30k bike ride and CFI

today we did sooo many activities. first off let me say that i purchased a bottle of water on our bike tour for 1000 cambodian dollars, which is the equivalent of 12 cents.

now that we got that out of the way, we did this 30 kilometer bike tour which gave us a nice glimpse of the Cambodia countryside, real villages, we saw rice wine making, bamboo rice cakes and rice paper mills. all of these are done 24/7 by Cambodian families who make a living from this stuff. the average amount that a Cambodian worker makes each day is $1.00. i'm having a very hard time spending $20 a day here. the bike tour was about 4 hours long but we got a chance to really see Baddaban, not just the city center. everything here is very 3rd world and is definitely one of the poorest countries I've ever experienced. the bike tour was from 8am-noon. we got lunch for another $2 and proceeded to visit CFI, Children's Future Internation. there are about 200 kids that are affiliated with the program but its basically a full service learning center for children to educate them and provide financial support/resources because their families dont have the financial stability to support and they are at risk of being sold on the child sex trade market.

for more information: http://www.childrensfutureinternational.org/

out of the 200 kids, about 18 of them actually live at the center because it's too dangerous for them to live at home, where there is abuse, violence etc. We played soccer, baseball and other sports with the kids as that is their after school activities. you would have never guessed the types of lives these kids have outside of CFI. all of the kids were so happy and they didnt show one sign of being depressed, scared or vulnerable. it was a humbling experience and it just makes you appreciate what you have in the US.

we wrapped up the day with a nice dinner with Andrew, other CFI staff and we are going to take a car ride to the Cambodian border , transfer cars at the border to get to Bankok and then take a flight to Phuket for the night, and then we are off to Ko Phi Phi for 2 days.

I'm finally getting out of jetlag mode but it's been quiet the battle to overcome.

im doing my laundry here for $1/pound.

they have great mango salad here.

the fish market smells like shit.

so many motorbikes with many kids on the back.

the end.