As we're planning a family trip to Cambodia coming up in a few weeks, here's a quick recap of my business trip to Cambodia at the end of October.
I took 11 students (plus one support staff and a small group that shared our bus from another school) to ISPPMUN, a Model United Nations conference at the International School of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Leaving bright and early from District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the bus trip takes about six hours if traffic conditions are good. We got lucky in that respect heading out of Saigon. Heading into Phnom Penh, not so much.
Ho Chi Minh City sprawls almost to the Cambodian border, but eventually the urban landscape gives way to farms and cows...
Water buffalo...
And the occasional motorbike carrying a hay bale.
We got through the border crossing smoothly in spite of the main immigration/customs building on the Vietnam side being closed for renovation. We were shunted into a converted warehouse, but traffic was light enough that we went through with almost no wait. The Cambodia side went smoothly as well.
We had lunch at a small rest stop. I got a nice bowl of beef stew with vermicelli noodles.
Then we headed on toward Phnom Penh, crossing the Mekong on the recently-finished Tsubasa Bridge.
We hit bad traffic in a construction zone just as we were getting into Phnom Penh and had a bit of a scramble to get checked in and then to make it to the conference in time to just catch the tail end of the opening ceremonies. Our hotel was the Balconitel Boutique Hotel, which I reviewed here.
The conference got off to a good start, and there were fireworks (I'm not sure for what occasion) visible from our hotel when we got back that evening.
The conference itself involved students from schools all over Southeast Asia. Model United Nations, for those not familiar, is a debate activity in which students simulate the debates that take place in the actual UN. Students are assigned countries whose point of view they are to represent, and they play out those roles while debating on resolutions put before UN committees such as the Human Rights Council, Security Council, and General Assembly. It's a great activity for students as it fosters public speaking and leadership skills while teaching current events.
Our setting was the International School of Phnom Penh, who were gracious and well-organized hosts for the event.
The conference occupied all of Saturday, and went through Sunday morning, so there wasn't really time for much sightseeing. This was my third time in Phnom Penh, and I have a family trip to Cambodia coming up in a few weeks, so we'll get in more tourism then.
I did have some fun taking some more pictures from the bus heading home on Sunday, including this one, which is one of my favorite unintentional pictures I've gotten. These monuments, showing the traditional multi-headed nagas of Cambodian mythology, are common features in town squares and traffic circles, and I was taking the picture of the monument, without actually noticing the kids climbing on it until I went to process the photos after the trip.
Cambodia has fascinating sights at every turn, and I can't wait to get back there on our upcoming Christmas break.
I took 11 students (plus one support staff and a small group that shared our bus from another school) to ISPPMUN, a Model United Nations conference at the International School of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Leaving bright and early from District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the bus trip takes about six hours if traffic conditions are good. We got lucky in that respect heading out of Saigon. Heading into Phnom Penh, not so much.
Ho Chi Minh City sprawls almost to the Cambodian border, but eventually the urban landscape gives way to farms and cows...
Water buffalo...
And the occasional motorbike carrying a hay bale.
We got through the border crossing smoothly in spite of the main immigration/customs building on the Vietnam side being closed for renovation. We were shunted into a converted warehouse, but traffic was light enough that we went through with almost no wait. The Cambodia side went smoothly as well.
We had lunch at a small rest stop. I got a nice bowl of beef stew with vermicelli noodles.
Then we headed on toward Phnom Penh, crossing the Mekong on the recently-finished Tsubasa Bridge.
We hit bad traffic in a construction zone just as we were getting into Phnom Penh and had a bit of a scramble to get checked in and then to make it to the conference in time to just catch the tail end of the opening ceremonies. Our hotel was the Balconitel Boutique Hotel, which I reviewed here.
The conference got off to a good start, and there were fireworks (I'm not sure for what occasion) visible from our hotel when we got back that evening.
The conference itself involved students from schools all over Southeast Asia. Model United Nations, for those not familiar, is a debate activity in which students simulate the debates that take place in the actual UN. Students are assigned countries whose point of view they are to represent, and they play out those roles while debating on resolutions put before UN committees such as the Human Rights Council, Security Council, and General Assembly. It's a great activity for students as it fosters public speaking and leadership skills while teaching current events.
Our setting was the International School of Phnom Penh, who were gracious and well-organized hosts for the event.
The conference occupied all of Saturday, and went through Sunday morning, so there wasn't really time for much sightseeing. This was my third time in Phnom Penh, and I have a family trip to Cambodia coming up in a few weeks, so we'll get in more tourism then.
I did have some fun taking some more pictures from the bus heading home on Sunday, including this one, which is one of my favorite unintentional pictures I've gotten. These monuments, showing the traditional multi-headed nagas of Cambodian mythology, are common features in town squares and traffic circles, and I was taking the picture of the monument, without actually noticing the kids climbing on it until I went to process the photos after the trip.
Cambodia has fascinating sights at every turn, and I can't wait to get back there on our upcoming Christmas break.
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