For some MARL participants, the day started off at 4:30 am to see the beautiful Angkor Wat sunrise. The insects and birds seemed to come alive in song within a matter of seconds just before sunrise to accompany the view.

After breakfast, the participants jumped on the bus to travel to the ancient city of Angkor Thom. There the group visited the temple named Prasat Bayon, which was built in the late 12th century. Next, a visit to the temple Ta Prohm was made. This was very special because a tree in the temple was featured in Lara Croft Tomb Raider movie.

At noon the classmates ate lunch followed by a market basket exercise. The large group broke out into small groups and bought items to compare United States and Cambodia’s food and household economics. The fifth stop of the day included the famous Angkor Wat temple. The highlight was climbing the steep tower steps for a beautiful view of the compound.

The next activity was a dinner with a special cultural Cambodian dance performance. The day ended with an evening of shopping in the Siem Reap night market.

By Melanie Dickman and Nick Godward

Today, MARL Class X ventured outside of the capital city of Phnom Penh with a 6 hour bus tour to Siem Reap, the home of Ankor Wat. The morning began with a recap of participant’s goals for the trip and a discussion on the larger vision for rural, and urban Cambodia as communicated by its leadership.
Once outside Phnom Pehn a different world came to life! Our first stop brought intrigued and insight into regional delicatessens. We enjoyed fried tarantellas, seasoned insects, dried and fresh fruits, fermented eggs, and whole baby birds. A big part of MARL is understanding leadership in a variety of contexts. The group had an opportunity to meet Mr. Leng Hour, Tami village, Samporoth commune, Tang Kok district, Kampong Thom province, a Cambodian cattle producer. He is raising a breed from India for local consumption. He graciously shared his insights on using rice stalks for feed and his vision to expand the farm. Even during the restroom breaks, the group continued to push outside its comfort zone as many were introduced to “squatty potties”.
The remainder of the drive included a quiet lunch break with eel and other Cambodian fare. Once in Siem Reap, MARL participants explored the Cambodia Cultural Center, stayed curious about the country’s history, and engaged in live presentations about various regions of the country. One participant even had the chance to be selected as the “Fire and Water God” during one of the shows.
To end the evening with a bit of extra adventure! The hotel and the surrounding neighborhood lost power, but no worries…one of the tools of a leader is learning to be flexible!
 

Today we toured and experienced the history and culture of the city. We were blessed with a wonderful guide, Sokahary and our driver Mor, to get us through the busy streets and sites of Phnom Penh.

We started at The Royal Palace. The palace is a complex of buildings which serves as the royal residence of the King of Cambodia. The Kings have occupied it since it was built in the 1860s, with a period of absence when the country came into turmoil during and after the reign of the Khmer Rouge.

The complex is divided by walls into four main sections. On the south side is the Silver Pagoda, to the north side is the Khemarin Palace and the central compound contains the Throne Hall and to the west is the private sector or the Inner Court. The buildings of the palace were built gradually over time, and some were dismantled and rebuilt as late as the 1960s. The most interesting part of the tour was seeing the golden throne. The throne has only been sat on once, during coronation. It is bad luck to sit on a throne more than once. We also learned there are a series of flags that represent if the king is home and today’s flag was blue, meaning the king was in the palace today.

  

Following the palace tour, we visited the King Norodom Sihanouk monument. King Sihanouk is known as the Father of Independence. He was crowned in 1941, when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president, and held on to some form of power for the next 60-plus years. He served as monarch, prime minister, figurehead of the Communist revolution, leader in exile, and monarch until he abdicated in 2004. When he died in 2012, it was during a full moon and since he was born during a full moon and the same month he is seen as one of the lucky ones. As a prominent leader and figure in Cambodia’s history, the monument was erected in his honor.

Following a traditional Cambodian lunch, we headed to the Killing Fields to learn about the very somber past of Cambodia. From 1975 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge dictated the country. Led by Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge pushed Cambodia towards communism which resulted in the killing of 1.5 to 2 million people, nearly a quarter of Cambodia’s population at the time. The killing fields we visited was one of more than 300 around the country. The Khmer Rouge recruited rural, uneducated young people and children to help them eradicate the non-followers, (usually those who were educated and independent), to kill over a million people. The Killing Fields are a memorial of those who lost their lives during those troubled years and serves as a memory for the country of how far they have come since those troubled times.

