for $20!
It's fun because it's all "family style" where Channy would order a bunch of dishes and we could all share and sample everything. I've even gotten Dad into Tofu! I started ordering it when I got sick of fishfishfish and he eats it! Ha ha too funny.
We had delicious Thai food in Thailand last night and today. It's incredible. And they have the best papaya for breakfast and dessert (both in Cambodia & Thailand).

2006-03-06T23:36:00.000-08:00

Dad's a big hit around here. The young girls can't figure out how I landed such a handsome, rich older man for a husband. We got so sick of explaining that we're actually father/daughter that we just let people think what they want to think.
Except for when we were booking our massages today and they were going to put us in the same room! We were very clear that we should have DIFFERENT rooms.

2006-03-06T22:43:00.000-08:00

Chanta, our driver, has had an interesting life. Our first impression of him was that he was a bit stand-offish, a bit shy, and perhaps a bit macho. He is 44 and has been in the army since he was 13. He has a wife at home and four young boys. He's a tough guy, he wears army fatigues, and he has tattoos all over his body, including along his jaw line. Fighters in the army traditionally get body art to protect them from bullets. The belief is that if you are a pure man - you don't lie, cheat on your wife, or steal, and if you live an honorable life, the tattoos will protect you from bullets. If you're not a pure person, the tattoos won't protect you. While in some of the villages we noticed other army members with tattoos also. In a very short time, he has really grown on both of us. We've watched as he has dived head first into helping distribute the wheelchairs. He gets a kick out of showing people the brakes, how to pump the tires, and and just helping people out by lifting them into the chairs or pushing them around. He rolled up his sleeves, got personal with the wheelchair recipients, and really went out of his way to get to know them and help us. Technically, his job is the driver for the general (Deputy Prime Minister pictured below) but he was assigned to us for the week that we were there. He was instrumental in our safety and comfort while we were in Cambodia. He's also one of my new favorite people on earth. He earns $40/month, and that is what he supports his family of 6 on. His sister also recently passed away, leaving five children, the youngest 5 months. So when he can, he sends them money so they can buy rice. At the ceremony on Friday, Dad told the general how wonderful and helpful he's been, and we watched as the general busted out his wallet and handed Chanta a $100 bill. He was so happy!!! By the way, regarding the army fatigues - he said the army only supplies him with 2 uniforms to wear. It's almost 100 degrees F here every day. That means he wears one uniform while washing the other one. Though we gave him a monetary gift at the end of our trip, we'd also like to send him some army fatigues as there are no army supply stores here. If anyone has access to second hand fatigues (they don't need to be new), please get some size Small and get them to either me or dad and we'll send him a package when we get back. He also wears a size five mens shoe and could use some black boots to wear with his uniforms. Thanks

2006-03-06T18:09:00.000-08:00

No BO! What's up with that?

In start contrast to Ghana, there's not body odor here. Even in the remote village on Sunday - people certainly didn't have access to deoderant, and it was like 100 degrees outside, and you know they don't take daily showers - so why don't they smell?

Is it because of their bland diet, compared to the diet in Africa?

Don't get us wrong - it was great, no complaints here. We're just curious.

2006-03-06T04:36:00.000-08:00

Some pictures from our second to final evening in Phnom Penh. That night I had a foot massage at our hotel - it was deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevine! $7 for 45 minutes. It was late - about 9 pm, and they called the lady to come in from home so I tipped her big - three bucks! She was thrilled!!!

2006-03-06T04:34:00.000-08:00

2006-03-06T04:30:00.000-08:00

2006-03-06T04:12:00.000-08:00

We are now on the beautiful resort island of Koh Samui in Thailand. We arrived this afternoon (Monday) to a beautiful romantic bungalow (just what we need!) in a nice resort right on the beach. Took a dip in the warm water, had a mai tai, and I've already had a pedicure to boot! I'm feeling guilty when I think about where we were just 24 hours ago...

We drove from Phnom Penh about 1 hour into a village that is 10 km off the main road. It may as well have been 1000 km though. It was so remote, they had never had white people in their village before! We couldn't believe it! There are about 1000 families that live there and they had never had access to missionaries - so no medicine, no eyeglasses, no heath care education, and definitely no wheelchairs. We delivered 15 and there is still a need for more.

Channy knew about the village because he lived there during the Pol Pot era. A woman let him stay beneath her house where the animals live (remember that all the houses here are on stilts). He lived there for a year, working on the farms and building roads and dams. This is the same place where his sister, her husband and their five children were taken away to be executed by the Khmer Rouge. The woman who had let him live beneath her house was still there, and 30 years later she recognized Channy right away. He also had a friend who he worked with, who now is very sick due to a stroke, and who was a recipient of one of our chairs. He started crying when he saw Channy b/c he didn't think he'd ever see him again. It was a walk down memory lane for him, and a huge eye-opener for us.

