Day 5

June 30, 2005

Well, as I sit down to type it is only 3:30 in the afternoon our time, but today feels like it has a month log. Where to start...

We were up at 4:30 to be ready to leave the hotel in Bangkok at 5:30 for the airport. We were to fly to Phnom Penh on Bangkok Airways.... which we only knew was a "small" airline. Of course I was nervous. Check-in was very smooth and polite, and the airline identified itself as "Thailand's Boutique Airline." Hmmm. To board we went on the tarmac and road a bus for quite a while. I was very pleased when we did NOT stop at the tiny plane but instead stopped at an attractive and new looking jet. Although the flight was less than an hour they served a full breakfast, with a main course of eggs with mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, corn) on top. Hmmm. We were busy for the entire flight filling out visa and immigration forms. We arrived before 8:30 am with a whole day ahead of us. As we began our descent into Phnom Penh I realized I had never seen it from the air since we travelled by bus in 1991. It is in a flat area with mountains in the distance. There were lots of green areas but also areas that just looked like dry dry mud.

On arrival we knew we would have to get a tourist visa for $20 US per person. Brennan and Kaley were pulled aside and for $10 were each given a permanent Cambodian visa. That was rather cool. But then at the next step when they went through the another line, the man gave them a hard time about not speaking Khmer. He told them that if they didn't at least pretend that they knew Khmer he would have to take away their visa. So their mission became learning a few words of Khmer. I think he was joking.... but who knows. For the first of what I'm sure will be many times they were told, "You lucky child."

Waiting outside the airport was our new friend, driver, guard, and "make sure noone rips us off man" Yoen Soek. To our surprise he was driving a vw van so we all fit just fine, even our mountain of luggage. As we made our way into the city the first thing I noticed was how much more traffic there is now than in 1991. Lots of cars, vans, and even some big SUV's. Once again the only word I can think of to use to describe the experience is an assault on our senses. There were so many sounds, roaring motorcycles, people speaking loudly in Khmer, horns blaring. You can smell the open fire pits along the sides of the road. There are people everywhere, motorcycles nearly colliding constantly. Dogs, cats, monkeys along the way.

I remember when I was here before thinking I would never figure out the way the streets are laid out... and I still don't think I'll get it. It's like a maze. We turned down a street after Yoen said we were getting close, and there was the hotel where my friend Marcy and I and the other travelling adoptive parents spent our first night in Phnom Penh. It was the huge big old hotel that in its day was very French and glamorous, but when we spent the night there were bats swooping through the hallways and all kinds of creepie crawlies everywhere. We moved to another hotel the next day! Anyway, it was beautifully restored and is now the most expensive hotel in town. Yoen made another turn and I vividly remembered the Nutrition Center, the orphanage where Brennan and Kaley were, being somewhere close to that hotel and that corner. Now keep in mind that I booked the hotel we were going to stay in sight unseen, only knowing that it was fairly new, reasonably priced and in the city somewhere. Beyond that I didn't have a clue where we were going. Well guess what? In a strange twist of fate the hotel was built right next door to the Nutrition Center. Our hotel room windows look out on the place where Brennan and Kaley spent their early months. I couldn't believe it.

Our original plan was to visit the Nutrition Center tomorrow, but since it was thrown right at us, the kids wanted to go. We were taken to the Directors office, who was a woman who has come since 1991. She was very polite and sent another woman out to bring back some others. One by one, three of the nurses who took care of the kids came in to meet them. I really don't have the words to describe those moments. Cambodian people don't show a lot of emotion, so I bit my lip to keep mine in check, too. But I could see tears welling in the eyes of each of those women. They were so impressed with Brennan, whom they called Dara. They wanted to touch his muscles and his chin hairs! They couldn't believe how big he has become. I had brought a small photo album with pictures from our time there in 1991 and they joyfully and loudly looked at it. Eventually Yoen translated for me and said that Kalop (Kaley's) nannies had all retired or worked elsewhere, but they remembered her. When I reversed the two nursery rooms they lived in when pointing out where they had lived, one of the nannies spoke up and corrected me, showing them their right rooms. She even remembered which beds belonged to each of them. It was truly amazing. These women cared deeply for these children and the joy in their faces in seeing them almost grown up was one of the most amazing moments of my life. They remembered me, too. (How could they forget the first big white woman that many of them probably had ever seen back in 1991?) As they came up to us they would greet me warmly and then when I would point to the kids they couldn't believe it. Time goes fast for all of us I guess.
We were offered a tour of the facility but only ended up seeing part of it because the older children were at school and the babies were at lunch. It was a difficult place to be. The children there now mostly have profound handicaps or are HIV positive whose parents have died of AIDS. Hopefully we will get to meet more of the children when we return with supplies on our next visit. There is a fairly new building at the back of the complex that was built by Luciano Pavoratti. I'm not quite sure how he got connected there but that's pretty cool.

