The World Through Sarom’s Eyes | Our Travellers Stories
Today Sally, from our last Cambodia & Vietnam tour shares one of her favourite #HandsOnJourneys moments
“By the time we reached Phnom Penh I was already well aware that the Cambodian people were the sweetest, most kind-hearted people I’d ever come across.”
I hadn’t come across one person who had displayed any sign of negativity as I had expected, based on my experiences in similar South-East Asian countries. Stall owners at the markets didn’t yell at you to buy items from their store, the hotel employees always smiled timidly though kindly and as a whole they were inviting of our group and different cultures.
I hadn’t even hit the tip of the kindness iceberg until I reached our village, about 40 minutes by bus outside Phnom Penh, where we met Sarom.
The village itself was similar to a small town, divided into quite neat blocks separated by straight, uniform dirt roads. The houses were mostly raised on stilts, which created another ‘room’ sheltered by the actual house, where hammocks were hung and chairs were scattered. There were animals of all kinds roaming around everywhere – cows, chickens, dogs, cats and ducks – and kids running around in groups, waving and yelling out greetings as we walked along. Gradually we met each of our homestay families and members of the group peeled off, until the four girls from the tour and myself were left with our family.
The oldest of the family, and father of our English-speaking host, Daro, was Sarom. Although he didn’t speak a word of English, he bounced around joyfully; just plain overjoyed we were there. From there he and his wife were the most hospitable people I’ve ever come across. We had lunch and struck by the heat and the intensity of the journey so far, the girls and I laid on the outdoor bamboo counter, eager to rest.
Next thing you know, we’re being fussed over to no end. Pillows and blankets were brought down and gifted to us, Sarom hung a sheet off the end of the house to create some shade for us and hung a power-cord down from upstairs to turn on a fan for us. I had felt quite rude for napping while we were their guests, but not only did Sarom and his family not mind that we were having an afternoon siesta, he just wanted us to be as comfortable as possible and went to great lengths to make sure we were.
This kindness continued into dinner, where plate after plate of rice, traditional Khmer dishes and fresh, whole fish were served. Again, Sarom hovered around, laughing with his mouth open and head back and using Daro to translate the lovely things he was saying. He pulled cans of beer out of an Esky and offered them to us, not taking no for an answer. This is not a family or village that comes from wealth but he was so dedicated to making sure we had a comfortable and fun stay that he envisioned what we would want, being Westerners, and got it for us.
We obviously come from circumstances that are more financially prosperous and better developed, yet he didn’t expect anything from us. He still wanted to give and be generous, regardless of who we were and where we came from. The reason that was so pinnacle to me was because here in Australia, we have so much. We have the capacity to go out and experience the world, to be educated, to earn money and buy the material things we want. We live in solid shelters, with clean and endless water and reliable, constant electricity. But we’re still always wanting more or not happy with what we’ve got, which leads to selfishness and greed.
I feel like if we could all see the world like Sarom does, and aim to please those around us regardless of what we have, it would lead to not only being a lot happier within ourselves but also help establish a sunny and positive environment in which we live.