We were "the freak show", similar to the blue man in "The 5 People you Meet in Heaven". Everyone was just staring at us. They'd never seen white people!!! They were poorer than any poverty I've ever seen. Nobody wore shoes, very few people had teeth, and the teeth that remained were rotten beyond imaginable. They lived in huts on stilts. They had wells for water, some had TVs, but no bathrooms, no doctors, no dentists, there was a school but I'm not sure how high the education went. There were little girls carrying babies and all I could think was "I hope she's not the mother, but instead the big sister!" But because of poor nutrition and access to health care and information the children are severly malnourished and therefore developmentally stunted. The most important time nutritionally for a child is during the first two years and if proper nutrition isn't provided then, it almost doesn't matter what type of nutrition the child has for the rest of his or her life. So these little girls could have been 16 and mothers, even though they looked 8, but I was too afraid to ask.

So you can imagine we were quite the talk of the town. People were so grateful to have our help and attention. I saw some very sick people - some of the pictures I will post but some of the people were so sick I couldn't even bring myself to take pictures of them. It was way too grim.

What's interesting though, is that for us to see someone sick from Polio is so frustrating because we know tht it is a disease that can be prevented. To see someone who is paralyzed from a stroke, or someone who has deformed limbs - we know that medicine and therapy assistance could help the person be more functional. But these people literally had no idea what they were missing. I think it's almost a course of life - you watch your family members get sick and die and it's just what happens. I'm very curious about the life expectancy and birth/death rate of this village and think it'd be fascinating if an anthropologist went in there to study it. But the families are very close - they all rely on each other for help and you can see how bonded they are. There's also a lot of inbreeding b/c people will have 5, 6, 7 or 8 kids and then those kids have lots of kids so you end up with cousins marrying cousins. I'd be interested to see what effect that has had.

Anyway, it was very interesting for us to see what no white people have seen before. Like I said, we gave away 15 chairs (we started with 5 but quickly ran out, so we made the 2 hour round-trip back to Phnom Penh to pick up more chairs) and it was a long day but very productive. We were disappointed because there was still a need for more, but we had a flight out the next morning. Channy, Chanta and Pet said they would go back next weekend with more chairs. We hope they do!

2006-03-03T17:27:00.000-08:00

Fish, fish and more fish.

It's been nice here in Siem Reap, but there are A LOT of tourists. We were a bit spoiled in Phnom Penh by being surrounded with only locals all the time. A plus about this place though is the availability of different food options. In Phnom Penh, at the local restaurants, we would start off with a dried fish dish, followed by fried fish, then broiled fish, and finished off with fish soup!

Not a horrible thing when you consider the alternative protein sources: skinny cow (see other post) and avian flu!

2006-03-03T17:21:00.000-08:00

"Boy, I'm glad I had my shots."

This has been uttered by both of us at different times. Yesterday at the ceremony there was a mentally retarded little boy who was with his mother. Dad was going around visiting with the people, asking them what their disability was, and how they felt about getting a wheelchair. This little boy apparently didn't like being talked to. When encouraged by his mother to smile at me so I could take a picture of the three of them, he looked at dad and spit in his face! Yikes!

The day we gave the chair to the two men in the village, we were getting ready for a group photo when a woman put her naked baby in my arms. Naked as in no diapers. Baby as in should be wearing diapers. Glad I got that Hep B shot after all!

2006-03-03T02:53:00.000-08:00

coming in on the red carpet.

2006-03-03T02:51:00.000-08:00

coming in on the red carpet.

2006-03-03T02:46:00.001-08:00

Dad with the Deputy Prime Minister Nhiek Bun Chhay.

2006-03-03T02:46:00.000-08:00

2006-03-03T02:36:00.000-08:00

Loading up the trucks to head back out into the countryside.

2006-03-03T02:34:00.000-08:00

So you can see we've got some pictures! Yippee! We decided to splurge at the fancy hotel across the street - they charge $6/hour for internet (vs. $1/hour in the local cafes) but they've got high speed and by golly it works!!! Not to mention the A/C in here and clean bathrooms. (sorry for the sideways shots).
The ceremony went great today. Brett & Becky Towbridge, other volunteers of Free Wheelchair Mission, happened to be in town and they joined us. We got there around 8 am, and there were already a lot of people there waiting for us. It was fun watching the others come in. There was a red carpet, which was probably for the dignitaries but we like to think it was for the disabled. It was interesting watching people as they came in - some carried by family members, some crawling on the ground, some on crutches. Pick-up trucks would arrive and unload a dozen people at a time. They came from the villages in the region - one woman told us she woke up at 3 am to travel 5 hours to get here. Another man spent about $2.50 (which is very high for his economic status) to take a taxi to get here. We wanted to reimburse him but then we'd have to reimburse everyone. Fortunately the government had provided little goodie bags with money, medicine, bottled water, snacks, and clothes for the wheelchair recipients. What a nice treat - dad said they didn't do anything like this in Ghana.
The honorary speaker was the Deputy Prime Minister, also the co-minister for National Defense. The equivalent position in our govt would be Donald Rumsfeld. He is who Channey and Pet report directly to, and who Chanta usually drives for. He was very nice, and in his broken English asked when we would be coming back!
There were speeches, presentations of the goodie bags, and lots of picture taking and video taping. I played with the kids and balloons and recorded as much as possible. We''ll be on the national news too! Dad spoke, thanking the Cambodian government for their instrumental assistance this week, and telling them about Free Wheelchair Mission and that 1100 chairs have already been delivered to Cambodia and we hope to bring many more.
At first people would give me this look, not of disdain, but I guess of distrust. I don't think they felt worthy to be there, worthy to receive these gifts of the wheelchairs. As soon as I would smile, though, they would break out in a huge smile and bow down and put their hands together to thank me. Some were victims of landmines, some were mentally retarded, some were just born without limbs. The one thing they all had in common is that they've lived the recent past as outcasts of society, with literally no government assistance, no financial wherewithal, and sadly no self-respect. I felt so honored to be able to witness this life-altering event.
We gave away 200 chairs. Keep in mind that this probably changes the lives of 1000 people though - as these recipients won't have to rely so much on family members, friends, and neighbors anymore. FWM hopes to have distributed 20,000,000 worldwide by 2010. We have some pictures of people loading the chairs and themselves back up into the back of pick-up trucks for the long trek home.
We're heading back to Phnom Penh on Saturday. On Sunday we'll pick up about 15 more wheelchairs from the warehouse to take out to the poor villages. Though today's ceremony was incredible and proof of what humans can accomplish through cooperation and spirit, it's also really fun to do the Publishers Clearing House-style surprise deliveries.