Before leaving the orphanage we asked the new director if she would be willing to look in the book for us. I was told on several occasions that each child brought in to the NC was carefully recorded in a book. I was also told that I might need to "offer a gift" for the director looking at the book. This wasn't asked for, but she already knew that we planned to return with supplies. After searching for quite a while, she wasn't able to identify names of babies who fit the information that we were given on Brennan & Kaley. There was a Rath Dara, but the birthdate was nearly a month later than the one we were given. The notes in the book also did not match the abandonment story we had been given before. As for Kaley, again the Kalop identified in the book would have been around 6 months older than the birthdate we were given for Kaley and I can't believe that was her because she was so little and clearly just a baby and not a one year old when I first met her. So.... despite having a chance to check in the book, we are no further ahead than before with this mystery. We will also be going to the ministries, perhaps tomorrow, asking for any records that exist there - but I'm not expecting anything. Even if we don't find anymore, I hope that just being here and seeing the extreme poverty of this country will help B & K to understand why their parents chose the orphanage for them, even if they never know who those parents were specifically. Brennan has always said he wants to know if his birth family would be proud of him -- today he encountered three women who fed him and bathed him and cared for him when he was sick for the first year of his life... and they were extremely proud of him. I hope that feels good for him.

It seemed rather surreal but after this powerful hour or so in the orphanage it was on with our sightseeing. We ate lunch at the Friends Restaurant which is a training facility for former street children and teenagers. The are taught to cook, wait tables, manage a restaurant so that they can become part of the growing tourist industry. The food was good and it was a very pleasant environment.

From there we went on to the National Museum. The museum houses TONS of relics and broken statues and such from the 1100s to the 1800s. Very bizarre pieces - most of which have had their arms broken off. Some of them were huge. No photos allowed unfortunately so I can't show you any of the interesting Buddha. Leaving the museum was very difficult. A number of amputees and beggars gather on the sidewalk knowing that tourists will come out. I learned the hard way in 1991 that you can't just give to one beggar. You will be swarmed and not able to move. I had warned Brennan and Kaley that this was to be our philosophy again -- but it is sooo hard. There was a little girl, couldn't have been more than four, and she was carrying a naked child in a scarf/sling contraption hung around her neck and shoulders with her baby brother who looked to be at least a year old and almost as big as her. The little girls hair was thin and had that reddish cast that tells you that nutrition is lacking. Speaking very softly in Khmer she stuck to my side the whole walk back to the van. Walking away causes you to wrestle with every angel and demon as you try to decide what the "right thing" is to do. I do know that tomorrow I will carry a bag of fruit with me so that I can at least offer such children something to eat. We're here in part to do something about this poverty as we take supplies to orphanage and help with the housebuilding. In my head I know this is the best way to help. But the heart isn't quite so rational when confronted with such a sad sad situation.

Glad to be back in the van, we moved on to the Riverfront where we got out and walked a bit. It was miserably hot though and again we were confronted by vendors and beggars. There were families with little caged birds that they would set free if you gave them $1 as an offering. Lots of people selling warm bottles of water and coke. At 2 pm we made our way across the street (Brennan likened it to playing Frogger on a video game as you have to weave your way over) and visited the Royal Palace compound. It has a very different appearance from the Bangkok Palace. We each had to pay US $3 to get in and an extra $2 fee for Jim's camera. (and he still couldn't take photos inside the temples.) We walked around for an hour or so, looking at pagodas and temples, and realized that we were melting in the heat and decided to give it up although we had only seen about half of the buildings. Heat stroke would probably be a bummer.

So we came back to the hotel, where now it looks like it is time for the daily downpour of rain with lots of wind. Yoen is to pick us up at 6 for dinner. Should be another adventure.
We rode down by the river and had dinner at a sort of open air cafe called Rendes Voux. Food was OK. There were geckos climbing the walls and that put a damper on Kaley's appetite. Brennan had a taco plate, in Cambodia! Kaley had chicken cordon bleu and I had vegetable lasagna. Only problem was one of the vegetables in the lasagna was jalapena peppers! Children trying to sell flowers, books, trinkets came to our table constantly during dinner hoping we would buy something.