A final stop of the day was an authentic Cambodian market. One of many around the city, this one called the Totem Pole Market, showcased a variety of items, from fresh fish and meat, to silk scarfs, clothing, artwork and sculptures to basic electronic items. The class enjoyed some time browsing the items and trying out their negotiation skills, bringing home several items for friends, families and loved ones.

The last activity before dinner, called a Cyclo ride, consisted of each class member riding in a cart in front of a bicycle. Twenty-seven bikes wove their way through the city streets with expert drivers as we took in the sights, sounds and smells of the city from a different perspective. The drivers dropped us at our dinner location next to the riverside and we spent the evening reflecting on all we had experienced throughout the day, what we learned, how it made us feel and what we will take away from the hands-on experience in this amazing city.

By Stephanie Loch and Jay Schmidt

Is it Thursday or Friday?

 

I don’t know if our bodies have quite adjusted yet but today was our first full day of our International travel experience in Cambodia. Our morning started with a quick leadership debriefing in our hotel where we were reminded of our EQI self-awareness and how important it was going to be during this trip. After loading up the vans we headed to Central Government Office where we were privileged to meet with the Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Dr. Yim Chhay Ly and several other high-level cabinet members for the Cambodia Government. We had the privilege of having an open dialogue with these high level members. This was an incredible opportunity to hear about Cambodia and its agricultural industry. After this meeting we had a little taste of home by eating lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe Phenom Phen. After lunch we travel back home briefly by visiting the US Embassy. Although it was only for 90 minutes it was great to be back home. We had the opportunity to visit with David Sequeira, Economic and Commercial Officer, and several other employees of the US Embassy. We learned about the role of the embassy plays in Cambodia. What was most interesting was how the embassy promotes the the Corporate Social responsibility of the American companies that have invested in Cambodia. Specifically how Coca-Cola had brought clean water to over 100,000 people in rural Cambodia. We finished up the day by traveling to the Ministry of Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries where we met with H.E Veng Sokhonm and his staff. This was the equivalent of meeting with Secretary Perdue. Once again we had the opportunity to have an open conversation with this group and ask several questions to learn more about Cambodian agriculture. We learned that Cambodia produced approximately 11 million tons of rice last year and 14 million tons of cassava, which is a root vegetable further processed into tapioca. It was also interesting to learn that Cambodia produced 50,000 tons of soybeans last year where Minnesota produced approximately 12 million tons. We wrapped up our day by being treated to a wonderful dinner by our host Noy on the 20th floor of our hotel.

Ben Mussehl

 

 

Day two was full of flights and new food.  Our EVA Airlines flight from Chicago to Taiwan was the longest flight time for most of us at 15.5 hours.  Even though the flight was long, the seats were comfortable, and the flight attendants kept things running like a Swiss watch.

Our layover in Taipei provided some time to stretch our legs and enjoy Asian fast food. Prices for food and refreshments in this airport were a fraction of what we are used to at MSP – just ask Jay.  Concerns over the Covid19 virus were in view with 99% of people in the airport wearing masks.  The airport was extremely modern and clean, and each gate had its own them theme, with Hello Kitty being one of the more interesting ones.


Our flight to Cambodia was 3.5 hours and with the flight not even half full we were able to spread out and have a row to ourselves.

Our hosts Noy & Reaksmey Shoung met us at the airport and made navigating immigration and customs a two minute process.  All of our luggage arrived in perfect condition! We were given traditional Cambodian scarves before boarding the bus and had a quick lesson on different ways to wear this functional item.

Our hotel, Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel is amazing.  Featuring an Olympic sized pool and 549 rooms it is one of the largest in the city.

After a much needed shower break, we had a leadership session to calibrate our intentions for this trip.  We had an exercise with pictures of the same scene zoomed in to different levels to show the importance of perspective and life experiences.

Following the session we watched traditional Khmer dancers in the lobby of the hotel and were amazed at how they moved their hands. It was quite an inspiring performance.

Next we traveled through rush hour again to get to a boat for a river cruise. The boat was beautiful and it was fun to go along the river and see all the different building and architecture. Dinner was delicious and featured over 10 traditional Cambodian dishes and fruits that were too numerous to count. The Phnom Penh skyline is beautiful at night and we could see the various levels of economic development across the city from skyscrapers to primitive housing. We ended the cruise with a celebration of Shane’s birthday!

 

Chris Horob & Michelle Medina