2006-03-03T02:27:00.000-08:00

2006-03-03T02:22:00.000-08:00

2006-03-03T02:18:00.000-08:00

2006-03-03T02:13:00.000-08:00

Leaving the red carpet! (that's Becky on the left)

2006-03-03T02:10:00.000-08:00

The army member's family.

2006-03-03T02:07:00.000-08:00

The first wheelchair we gave away, to the army member who lost both legs in a landmine in 1986.

2006-03-03T02:00:00.000-08:00

This is supposed to bring good luck (yeah, right!)

2006-03-03T01:57:00.000-08:00

Angkor Wat

2006-03-03T01:54:00.000-08:00

Angkor Wat. (yes, mom, dad did get a picture of us with the Daily Pilot but it's too cheesy to put up here)

2006-03-03T01:52:00.000-08:00

Skinny cow ice cream sandwich, anyone?

2006-03-03T01:49:00.000-08:00

Trip to the casino.

He's towering over them!!!

2006-03-03T01:45:00.000-08:00

Dad eating a spider (not really).

2006-03-03T01:42:00.000-08:00

This is about as close to the avian flu as we'd like to get.

2006-03-03T01:39:00.000-08:00

Sonia & Sean - I think that BBQ frogs would be an excellent addition to the menu at Mizza.

2006-03-03T01:36:00.000-08:00

The kids love the balloons I've brought. A great way to kill time (thanks for the idea, Heath!)

2006-03-03T01:33:00.000-08:00

Beer Girls.

2006-03-03T01:31:00.000-08:00

BYOTP.

Yes, I've peed in many-a-hole like this one.

2006-03-03T01:29:00.000-08:00

Like the Nazi's, the Khmer Rouge carefully recorded all of it's victims. They even took pictures.

How is it that this happened only 30 years ago?

2006-03-03T01:26:00.000-08:00

skulls at the Killing Fields.

2006-03-03T01:23:00.000-08:00

Killing Fields. Pretty self-explanatory.

2006-03-03T01:20:00.000-08:00

monks.

2006-03-03T01:18:00.000-08:00

The silk factory.

2006-03-03T01:15:00.000-08:00

The surgery room at the hospital.

2006-03-03T01:11:00.000-08:00

Delivering the three wheelchairs to Channey's father's hospital. The director/doctor is on the far right, then our driver Chanta, then Channey, then the anesthesiologist in green, a nurse, and then me!

2006-03-03T01:08:00.000-08:00

In his new chair.

Do you think we feel tall? :)

2006-03-03T01:04:00.000-08:00

Getting the chair out of the van at the Elderly man's house. His shack is the small one on the left.

2006-03-03T00:59:00.000-08:00

This old man has spent the last ten years on this platform. He has no family to help him. Waking him up, I said I felt like Ed McMahon in publishers clearing house! Surprise! Your life is now going to change!!!

2006-03-03T00:56:00.000-08:00

Dad showing him how to use the breaks.

2006-03-03T00:51:00.000-08:00

The brother with polio getting lifted into his chair.

2006-03-01T23:29:00.000-08:00

OK so that was actually deliver of wheelchairs 2-3. The next 3 were delivered at a hospital that Channey’s father had built in 1968. We stopped by his hometown village, as it was on our way to Siem Reap. We met the director of the hospital, a Cambodian “surgeon” whose English was OK. He makes $100 a month. We met some of the sick people – pneumonia, tumors, heart problems, sick babies, it was very sad. The conditions were less than marginal by our standards, but the services were free of charge and certainly better than no medical care at all.

