2011 Mission Trip to Cambodia
from Diana Perricone, Nursing Student
Cambodia Day.. I don’t even know anymore:
Our adventure into Ratakaniri was interesting to say the least.. We had to travel for nearly 12 hours by bus through the Cambodian jungle to get to our destination. We took a full bus over bridges made of nothing more than large, uneven sticks over bodies of water of which are probably infested with who-knows-what. It was a bit nerve-racking, but completely worth it in the end.
Our hotel here has full electricity and air conditioning. They have a pool and a spa, and a remarkably good restaurant. I feel like since we arrived, we have been on vacation!

During our day here in Ratakaniri, we first went to the waterfalls. The first one was great; we had to cross a wooden, swinging bridge (the kind you see in the movies that breaks at one end) to get to the location of the waterfall, it was really beautiful and exciting. We got to swim in the waterfall, and the water felt oh-so-good!! Abby got some great pictures of all of us swimming since she didn’t bring any clothes to swim in. Next we went to another waterfall, but this one was equipped with elephant rides through the jungle (on unmarked terrain, without a pathway) and some really cool native tribal outfits we got to play dress-up in. We got some pretty cool pictures. Next, we went shopping briefly before heading to swim in a lake in a crater (which is either the crater of a volcano, or a crater made by a meteor.. It’s up for debate). Its really fun to be in a place that is so un-touched by westernized society. The locals there would come up and try to speak English to us.. And you could tell that it was very basic conversation skills that they have learned. The essential “hello, my name is… Whats your name? How are you?” etc. Pretty fascinating.
Not excited to have to leave Ratakaniri tomorrow to begin the adventure back to Phnom Penh, but I’m excited to see what the trip back will have I store for us!