Highlights: The highlight of my trip was seeing the smile on the kids faces when you played with them every afternoon. Spending time with these kids makes you realize how lucky you are. On this trip you will get to see sights that words cannot describe, like the amazing Angkor Wat where Tomb Raider was filmed. You will also meet friends that will become like your family. Getting to stand next to the one of the most beautiful creatures in the world is unbelievable, the Asian elephants are gentle giants and by going on this program you get to help protect them from the tourism industry. On this program Cambodia feels like your second home, you get the chance to participate in the culture by travelling around in tuk tuks, having language lessons and having massages on the side of the street.
Morning: As a Reach Out volunteer your typical morning would normally start fairly early depending on what the activity for the day was. If you were working at SHCC for the day you would be up and ready for about 7:30 where you would have breakfast. Each day you would get a different meal it would either be rice, noodles or eggs. Then you would travel about 20 minutes to SHCC. Once arriving the hard work would begin, you would be involved in a range of activities including sanding wood, painting wood, collecting water and laying down the foundations for the house that you will be involved in building.
If you at the elephant refuge your morning would start at around the same time but instead of rice and noodles for breakfast you got pancakes and eggs, it was delicious. Each morning you would either get to spend the morning with the elephants, either washing them or following them through the jungle. If you weren’t spending the morning with the elephants you would be getting your hands dirty by doing some farming around the refuge looking after the banana plants so that the elephants have enough food.
Afternoon: After lunch at SHCC you would continue to work on the house. Each volunteer would have a chance to do every activity, so the groups would usually swap around and do something different in the afternoon. At about 4pm the work would stop and you would get to spend some quality time with the beautiful kids. Either participating in their dance classes, making some bracelets in their art classes or you could choose to play sport with them. All of them love the volunteers so you will have lots of fun with these amazing little people.
At the elephant refuge in the afternoon you would swap over so if you were hanging with the elephants in the morning you would be working in the afternoon and if you were working you would be hanging with the elephants.
Evening: Evenings were very chilled, in Siem Reap you would go for dinner with the whole group then you had free time. You would never be bored though with the endless amounts of markets to explore and a swimming pool next to your hotel. One night you even get to go to a Carnival where you get to have the option to go on the Ferris wheel of death.
At the elephant refuge you would have dinner with the whole group once again which would be a different dish each night and this was more delicious than breakfast. Then once again you had free time, as there is no where to go you get to hang out with the other volunteers, play some cards and just relax. It is beautiful at the refuge you will free like you are in paradise.