After dinner we drove down along the river. I always wondered what happened to the little cottages we stayed in in 1991. Now I know. They are gone gone gone and a big Japanese hotel sits in their place. The Cambodiana which was right next to us looks pretty much the same but glitzier. We'll be moving there on Saturday night to stay for a couple of nights. The biggest change is across the street where there is a "Pencil Market." This was a big, clean, bright supermarket type facility that was selling versace cologne in the lobby!! Such a contrast to what you see on the streets. We bought mouthwash, bug spray, and bottled water for very reasonable prices. (Yes there are teeny tiny ants crawling in our bathroom but I'm going to take care of that very shortly!) Kaley and I were waking around looking at things and I realized that there was a gaggle of young cambodian women who were supposed to be working in the store following us around. Finally when we were looking at the bug spray one said to her, "You very pretty and very lucky."

We're now back at the hotel and I've told everyone lights out is at 10 tonight. We are just way too tired. Tomorrow we will hit the markets and I think make our visit to MOSALVY, the government agency that handles adoptions. I'm sure it will be another interesting day.

Day 4

June 29, 2005

Well, let me begin today by talking about last night. Around 10 pm local time we headed out for the night markets. It is held in the section of the city called Patpong. Strange combination of Canal Street in New York City (where all of the fake purses and jewelry is sold) and old Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh. The streets there are closed off to vehicle traffic and row after row of venders display their wares. On the sides, however, are all of these "dancer" clubs. If you've seen the Broadway show, Miss Saigon, you can picture these clubs exactly. Kaley & I were of course looking at stuff and Brennan & Jim moved at a slightly faster pace a bit ahead of us. They had lots of playbills stuck in their hands with coupons to check out the shows! Jim said that Brennan had quite an interesting look on his face when a guy stuck a card in Brennan's hand with pictures of women and asked, "Which one you like?" Age didn't seem to be any kind of requirement to get in. We didn't go in to any of the "shows," but since the doors were wide open it was easy to take a peak. We saw many very young looking women (most of whom had blondish highlights in their hair by the way) scantily clad and holding on to dance poles and just sort of swaying with the music. The vendors continued to be very confused as to our walking around through the markets with these two Thai/Cambodian looking teenagers. We didn't stay long (didn't take long to see enough!) and headed back to the hotel.

Since it was now late, dark, and the rain had stopped, there were LOTS of rats scurrying about the sidewalks and streets. That was not nice. There were also killer cockroaches running around. Brennan & Kaley have "inherited" my great distaste for bugs and Brennan literally jumped 3 ft in the air when one cockroach ran close to his foot. Being in the night market struck me as to how different their lives would be if they still lived in this area. Their reaction to the rats & roaches further enhanced that sense in me. Everyone else seemed to be walking around totally oblivious to the creatures... but not Brennan & Kaley. Is it part of being an "American" to learn such distaste for such things? As we go along I know their reactions to many such things will seem very odd to those around them here.

Around midnight our friend Derek arrived, fairly well rested. Because of his travel difficulties a day previous United had upgraded him to Business Class so he got to travel comfortably and take quite the nice nap. Dirty rat. (Hmmm.... that figure of speech now means so much more.)
Oh well, time to shower & get moving. Today we're going to the Royal Palace and seeing some other sights!

Evening Wrap-Up
Hi everybody! Had another long but good day. We started the morning with the breakfast buffet in our hotel. It was OK. Lots of fruit. Lots of weird stuff, too. Chicken sausages, fried rice, terriyaki fish... hmmm. From there we walked a few blocks to the river. We've been being harassed on a fairly regular basis by the tuk-tuk drivers. These are motorized little carts that carry passengers around the city dirt cheap. Problem is, instead of always taking you where you want to go, sometimes they take you to where they will get a kick back. We have avoided riding in them for that reason. Anyway, once we got to the river for about 10 cents a piece we were able to ride a ferry boat kind of thing to the Royal Palace. Along the way we had scam attempts a number of times. Scam artists are famous here for telling you that where you want to go isn't open yet today because of this or that... so why don't you let me take you to my brother's jewelry store while you wait? That kind of thing. One guy tried to turn us away from the palace because he said Kaley's shirt was too sleeveless. I knew that we had to wear long pants, closed shoes, and no tank tops, but she wore a shirt with little cap sleeves that I thought would be fine as her shoulders were covered. We ignored the man and kept going. Next person tried to tell us that it is a Buddhist holiday and only Buddhists can get in until the afternoon. There were a lot of Buddhists there and a worship service was going on in the temple of the emerald Buddha, but we didn't have trouble getting in. We just tried to be respectful. Did you know that you never point your feet at a Buddha, or point your finger in any way? The palace and surrounding temples were amazing. Kind of hard to understand how a nation with a difficult history and times of poverty can have such a huge compound of such jeweled and elaborate buildings.

