Life-changing, humbling volunteering, fabulous trips and buzzing nightlife

My 10 weeks in Cambodia were truly 10 of the best in my life. It is amazing how many different experiences I was able to have over the 2 1/2 months. I really loved teaching english and forming a great relationship with the children we taught. It was amazing to see their smiles and hear their giggles when they saw 'teacher Lucy' for another day. I had a lovely class in ELMA school with 4 girls (it was rare to stay at the school until 'Level 3' so it was a very small class). Sreymom, Sreyneath, Elita and Pisey were all so eager to learn and make friends with us. We taught them the cup song it was so special to hear them sing it to us when we left. At KIDTEA in Trang Village I had the opportunity of teaching a class of students our age (between 16 and 19) and it was great to make friends with the Cambodians and compare our interests. My other highlight of volunteering was working at the Elephant Valley project in the beautiful tropical forest in the North-East of Cambodia. All the views we had the joy of seeing were incredible and I really loved living there without the disturbance of phones (with no phone signal or wifi). Building the well and the toilet was very challenging especially in the heat of the sun but the work was eventually very rewarding particularly as we got meet the families we helped. I was talking to another girl who had been on a Leap project and she said she was surprised ny the amount of work you have to do. I must warn you that if you are expecting a holiday with a little bit of volunteering here and there you have the wrong program, you work 7-5 (with a nice lunch break) Monday to Friday. I personally enjoyed that the program had this level of intensity as it kept us busy and made sure we really felt like we were making a difference. Other than volunteering, many of the trips we went on were amazing, seeing waterfalls, (Phnom Kulen highly recommended) the beautiful island of Koh Rong, floating villages, a traditional Cambodian circus (in Siem Reap--jaw dropping), Angkor Wat obviously and many more. A highlight of Koh Rong was an $8 boat trip which included snorkelling, fishing, BBQing the fish we caught, watching the sun set on long beach with a whiskey coke in hand and then when night fell seeing the incrdible, luminous green electro plankton. The only thing to be wary of is that none of these trips are included in the cost of the program and you may need to budget up to $400 or even $500 to go on all of them. The nightlife is also surprisingly happening in Siem Reap with Pub Street boasting two clubs opposite each other promoting dancing in the street. The best, cheapest pre-drinking bar is Angkor Famous where you can get strong vodka/rum mixers for $1. In Sihanoukville Utopia at the top of the hill is a good bar for cheap beers (25 cents at happy hours) where I worked for a few nights as a promoter handing out flyers in exchange for free drinks. Dolphin Shack is the new place to be after 11/12 where I spent most my nights. Surprisingly Sen Monorum (the town below the elephant valley where you go on weekends) also has things going on after dark. Chilli on the rocks' signature lemongrass mojito has to be one of the best drinks I've ever has and for $1.75 is a no brainer. There's also Sovannkiri run by a lovely Australian guy Callum who married a Cambodian and will just stay open until his last customer leaves.
I really would recommend the program. The only thing that slightly let it down for me was our project leader Sovann who was inefficient and impolite. I would ask who your leader is and take this into account. I wouldn't say it's a reason for not going--as you can tell I still had an incredible time but it's worth considering.
I would also recommend reading up about the history of Cambodia before you get there and when you're there making the effort to learn some of the language--it's really appreciated by the locals.