My First Volunteer Trip: Cambodia

What's the first thing that comes into your mind when somebody mentioned Cambodia?
Angkor Wat? Khmer Rouge? Paddy field? Or poverty?


For me, it's Angkor Wat, thanks to Wong Kar-Wai's movie: "In the Mood for Love". In the movie, there was this classic shot towards the end, when Chow Mo Wan (casted by Tony Leung Chiu Wai) went to Angkor Wat and poured his heart to a tree hole near one of the temples. The scene had made Angkor Wat famous among Hong Kong people since then.

On a hot summer day last year, I decided to cross out Angkor Wat on my checklist. Then I came across an advertisement from VolTra, an NGO in Hong Kong organizing volunteer trips. It says growing Moringa tree in rural village organically to improve villagers' income and nutrition. Sounds good for me, so I signed up, having now idea what Moringa tree is or how is it like to stay in a rural village of a developing country.

It wasn't until the briefing session, that I realized there are so much more I should know before travelling to this once great empire in Southeast Asia. The Khmer Empire's long history, the dark moments of civil war and Khmer Rouge, the fact that Cambodia is one of the major rice producing country, are all pulling me to learn more about this neighboring country.

In the following stories, I will share my photos, videoa, thoughts and discoveries here. Stay tuned!