I had a bit of a strange experience while we were there. A very polite group of teenage thai kids approached me and asked if I was an American. (Is it that obvious?!) They were working on a class assignment and were to interview Americans and bring back a photo of them. I have to admit that some of the questions left me stumped. They asked things like "What's the best thing about America? What values do all Americans hold in common? What are America's greatest social problems? What do you hope for Ameria's future?" They were very sweet kids and gave me a flower after the interview and took some photos of me with the group. These short two days in Bangkok have made me think often about being an American. Particularly how the rest of the world views us. There are many middle eastern people staying in our hotel and I find them staring at us from time to time. I don't know if it's because we are Americans, or whether they're baffled by Brennan & Kaley being with us. Perhaps it is a bit of both, but it is rather unnerving.

After spending as much time as we wanted to at the palace, we hopped in a taxi and returned to Pantip Plaza - the computer place. Jim wanted to look at some video editing programs and the kids wanted a couple DVDs and video games.The cab ride was about 20 minutes but only two bucks. Good deal. Of course we were all on each other's laps, but that was OK. We used many forms of transportation today because from there we took the skytrain to the MBK shopping center. We ate in a Chinese restaurant and the five of us ate for around $13.00 USD total. Jim had duck, the kids had noodles with chicken, I had noodles with vegetables. It was a little weird food, but it was OK. Price was right and it was air conditioned.

After that the "old men" in the group, Jim & Derek decided they were ready to go back to the hotel but the kids and I stayed behind at the mall. It was amazing. Sort of a combination of department stores, food courts, and lots of vendors like you would see on the streets but in a mall setting. It was seven stories high and I think we covered the whole thing. Kaley found shoes (imagine that) for 199 baht which equals about $5 so she was a very happy camper. Brennan found some fancy soccer shoes that would have been over $100 back home for $40 so he was pretty happy, too. I continue to be amazed by how many thai teenagers are in all of these shopping center, clearly making purchases and talking on their cell phones the whole time!
Bangkok is a crazy crazy city. Traffic is horrible and pedestrians definitely don't have the right of way. We have plunged into traffic a couple of times hoping to make it across. You see some very peculiar sites.... monks walking together talking on cell phones with their notebook computers tucked under their arms....I saw a little woman today who was a street vendor who clearly has very very little, but there she was sitting on the side of the street feeding this tiny baby kitten with a baby bottle. At 6 pm across the city the national anthem is played and people stop what they're doing to simply stand quietly at attention. KFC doesn't sell apple pies, but they do sell corn pies and pineapple pies! The colors, the sights, the sounds, and the smells assault us continually.

Well, it's 8 in the evening here and we are going to go for some dinner. Tomorrow we have to be at the airport by 6 am for our flight to Phnom Penh. I can't believe that day is finally here. Thailand has been fun, but for the most part just an exotic vacation. Tomorrow begins the journey.

Day 3

June 28, 2005
Well, we've had a fun but busy day. Since we didn't get to bed until close to 3 am, we all slept until about 10 am Bangkok time. I think the adjustment to the time zone is behind us. It was after 11 when we went down for breakfast - so there was no breakfast. Brennan & Kaley both ended up having plates of Singapore noodles with curried chicken. They loved it. A little much for me first thing in the AM. Jim had a hamburger. He said it didn't quite taste like any cow he'd ever met before but it wasn't bad. I (being the pathetic person that I am) had a waffle.

After breakfast we headed out for some exploring. Since Derek won't arrive until late Tuesday night, we decided to wait and do the Palace and that kind of touring with him tomorrow and get some shopping in today. We bought day passes for the skytrain that moved us swiftly around the city. We still had a few blocks to walk though after getting off at the station and it was HOTTTTT. We went into a couple of city malls. All had the same named stores we're used to and some more Thai shops as well as upscale shops. Gucci, Prada. Kaley was drooling. Prices seemed good. We went in an adidas store and Jim got a lightweight shirt for $8 with the conversion rate. Brennan was checking out soccer shoes that would be over $100 at home according to him but they were selling for about $60 here.

