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Our last day in Siam Reap and in Cambodia. In the morning we visited a school in a village near Siam Reap, sponsored by Viking River Cruises. It has a Canadian connection. Apparently the founder was a child in the village who was sponsored by a Canadian to attend school and university. He achieved some success in the tourism industry and set up this school in his home village. The village kids attend the public school a half day (am or pm) and then receive English and computer training at this school the other half day. The school also provides scholarships to village kids who wish to further their education and also drills wells so the villagers can have access to clean water. In the afternoon we visited a school for artisans (carving, weaving, painting, etc.).
Cambodia is just coming out of a very troubled history. From the mid-1960s until 1993, it was in a constant state of civil war, including the nearly four years of rule by the genocidal Pol Pot Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979. Two of our local tour guides were kids during those years and described the horror of living under that regime. Only in the past 20 years has there been some semblance of peace and normalcy. The country has a long way to go, including cleaning up a fair amount of corruption. Nevertheless, there are definite signs of progress. Schools have been established in every village. Infrastructure is being developed. Agriculture and tourism are growing rapidly. The attitude of the people is quite positive. They are constantly smiling, very friendly and go out of their way to provide good service. We enjoyed our week in Cambodia very much.
Flew to Hanoi, Vietnam in the evening. We have a full day in Hanoi tomorrow.
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