The MAG's Cambodian Adventure: Christmas Eve Day

What a beautiful day this was in so many ways. It has been a day of emotions but they were joyous ones. Started out with breakfast. You have to love it when you can eat rice noodle soup with vegetables, pork, scallions, bean sprouts and peanuts alongside French croissants. Ana and Maddie loved trying new fruit which we think are rambutans. Ana couldn’t get enough of them. She had a pile on her plate of the exterior shells that are spiny looking.

We went to the Royal Palace to find out it was closed until 2 pm so we went to the National Museum. Annie spoke with Maddie’s foster father and he met us there. Um Mony met us inside and almost cried when he saw Maddie (so did Annie and Sara). He was overjoyed to see Sorphea and Sokhoeun (Maddie and Ana’s Cambodian names.) Mony was so proud when he introduced the girls to one of the museum staff and he just kept hugging the girls. We were updated on his family and Maddie spoke with her foster mother by phone. It was a touching moment and Maddie later said it was the best day of her life.

Mony is a good friend of the owner of Ana’s orphanage. We have learned her orphanage has closed. Mony called Serey Put (the owner of Ana’s orphanage) so Annie could speak with him. He may be available after Jan. 1^st to let us see her former orphanage.

We went through the museum and saw many wonderful statues and artifacts. The gardens were just beautiful. As we went through the museum, we were handed sticks of jasmine flowers for offerings to the Buddhas.

There were many people begging around the entrance of the museum. Some were in wheel chairs, some were small children. This has really gotten to Maddie, especially seeing the children.

We came back to the hotel to get refreshed and the kids swam in the pool. The pool has six spouting elephants shooting water from their trunks. It was very refreshing for them. The breeze was wonderful and the adults reclined on the loungers.

After lunch we headed out to the Royal Palace. The architecture, carvings, ornate decorations and opulence were stunning. There are several buildings the make up the royal grounds. Many ceremonial buildings, some exhibits, and places of worship. In the Silver Pagoda is where the king comes to pray before the emerald Buddha every eight days. We had to remove our shoes to go into the holy places.

There were many tourists from around the world including monks in their bright orange robes. They were quite interested in Annie and Sara (we think because we are larger than most people here…which means we are very rich.) They requested having their picture taken with us…Annie in particular, several times. The grounds were immaculate and beautiful. The topiaries in particular were trimmed in designs of a teapot, elephants, pigs, and deer. Disney World has nothing on the Royal Palace.

Yoen drove us to Wat Phnom, the temple in the middle of the city. There is an elephant there that is 51 years old named Jumbo. He will give rides to folks but had already gone home by the time we got there. Yoen told us they had to make a shoe for him for one foot…made from a tire.

We came back to the hotel for a Christmas Eve party on the hotel pool deck on the banks of the Mekong River. It was an amazing buffet with live music, dancing, ice carvings of a star, reindeer and Christmas tree. Twinkling lights and glitter masks topped the night. When we got off the elevator to go to the party, there was a children’s choir singing Christmas carols. Who knew coming to a Buddhist country would have such an awesome Christmas celebration.

It is Christmas Eve and tomorrow, Christmas day, we will go see a Buddhist monk for a blessing and then to Yoen’s home…but we’ll save that for tomorrow.

The Cambodian people are a proud, polite, and gracious people. We are so fortunate to be having this experience and benefitting from their hospitality.