Our big experience of the day was visiting the Panthip Plaza. This is an IT center for the city where many of the computers and technology goods are sold. What an experience. Seven stories of geek stuff. Bootleg software, movies, cd's.... All out totally in the open in a shopping mall type atmosphere. Very strange. I'm sure Mr. Gates can't be happy about it.

After spending a good bit of the afternoon shopping we headed to the Siam Square area with the Hard Rock Cafe as our dinner destination. Yes, we're boring. But we'll have plenty of time to experiment with local cuisine. About the time we left the restaurant it started to pour. Cats and dogs, thunder and lightning. We went into a covered market for a while in hopes that the rain would let up. It didn't. So eventually we entered the drowned rat contest and made our way to the skytrain station. The traffic here is horrible and noone pays any attention to the lights. In many locations it is totally impossible for pedestrians to cross the street. There seem to be many more cars than there were when I was here 14 years ago. Back then we road tuk-tuks everywhere but now the tourist authorities discourage their use. We also noticed that within Bangkok at least, most everyone seems able to speak at least some conversational English. When we would stop to look at our map, often someone would approach us and offer to help. Always in English. It seems that the economy here is very different than it was a decade ago. Everyone is talking on their cell phones and you see lots of young people shopping in the fashion stores.

We did get a few puzzled looks walking around with Brennan & Kaley. Kaley had stopped to buy some perfume from a vendor selling knock-off scents out of large jars. She turned to me and said, "Which one do you like Mummy?" To which the woman working at the booth let her mouth drop open, looked at me and said, "How she you baby?" I tried to explain the whole adoption thing, but I could tell she was stumped. :-)

Well, it's almost 9:30 our time and I'm thinking of rounding the troops back up to go to the night markets. Life is short - we've got to play hard, right? Today was a good day to work through the fog of jet lag. I think by the time we leave for Cambodia on Thursday we'll be rested and ready.

Hugs to all -
Lisa & Crew
PS - Chick trip ladies.... the shopping and crafts and low prices here make this a perfect chick trip destination. But since we only go for 3 days, we may not be able to add this one to the list. Oh well. :-)

Day 2

June 27, 2005

Having crossed the international dateline, it was Monday, June 27th by the time we reached Tokyo. We walked around for a while and then boarded the plane. It was big, too, but not as big. But best of all, each seat in front of you had a video monitor in it with movies and video games. Brennan said it was the best flight of his life! This leg of the journey from Tokyo to Bangkok was about 6 hours. Seemed short after the 12.5 hour flight!


Upon landing in Bangkok we easily cleared immigration, collected our bags, got a van taxi and we were on our way to the hotel. I noticed that the Bangkok airport is now air conditioned. I remember stepping into the throngs of people 14 years ago and feeling the heat right away.... but this time it was cool & comfortable. In my memory, both the Tokyo & Bangkok Airports have modernized greatly over the past decades. Highly automated western style restrooms, air conditioning, tv lounges for waiting rooms, etc.


We had reservations made via priceline (I love priceline!) at the Holiday Inn Silom here in Bangkok. It really is pretty business class Holiday Inn. Clean large rooms, bathroom, elevators, etc. We got here around 1 am, but being totally screwed up in our timeclocks the kids wanted to eat. So we have just returned from the coffeeshop. Brennan inhaled a club sandwich. Kaley had stir fried noodles. I had pizza. (Yep, I'm boring at 1 am!) and Jim had the VERY SPICEY curried vegetables.


Now it's time for bed. Hopefully we'll be tired enough to sleep even though our body clocks are telling us that it is the middle of the afternoon not the middle of the night. Oh well -- more later -- probably tomorrow.

Day 1

Well, there probably won't be any pictures today. Unless I find wireless internet access in an airport along the way! The long journey began today in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Yes, that's right.... we flew out of the big Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. Free parking and commuter service to Detroit, MI. After just about an hour layover in Detroit it's on to Tokyo, Japan. I know we'll all be in shock when we step off that plane! From there we have about a two hour layover and then it's on to Bangkok. Bangkok is 12 hours ahead of Pittsburgh time, so on our home time we will arrive at around noon on Monday, but in Bangkok it will be almost midnight. This will work out well hopefully. We'll be so tired that we can fall into bed, sleep through the night, and wake up adjusted to the time change. Right.