The director told us he could use the wheelchairs for transferring patients from one building to another (buildings were separated by dirt roads, it was pouring rain when we were there – so what do they do, carry people in the rain to a bed in the other “wing”?). The wheelchairs, if you’ve not seen them, are made from plastic lawn chairs and bicycle chairs so they are perfect for the rugged conditions found in most third world countries. (you can see pictures in previous blog below). He said the wheelchairs would also be useful for when he has to do an amputation. Now, recovering amputees are carried to their homes in someone’s arms. Now they can be wheeled home. We looked around the hospital and saw no wheelchairs. Amazing.

So we left all three with him. We’re sure they will be put to good use. It’s an added plus that we could do something to help out Channey’s hometown, especially at the hospital that his father built.

By the way, when leaving the hospital Channey pointed out a school that his father had also built. He said the Khmer Rouge used it as a prison during that era. Fortunately now it’s back to being a school.

We arrived in Siem Reap in the afternoon, and found a hotel for $15 a night. Don’t worry mom, it’s actually pretty decent. Clean sheets, shower, and toilet paper is about all I care about. Even better, it has a/c and a tv! There's no lice, but a few mosquitos. (That's a joke - Mom picked up lice at the UCSB freshman orientation at the dorms in 1992 and still hasn't recovered.)

Today we visited Angkor Wat, the huge site that houses about 700 temples, and also the reason most visitors even come to Cambodia. It was beautiful and we did get some good pictures (after stepping around all the other tourists). Quite a change as we didn’t see any other white people yesterday at all until we arrived here.

My tummy ache is gone which is very nice. I ate a roll (not fried, but the kind with the paper type wrapping) that had raw lettuce in it. I was feeling courageous, as I had been eating all the local cuisine (less the spiders) and hadn’t gotten sick. But dad didn’t have any of that and he feels fine. No more of those for me!

Tomorrow morning at 9 is the ceremony to deliver the 300 wheelchairs. We are very excited. Supposedly the governor of this province has been advertising the event and a huge turnout is expected. Hopefully they will bring people in from all around the countryside. Because we’re so close to the Thai border, where most of the landmines are, there are supposed to be a lot of crippled people here, but we haven't really seen any yet. Maybe they're hanging out at the 5 star hotels. (by the way, we learned that the swanky hotel across the street from us has rooms that go for $2000/night! We feel like we got a great deal with our 15 bucks!)

2006-03-01T23:06:00.000-08:00

Delivery of wheelchairs 2-6. Yesterday, on the way to Siem Reep, we stopped for lunch in a small village. The women and girls came by to entice us with their fresh products - eggs, mangos, and of course fried spiders. Channey said during the Pol Pot era when he was hiding in the woods he would dig for spiders under the trees so he would have something to eat. Times aren't as tough now, but apparently the Cambodians will eat anything!

One young woman told us that her brother has been crippled for 6 years, and that he was at home about 1K away. After lunch we packed up and drove over to his house (not a house really, but a shack on stilts). He was sleeping in the shade so she had to wake him up. You can imagine how startled he was to see us Americans standing there smiling at him.

We told him what we were there to do. At first I think he thought he was dreaming. Chanta (our driver) got the wheelchair out of the van and wheeled it over to him. His sister picked him up off his mat and put him in the chair. Never seen a smile so wide. We showed him how he could push himself or be pushed around. We showed him the brake, and the pump to add air to the tires. Turns out he had not left his little mat for 6 years. He got sick with something (probably polio) and has been immobile ever since. He said he was very happy because he could help his wife out now that he could move around.

The group of families and neighbors that had surrounded us during this presentation advised us of another older man in the neighborhood who also was crippled. We hopped back into the van and drove down the dirt road to this man's house. He, too, was sleeping on a mat. He hadn't left the mat for 10 years, since he fell and injured himself. He said he has no family, no one to help him. Neighbors will bring him food from time to time so he can eat. A few years ago someone came by and took his name and said they'd come back with a wheelchair for him. It never arrived.

He asked if we had any medicine, which unfortunately we did not. We gave him some money which will hopefully go toward medicine. He was very old and clearly in pain. Again, a group of neighbors had surrounded us, and they were all amazed. Dad told him this wheelchair was a gift from the United States and from Jesus Christ. We got it all on video.

Still no pictures. I'm told the internet connection here is too slow.

On the way back down the dirt road, we checked for the brother but he was gone. Nowhere to be seen. Dad says that happens quite often - once they get the chair they take off, they are so excited to be able to move around and see things they haven't seen in years. We hope he is having a good time.

The sister asked us to stop by her house so her husband could meet us. She was concerned that he would be jealous if he heard about her riding around in a van with some Americans. He wasn't home - gone fishing or something.

2006-02-28T15:58:00.000-08:00

Monks are probably the most photogenic thing here in Cambodia. Children and the elderly are a close second. Then there's the buddhas, temples, gardens...boy there are a lot of photogenic things here. But I like taking pictures of the monks.

They get a pretty sweet deal - if a young fellow becomes a monk, he can live in the pagoda and live and eat for free while he studies. He can study anything he wants. When he's done studying, he can leave the pagoda and go off and practice whatever skill it was that he learned.

