Mr Long

by FAIZA HUSSAIN (United Kingdom (Great Britain))

Making a local connection Cambodia

Three months into my solo travels, A friend from home decided to join me for a couple weeks. We picked Cambodia as our country of destination. Starting our Journey off in Phonm Phen, the Capital, Vising the killing fields and S21 Prison we gained knowledge regarding the Genocide which took place in 1975-1979 and effected the population and community in Cambodia. Looking back it was a good place to start our journey, as this helped understand not only what the country went through but also the locals, the Genocide led to the deaths of more than 2 million. So you can only imagine how the tragedy had impacted the environment and atmosphere. After all it is the locals that make up the country. Cambodia had a huge amount of pollution in comparison to other South East Asian countries I had visited. Most locals had no remorse littering, I guess after the Genocide, which is understandable considering their own Leader had let the country fall. Nevertheless we traveled through to Siem Riep, as backpackers we stayed in hostels. We stayed in a hostel called the 'Funky Flashpacker', this is a well known party hostel. During our visit to Siem Riep we planned on visiting the famous Angkor Wat and surrounding temples. As we arrived at the hostel a kind TukTuk driver approached me and my friend and asked whether we were planning on visiting the temples, we told him our plans and he arranged to be our driver for the sunrise trip. His name was Mr Long. We had very little sleep that night, even so we managed to wake up in time for our trip. Mr Long was patiently waiting outside the hostel. The trip went ahead as planned and we had an incredible time. Our short encounter with Mr Long ended up being the start of a beautiful friendship, we enjoyed his company very much. Mr Long became our personal driver taking us to the night market at 2 am to get pancakes, and in return we paid him with kindness, drinks and involved him in the hostel party's. He had a very fun time getting to know all the different backpackers and he even participated in the gender bender theme night, I dressed him in my yellow bikini and blue sarong, and of course painted his lips red. Mr Long also took us to his mothers home, who unfortunately had been bed bound for years, she suffered from a bump in her belly, unfortunately we couldn't understand the cause due to the language barrier. Mr Long explained the operation would cost a great deal of money, which they simply could not afford. Unfortunately we were unable to help as we were currently travelling on a low budget ourselves. However he wasn't asking for help, he simply wanted to show us his life. Another very interesting point to add to our visit to his mothers home, we learned how a local lives, their home environment and how happy they are with the simple utilities. Mr Longs phone book numbers had been written on a pillar in his home, which I personally found really smart. My friend from home left to go back to the UK as her trip had ended. I continued my travels, extending my stay in Siem Riep for a few more days. During this time I continued to hang out with Mr Long and a few of the backpackers I had made friends with in the hostel. One day Mr Long kindly invited us to attend a local party. We accepted the invitation, it was an amazing experience to party with the locals, we had rice wine, tried loads of traditional food and danced to their music for hours. Meeting Mr Long was a blessing, I felt like I truly got to experience Cambodia, mingling with the locals and sharing some amazing memories and experiences that will be treasured. Even after the trauma the country had experienced it was nice to see how welcoming the locals had been and how happy they are with the simple things in life. Since my trip to Cambodia I have kept in touch with Mr Long over Facebook.