12/19/15
There are some who asked: why don’t you do volunteer traveling? You can be assisting the local population instead of just spending money on sights and sounds. That is one question I had asked myself quite a lot of times. On one hand, I think it is a marvelous idea: I get to help people while traveling. On another hand, I worry a lot about money ( poor upbringing and all): I always want to leave some cushions (not literally. Although they are super comfortable on sofas) just in case. It is hard to balance my conflicting wishes. (I know, first world problem.)
I woke up groggy and, for a moment, lost. I could not remember where I am until I looked around me with my glasses on (no, no one night stand here). Dragging myself out of bed, I washed up and went downstairs for breakfast. The table in front of me consisted of a guy and a gal travelers, who were getting to know one another. The guy decides to impress the gal by buying her a scarf and a bracelet from a little gal. It gave me a mixed feeling: while pretty charming, I wonder if this encourage more gals to sell trinkets on the street? My musing was disrupted by the arrival of breakfast and I was soon busy ingesting eggs and toast. With a full stomach, I ventured to see the National Museum, which houses many statues and etchings found in Cambodia.
Paying $5 for entry, I walked into the museum and realized: it is an open air museum with a central courtyard filled with vegetarians and several ponds. This made me worried, and my fear was soon realized: mosquitos. Being a magnet for them, I was brutally attacked all over. I fidgeted and walked all over the space, leaving a trail of mosquitos after me. I tried very hard to concentrate on reading the exhibits, but the constant buzzing and itching soon proved too much. I eventually escaped outside after a quick tour of the museum. It was a pity, the museum has lots of good information on Khmer history.
Reading up on things to do on Phnom Penh, I noticed blood donation listed as a good activity. Apparently, there are not a lot of donors in Cambodia, and they welcome walk-in. Thinking I could do something good (albeit small), I walked over to the National Blood Center. The building was easy to find, and I waited at the reception for registration. Unfortunately, the front desk person left with a donor and disappeared for an extended period of time. Some of the locals saw me waiting, and wanted to help find the person. However, it was a lost cause as he was not to be found for another 20 minutes. With the crowd size in the reception area growing (some even left after a brief wait), and more importantly, with me under attack of mosquitos again, I finally decided to leave after 30 minutes. It was disappointing, especially since I apparently fed 7 mosquitos within that time. Foiled twice by mosquitos, I finally made a stand at the Central Market, where there were lots of people to share the attention of mosquitos. While things are pretty cheap, I did not find anything that interest me. However, I did notice lots of seeing machines around, and was told I can get my clothes altered there. There are also lots of suits for sale at very reasonable prices.
As I was eating dinner, my thoughts return to doing good while traveling. As more and more global citizens become more aware of foreign countries, volunteer traveling is becoming more popular. I am a big fan, and would love to do it in the future. However, I also realize I need to do a lot of research to ensure what I will be doing will actually be of help to the place of visit. After all, it is easy to spend money on a cause only to realize it has been misused. Like the guy trying to impress his date by buying brackets and scarf from a little girl on the street, what we think that may help could cause harm instead.
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