They are all pretty young (it's hard to tell because everyone here looks to me a lot younger than they really are) and of course they cruise around barefoot and when it's sunny they carry umbrellas. They will stop in front of a store front or a group of people who will then bow and pray to them.

And of course the best part is that they get to wear those really pretty orange robes.

2006-02-28T15:51:00.000-08:00

Dad's visit to the casino.

Yesterday, while waiting for the ferry across the Mekong to the "silk factory", we were sitting in the shade of this little village drinking cokes when I noticed a group of men all huddled in a circle behind the little shops. I asked Channey what they were doing. Being the gracious host that he is, he went over there and checked it out for me. Turns out they were playing a game - the closest we could compare it to is Roulette. They had a sophisticated set up - an old wood table carved with the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4... and a semi-dice with a toothpick through it. They would spin it like a dradle (sp?) and then cover it with a coconut shell. When they could hear the spinning stop, before lifting the shell, they would guess, based on the sound of the way the die landed, what number it was. They would then place their money on the table and cover it with little pebbles so it wouldn't blow away.

They told me I couldn't take any pictures, so I sort of stood back as it was clearly a gentleman's club. Dad, however, stuck his head in there and threw in 500 of the local currency (not going to try to spell or pronounce it - almost everything here is in dollars so I've been spoiled like that) on #4 and lost. So, in typical gambling fashion, he bet again, also on #4. This time he won - 2000! They were all laughing, and he was so shocked. Just then our ferry arrived and it was time for us to go. He felt bad taking their money and running, but what's fair is fair!

I did sneak in a picture or two - the funniest one is from behind of the circle of men and then there's dad - about a foot taller than the rest! Look out, Las Vegas!

2006-02-28T15:50:00.000-08:00

There is a sign in the elevator that says "Sex with a child or minor is a crime. No sex with children or minors in the hotel".

Wow.

2006-02-28T15:45:00.000-08:00

$5 massage. Almost not worth $5. I think I'm bruised. It was more like pinching and punching than massaging. She had me down to almost my birthday suit in my hotel room, she spoke literally no English, and the most brutal part of the massage was when she rubbed my knee caps. Yeah, that hurt.

Nonetheless Dad figured it couldn't be a waste of $5 so he went up there to request one. They actually brought out a half dozen women for him to chose from. He said his turned out better than mine.

We also wanted to mention the "beer girls". When you go to a restaurant, as soon as you sit down, you're accosted by young pretty women who all sell a different brand of beer. They are on commissions, paid by the beer company, and the restaurant allows them to peddle their goods in their restaurant. It's pretty funny. When possible, we go with Angkor, the local beer.

We've noticed very little Westernization here. It may be different in Siem Reap, due to the higher amount of tourism they get there, but here in the Capital of Phnom Penh we've seen no fast food chains, no starbucks, no wal-marts, it's very refreshing. We leave for Siem Reap this morning. I've got a bit of a tummy ache so let's hope I make the 5 hour car ride OK!

2006-02-28T01:54:00.000-08:00

Today's visit to the silk factory. We made the traverse a across the mighty Mekong river to the other side to visit a silk factory and buy some silk. The ferry across the river was interesting. Dad's comment was "well, we don't have to worry about trying to get close to the life preservers." There weren't any!

Once we got there, we realized that it was 12 PM and the factory would be closed for lunch until 2. We were a bit disappointed, as we didn't feel like waiting in the sweltering heat and dust of this tiny town. Two sweet girls showed us to their neighbors house, where the woman was taking a break from her silk making. She has a home on stilts and lives upstairs and has her silk maker things downstairs. Channey asked her to take a break from her siesta and she very kindly indulged us. She showed us how she makes the silk. I had no idea how labor intensive it is. Within minutes she was sweating under the heat of her tin roof (that's why they take the siesta break during the middle of the day). I got some great pictures (still experiencing technical difficulties on the postings) and then my dad gave her $5 to thank her for going out of her way. You'd think she had won the lottery. She was so excited I thought she'd jump right up into his arms. Her family was very thankful. I gave them all Santa Barbara keychains as a little momento. That was our visit to the silk factory.

Speaking of dad and the Cambodian ladies - geesh you'd think he was Robert Redford or something. They all comment on how handsome he is. Of course I think he's handsome, but I think they have something else in mind when they compliment him :) They all think I'm his girlfriend, and we are sure to set the record straight on that very quickly!

One other comment about the stilts - most of the houses here are in the flood plains and are literally built on stilts. The majority do not have electricity, let alone bathrooms. Dirt floors, large families living under one roof. They all work - even little children make a living by selling fruit, shining shoes, or offering to fan you off with their little fans. It's sad - most of the parents need their children to work to help make money, so that means they don't attend school. It's a vicious cycle that is passed from generation to generation.

I'm off to my $5 massage now :)

2006-02-28T01:50:00.000-08:00

Any requests for a fake rolex? They're about $15. Tell me what size, color, etc. you want. They also have Tag, Gucci, you name it...

