Trip Itinerary

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Travel Log

Week 1

Angkor What? Yeah that’s right we have arrived in Cambodia! 

Week one of placement is done and what a week it has been! Our placement began with Sam, Ella, Carly our clinical educator and I coming together from our travels all over South East Asia to meet in the vibrant city of Siem Reap, Cambodia - our base for the next five weeks. 

The first day involved orientation around Siem Reap with our awesome guide Vichhay. We experienced travel by tuk tuk and practiced crossing the busy Cambodian roads and explored the busy nightlife and restaurants of Pub Street. 

On the second day, we attended a Child Safety Workshop conducted at a local school. The workshop gave us a detailed insight into Cambodia’s culture and history, a must do for all volunteers travelling to Siem Reap! 

The next day started with a language class to further immerse ourselves into the culture. Despite our serious attempts to master the Khmer language, the locals are still having a good laugh at our pronunciation. Maybe we will improve next week! This was followed by a visit to the Angkor Children’s Hospital where we had the privilege of meeting a local physiotherapist and learnt about the important role he does within the hospital. 

The remainder of the week involved meeting the students from Grace House, observing the structure of the learning day and performing physiotherapy assessments. We are extremely excited to work closely with the staff and students at Grace House for the next four weeks. 

We topped the week off by waking up at 4am to experience Angkor Wat at sunrise, a magical experience. A highlight of the trip was visiting Ta Prohm Temple - home of the setting for the Tomb Raider movie. 

Time to relax by the pool and prepare for another big week of placement at Grace House. 

Week 2

Did you hear about our night at the circus? It was inTENTS! 

That’s a wrap on another week of physiotherapy placement at Grace House! 

Week two was a busy week both at Grace House and after school hours. We had a very successful week at which involved finalising assessments and beginning to implement strategies alongside teachers to further progress care and ultimately improve student outcomes. As a team, we have been brainstorming ideas to best utilise the money raised through JCU fundraising to provide Grace House with therapy equipment so teachers can continue to implement effective programs after we leave.

We have even brought a little piece of Far North Queensland to Grace House in the form of tropical shirt Friday’s, a trend which is now being adopted by the teacher and carers.

It is safe to say our Khmer vocabulary is quickly expanding and we are no longer being laughed at for our pronunciation. The rate we are learning we won’t even need translators by week five, we will be fluent in Khmer!

As you read earlier, we went to the Phare Circus this week. It was a night full of delicious food and entertainment delivered by talented performers and artists who graduated from Phare Ponleu Selnak’s vocational training centre in Battambang. It was a well-deserved mid-week break and we felt privileged to support a local organisation which supports vulnerable children and adults in Cambodian society. Phare Circus is a must do for anyone travelling to Siem Reap!

We participated in a jewellery making class at Ammo (short for ammunition) jeweller. Ammo offers young, disadvantaged Cambodians apprenticeship training, learning how to make jewellery from silvers and from recycled brass bullet casings. We had a fantastic afternoon designing our own patterns and came away with a pair of one of a kind earrings.

To top the week off it was Sam’s birthday on Friday! We celebrated with a surprise cake shared with all the staff at Grace House and lots of happy birthday singing from the students. We ended the night with a visit to our favourite restaurant and more exploring of Siem Reap city.

Bring on Week Three!