We fly out at 4.35pm today and check out is at noon. Sam comes for breakfast and we say our farewells to the restaurant staff. They know us by name and how we like our coffee, it's so personal.
We are going to Green Gecko this morning for a visit. It's a NGO ( non government organization) run by an Aussie lady Tania Palmer and her Cambodian husband Rem Poum. It started in 2005 with Tania returning to Cambodia to do what she could to help the street kids. Through her work with the kids she met Rem who was planning on becoming a monk but before long they fell in love and married.
The Green Gecko Project supports over 70 children who previously lived and begged on the streets of Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Green Gecko provides security, education, love and opportunities to these children through their formative years and into their adult lives, empowering them to achieve their full potential.
The project also supports the children's families and the broader community through long term health, education and training initiatives.
Green Gecko today is a fantastic organization that has taken kids off the streets and changed their lives and then these kids who are educated return to their villages to help others. It's not a tourist attraction and it's not an organised tour. Anyone can visit Green Gecko between the hours of 9.30 and 10.30am Monday to Friday only. We arrive and once signed in we are met firstly by Tracy but she is racing off to take one of her boys to his first day of Architectural studies. She is a proud mum to all these kids and they all call her mum.
Kim Suan is one of the original kids taken in by Tracey 10 years ago when she was 9 and begging on the street. She is now 19 and a very well spoken confident young lady. She still studies but is now a day student at green gecko because she goes home to her real family and sleeps and has breakfast and dinner with them. Sam knows her quite well as she worked part time at the cafe when Sam was there. She is very inspirational. And obviously proud of her achievements and those of the others in the program.
We go for a walk around the grounds. All the kids are in classes and occupied. There is also a facility for the siblings of the Green Gecko kids where they are also schooled and taught life skills.
Tania has an initiative for the mothers as well where they collect used plastic bags that they find lying around. They wash them, dry them, cut them into strips and crochet the plastic into round bowls, placemats,and hand bags etc. The idea is to keep mum busy so she has less time to be idle and gain a feeling of self worth. Today we see the program in action as a group of a dozen or so women are washing the bags in preparation for the crocheters. They are chatting away and are happy to see us.
It's not expected or suggested that we give any donation but I buy a Cambodian cookbook and Glenn bought a BBQ apron. It was a very interesting visit.
We head back to Shinta Mani to finish packing and check out. We store our bags and will return for them after lunch.
We go to the Little Red Fox cafe for coffee because Sister Srey is closed on Mondays. The coffee is great, it's a busy little place and is owned by a couple of Expat Aussies. It's not unexpected that Sam knows a couple of the other people having coffee so we get chatting to them and find out that his parents are also there for a visit at the moment.
We can't go past pork fried rice for lunch at Kuntheas' and she is so happy to see us and gives us a big hug. Today we are treated to caramelized bananas. There's no way we can eat all that she has cooked but one of Sam's friends comes in to pick up take away so we ask Kunthea to give them to him.
We have had the same tuk tuk driver for our trips today and she is happy to take us to the airport. Her name is Kim and she has a very nice new tuk tuk. She picks us up after lunch and we go back to pick up our bags. Sam is not coming with us to the airport so we say see ya to him at the hotel. Just as we are about to leave one of the managers of the hotel comes running across to give me a hug and say goodbye. It's so random and so genuine. It just warms your heart. It's a pretty easy ride to the airport and Kim runs to get us a trolley for our bags and then waves as she drives off and we go inside.
This has been such a great holiday. The experiences we have had, the people we have met and the things we have seen will stay with us for a long time.
It's nice to be heading home but I think Cambodia will be a place we will return to.