2006-02-27T18:51:00.000-08:00

More personal stories of challenge...our host, Channey, has been incredibly gracious - taking us to the cites, telling us about the history of what we are seeing, but I have found his personal stories to be incredibly impressive.

During the Pol Pot era, he fled from his home town in the countryside so that he would not be put in the army. His parents were in hiding, as were his sisters and brothers. The Khmer Rouge wanted to execute all of the people who either had wealth, education, or a loyalty to the army or government. That would leave all of the uneducated people who would be much easier to brainwash. His sister and brother in law were taken away, but his parents were able to hide their five children under the floorboards of their home. Later, the Khmer Rouge came to take the 5 children so they could be executed with their parents. Channey's mother, the grandmother of these children, watched in vain as she could do nothing to stop them from taking the children.

Channey later was instructed to march down a path that he knew meant torture and future death. His life was saved, twice actually, by a man he knew who stopped him and sent him back with instructions to tell the officials that he said that Channey should not go. He has visited the town of this man three times but has been unable to find him to thank him for saving his life.

He later married, and his wife had an opportunity to work in Canada. They lived there for 10 years before moving to Long Beach. I spoke with his wife on the phone yesterday, and her English was impeccable. He told me she learned it when she was a manager at MacDonalds. They now own a liquor store in Long Beach (7th & PCH) and she lives there with their two boys (19 and 25) so they can attend college. He came back because he had an opportunity to work here. He is pretty high ranking - the next step up for him would be a minster (ie. minister of education, health, foreign affairs, something like that). So she stays there and works 7 days a week in the liquor store, her boys go to Long Beach State and Dominguez Hils, and they talk on the phone about once a week and see each other once or twice a year.

How often does someone go into that liquor store to make a puchase and sees another faceless nameless minority foreigner? I am guilty of doing this countless times. Yet this beautiful woman is making the ultimate sacrifice so that her children can have a US college education. Ultimately she will move back here so they can live together, but not until the boys are done with school.

We are so fortunate to have this first-hand glimpse into the experience of a Cambodian. This person was directly impacted by the Khmer Rouge many times over yet his family has worked so hard to find success in work and education. This is so much better than reading it out of a history book!

2006-02-27T18:37:00.000-08:00

Niem Reap was our first wheelchair recipient. A man in about his late 40s, married with three children, he stepped on a land mine in 1986 and lost both legs. He has a prosthetic on one leg and the other is barely a stump below his hip. Originally he was orphaned in the 1970s during the Pol Pot era. His entire family fled the country, and he stayed to join the army. His mother ended up in Canada and he didn't see her until 20 years later when she came back in the mid 90s to find him. Once in the army, he was in the region near the Thai border where most of the land mines can be found when he was hit. He has been in an old wheelchair and crutches ever since.

The army doesn't really take care of him. He gets a small stipend of about $30/month (the average salary here by the way is about $60/month). He has no other skills so nobody will hire him. They do not have Veterans benefits or skill training here like they do in the US. He is fortunate enough to live in the home his mother left him (she recently passed away) with his brother and their families.

He said his neighbors look down on him for being crippled, yet here we Americans are trying to help him and make his life a bit better. He was so appreciative of us coming all this way to help him when the people next door don't even give him the time of day. His wife served us coconuts with straws so we could drink the sweet milk, and we chatted and took pictures and videos for about an hour. His oldest daughter, age 16, practiced a bit of her English with me but she was very shy. She is in school now but hopes to get a job in a factory some day.

There was a high-ranking army member there that was obviously very decorated. When dad asked him what his position is, he declined to comment. We figured it must be a high one since he had two military police escorts. Later, over dinner, we learned that the police escorts were actually there for us, not him. We learned that we are being watched very carefully. Our driver, Chamta, does not carry a gun but with a quick phone call he could have us surrounded by military and police in the event that we are robbed or assaulted in any way. They said in addition to that obvious protection, there are spies watching us as well to make sure nothing happens. It was quite erie and shocking to learn this. I personally don't feel that "special", but dad's impression is that the government probably relies pretty heavily on NGO (non-profit) support from groups like Free Wheelchair Mission and they want the members of those organizations to have positive experiences here so we continue to provide support. If the end result is that people are receiving our help and we feel safe in the process I guess there's no harm in that.

Our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with Neim and his family. What a kind, special person. He has faced challenges far worse than anything we can imagine - losing his entire family, joining the army, becoming crippled, and then becoming an outcast of society. My, how lucky we are.

We will post pictures of him when we can. The CD rom drive at our hotel doesn't work, and I was halfway through posting pictures from an internet cafe when the power went out.

On a very personal note, I do want to send a shout out to Faith whose due date would have been yesterday (Monday). At one of the temples we visited, I bought two small birds from a little boy who said if I held them and said a prayer and then let the birds go than my prayer would be answered and my wishes granted (this was of course all translated by our host). I wished for eternal peace for Faith in heaven, that she would continue to look after us here on earth, and for continued health and a future family for me and Craig. I do feel a sense of relief at the passing of February 27, like the close of a cycle for me, and I am so incredibly glad to be here during this time.

Don't worry, I'm not going to bring a baby home from Cambodia with me. Not this time :)

2006-02-27T18:31:00.000-08:00

Organized chaos. That's what the traffic situation is around here. Looking down from my hotel room on the 7th floor in the center of the city, the motos (scooters) look like little minnow fish swimming around, swerving around each other, barely missing each other, going in all directions with no signals, stop signs, or other traffic indicators, and then a big shark - a large car or truck - will come barreling down the street or intersection and the little minnow motos gracefully swerve out of the way. The motos carry 2, 3, 4, even 5 people at a time (the record we've seen so far was 4 adults and a baby, though we heard as many as 8 have been cited) and of course nobody wears helmets. We learned that you do not need a license to drive a moto. We learned that the vehicle that gets its front in front of the other vehicle has right of way, regardless of who arrived in the intersection first. The motos also tow what we consider rickshaws, carrying people or trailers carried with produce, bricks, wood - you name it. The motos are a very common form of transportation - especially since gas here costs about $3 per gallon. I'd love to go for a ride but dad said no :(

Other forms of transport include bicycles, which have no reservations about putting their noses in front of the motos and big cars, and large taxi-trucks which carry people inside, on top, and all around. To get from the city out to a province costs about $1.25 if you want to sit on top of the truck, but twice that if you want to ante up for an inside seat. I've seen people riding on top of pigs - I wonder if that one is free...

We could drive around in our large army SUV all day long and be entertained by the traffic. Once we think nothing could shock us more, I'll hear dad giggling from the front seat or he'll hear me gasp from the back seat. Our hosts are entertained by our entertainment - it's great.

Yet we've noticed that there is no road rage here. We've only seen one accident, and it was a minor skid out of a scooter on a dirt road. Nobody gives the finger, no cussing - quite the contrary to Southern California. That's why I call it organized chaos - it seems to work quite well!

2006-02-26T23:47:00.000-08:00

Well, we made it. Sorry it took us a few days to write. They've been keeping us VERY busy. We arrived on Saturday morning and were picked up at the airport by the contacts we had here. They have been nothing but gracious, accomodating, and helpful ever since. We have received the royal treatment, as they have escorted us around the city and countryside in a military vehicle with an army driver. Channey and Pet, our hosts, have been so great - taking us to places we would never go to if we were on our own. Every restaurant we've been to has been all locals only - the food is great. Lots of fish, rice, veggies, and of course beer. Neither of us have gotten sick, thank goodness! Right now it's Monday afternoon.

I'd say one of the highlights so far was doing Karaoke on Saturday night. Yes, your friend Bill Rice did karaoke. It was hilarious. The gentleman who owns the warehouse where the wheelchairs have been stored invited us to dinner. It was yummy - nice french red wine, lobster, soft shell crab, yum yum yum. After dinner he invited us to Karaoke. I told dad we really couldn't decline his offer, but we were so tired we agreed to go for only one hour. Well, three or four hours later we found ourselves still dancing with all the locals. Dad sang Folsom Prison Blues (fortunately he watched the Johnny Cash movie on the plane) and Hotel California. It was hilarious. I sang Angels of Harlem (U2), Borderline (Madonna) and Could you Be loved (Marley). As the night wore on, unfortunately for everyone else, my confidence grew and I found myself singing much more than I ever should have! But we were in a private room with our Cambodian hosts, and they some of their friends showed up later. There were these girls whose job it is to entertain us - so there was one girl whose assignment was to make sure our beer was always full! Yikes! But the funnies was when I explained to Dad that these people are serious - karaoke is not a joke like we do in the US where we make fun of each other, they actually do it and take it seriously! He was glad I had told him that as he was then able to refrain from laughing in their faces. Oh, it was way too fun. And we agreed to no cameras - so there is no proof any of this ever happened - you'll have to take our words for it! Ha ha ha!

I'd say the absolute low light was visiting the museum and killing fields for the Khymer Rouge - Pol Pot's army that in 1975 killed 2 million Cambodians. I can honestly day I've never seen such devastation. I've never been to Auschwitz (sp?) but I can only imagine it was as horrible as this. The museum was a former high school where they would detain and torture the victims. They would then take pictures of them all before marching them 15K into the country side where they would execute and bury them in mass graves. The hardest part for me to believe is that this happened in my lifetime. It was atrocious and makes me sick to my stomach still to think of it.

This country has been through so many hardships between Pol Pot, the Vietnamese, the French, yet they are the happiest, friendliest people I've seen. They are so kind, so friendly, they are always smiling. We've had time to visit some of the temples and palaces around phnom penh and they are beautiful. We feel safe (of coures the military escorts help!) and are very comfortable.

We are going this afternoon to watch the army truck load up all the wheelchairs to take them to Siem Riep. There, on Friday, we'll have a ceremony to give more than 300 of them away. We hope to distribute some along the way as well. We are looking forward to that. We'll also visit the rehabilitation hospital that received some of the wheelchairs in the last couple of months. We hope to photograph and video some of the recipients and ask them how they like them.

We've been incredibly busy with very little down time. I am going to try right now to upload some pictures, but the system here is pretty slow.

Bye for now.

2006-02-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

Curious about Emmanuel? Emmanuel Yeboah is a disabled athlete from Ghana, who Bill met on his first trip there in 2004. A film crew was there doing a documentary on his life (see http://www.emmanuelsgift.com/). Bill was so impressed by Emmanuel's story that he immediately got involved in supporting Emmanuel's crusade to increase awareness for disabled individuals all over the world.

Emmanuel has since gained national attention and recognition, and in the Summer of 2005 he was awarded with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs (see http://espn.go.com/espy2005/s/05asheaward.html for the full story). Bill, Dannell & their family got to attend the ESPY Awards to watch Oprah Winfrey present the award to Emmanuel and his co-recipient Jim MacLaren.

A great picture of Emmanuel with the Rice Family.

You can buy the Emmanuel's Gift DVD on Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CDSS18/qid=1137789060/sr=1-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-4816485-3759109?_encoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=130

2006-02-22T10:10:00.000-08:00

A great photo and story from Bill's first trip to Ghana in 2004. (This and many more stories can be found at www.freewheelchairmission.org under Press/Friday Stories).

"There was not going to be enough wheelchairs. One of the volunteers came up to me and asked me to follow him. He took me up to a young girl who was laying on a thin blanket on concrete in some shade. She just looked sad and resigned to her fate of lying on the cement. Her eyes looked hopeless and just stared into nothing. In broken English, her father told me he was worried that his daughter would not get on the list for a wheelchair.

I intervened, and we got a wheelchair. Her father picked her daughter up and placed her in the chair. I knelt next to the girl in the chair and tried to get her to talk or say something. It looked like she was trying to smile. I asked her to tell me her name. In a whisper I could barely hear her say "Eunice". I asked her to smile and again it was a small, almost sad smile. Then Alan the sound man for the film crew came over and said he would take our picture. Alan has a big heart and people can tell he cares. So I am knelling next to Eunice trying to get her to smile, Alan is waving the camera and asking her to smile and finally a big smile that seemed to take away her hopelessness. That smile made the entire trip worthwhile for me. 36 hours of planes and airports, hours on bumpy roads in cars with no air conditioning, oppressive heat and humidity, an upset stomach…none of that mattered any more. About a half hour later I was going back to my hotel when I heard some shouting. I looked over and 50 yards away I saw Eunice in her chair and her father, mother and sisters shouting and waving good bye to me and saying thank you. That is a site and memory that will always be with me. I knew God had touched my life as much as he had touched Eunice’s, and I didn’t even notice the thunderstorm and pouring rain as I walked away."

2006-02-22T09:49:00.000-08:00

Here are some great pictures from Bill & Kathryn's visit to Ghana in 2005.

2006-02-21T20:40:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to our blog! Bill Rice and Dannell Stuart (Father & Daughter) are about to embark on a journey to Cambodia. Our goal is to distribute a container full of 550 wheelchairs to the impoverished disabled. The wheelchairs are already there and have hopefully made their way through customs.

We are going through Free Wheelchair Mission based in Irvine, CA (visit www.freewheelchairmission.org). Bill has visited Ghana (Africa) twice, in 2004 and 2005. Kathryn Rice (sister/daughter) went with him in 2005. The next post has some great pictures from their trip.

If you're like us, you don't know much about Cambodia. Here's a map of the country. We'll fly into the Capital, Phnom Penh and we arrive on Saturday 2/25 at around 9 AM (that's after leaving LAX at 12 PM on 2/23!). We'll spend a few days in the Capital before making the 150 mile trek to Siem Riep (or Siemreab on this map). We'll distribute wheelchairs along the way. Siem Riep is famous for Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world. We hope to spend a day or two exploring those temples. We will then return to Phnom Penh before heading to Thailand for a few days of R&R on Mon, 3/6. We fly out of Thailand on Thurs, 3/9 and actually land at LAX that same morning!

Cambodia remains the world's worst places for landmines. Cambodia's 10 million land mines are remnants of decades of war in the region. The North Vietnamese army laid the first landmines in Cambodia along supply routes in 1967 and continued to do so throughout the Vietnam War. The Khmer Rouge spread millions more along the Thai and Vietnamese borders during its reign. Since 1979, the UN estimates more than 57,000 Cambodians have been mutilated by landmines - about one in every 240 Cambodians. Most of those injured are adults, but more than a third of them are children. Under the Khmer Rogue's rule, between 1975 and 1980, it is believed that one in four Cambodians were murdered or died from starvation and disease. Cambodia still struggles with the memories of a genocide that claimed more than three million lives in the late 1970s. (excerpt taken from http://www.cambodialandminemuseum.org/press_tyee2004.htm) You can also read more about Cambodia's history at http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/asia/cambodia/essential?a=culture

We'll update this blog as much as we can with stories and photos. Feel free to share this and comment when you feel like it! You can also send us private messages to brice@4proactive.com and dannell_stuart@hotmail.com.

Bon Voyage (to us!)
Dannell & Bill