I asked the the kids what they were most nervous about regarding the trip. Kaley is nervous about the bugs. I can relate. She's also nervous about finding food that she likes to eat. (I only packed 8 packs of peanut butter crackers & they probably won't last long!) Me, I have lots of things I'm nervous about. Flying. Not my favorite thing. Puking. Not my favorite thing.
As we go along, there will be bigger things to be nervous about. Like.... will our hearts be broken by what we see in Cambodia? Will seeing their birthcountry be a positive experience for Brennan & Kaley or a very difficult one? So much to think about... but hopefully while you read this, we're somewhere peacefully over the Pacific Ocean watching a movie. (Packed in like a sardine in the back of coach. Delightful.)

****Newsflash! Live from the Latrobe Airport! Free wireless internet access. What a great experience so far. This is a tiny little airport with three commuter flights per day to Detroit on Northwest Airlines. We were greeted and checked in by a nice young woman who will eventually come down to the lounge to take us through security and usher us out to our plane. (I don't believe she is the pilot... but who knows!) So far this is a totally stress free way to start the trip. Pull up 100 feet from the door, park for free, be personally greeted, and use the internet for free. The kids are happily spending my American quarters playing video games in the little arcade. Happy days! I suspect our two hours in Detroit may be a bit more stressful....but if there is wireless internet and a few free moments, I'll be back!!

Well, that didn't work so well after all. We had internet access but we couldn't upload. Too bad. Flight to Detroit was smooth on our little turbo-prop. Just for the record, the Latrobe airport has a restaurant with an observation deck where you can go outside to watch someone board & wave goodbye just like the good old days. Sort of fun! I will add that seated behind us in the turboprop was this poor kid and his dad/uncle/grandfather type person with him. Two minutes after we took off this kid started throwing up and did so the whole way to Detroit. The very young stewardess looked like she was going to puke as the took towels to help clean him up. Brennan moved away. I practiced my deep breathing to keep myself from being inspired to do likewise. Yuck!

While waiting to board we got bad news from our friend Derek who was to meet us in Bangkok. His plane took off in Tucson and then appeared to be "chased" by a smaller aircraft. They turned around and went back to the airport. Turns out that the plane was having mechanical problems and a "part" was hanging down and the other aircraft was sent to investigate. This delay forced him and many others to miss their connecting flights in LA. So he went home to try again the next day, He will now (Hopefully) arrive in Bangkok 24 hours behind us. I guess we should just be very grateful that his plane made it back down safely!

In Detroit we boarded a HUGE 747 with first class upstairs and about 1/3 of the lower level being business class. Cool pod like seat/beds. As for us, we were in row 63 & 64 in the very back of coach. It wasn't too bad. Three movies, dinner, and breakfast later we arrive in Tokyo. I kept wondering how on earth I ever made this trip with the babies!! I do remember sitting wedged in to a bulkhead seat with my friend Marcy who travelled with me to bring home the kids. They gave us these little cardboard bassinet that attached to the bulkhead where the babies could sleep. Of course they had no part of them. I guess it's sort of like labor pain and blocking it out.... because I honestly have no memory of the flights besides those bulkhead seats and cardboard box bassinet!

Here we go - Cambodia 2005

The 2005 adventure in Cambodia really began in 1991 when I (Lisa) travelled to Cambodia to bring home a then 11 month old baby boy. His name was Rath Dara, and he was living in the Nutrition Centre in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Determined to bring home a second child, too, I travelled with documents and enough cash to make this possible. I was told that there wouldn't be any "baby girls" available, but if I was willing to accept a 4 or 5 year old, perhaps with a slight physical difficulty, I might be able to find a daughter, too. Upon arrival in Cambodia after a long and rigorous trip, I was overwhelmed when in addition to introducing me to Brennan Dara, they placed a 5 month old baby girl in my arms. Her name was Rath Kalop and she was about the most pathetic looking little creature I had ever seen.... but what a smile she had! She would become Kaley Ilene.

My time in Cambodia stretched to nearly six weeks. In 1991, Cambodia was still very much in recovery from the Khmer Rouge period. We stayed in a modest cottage type hotel, travelled on open cyclos around the city, and found a couple of restaurants to eat in. Mostly we hung out in our room, eating ramen noodles, and oddly enough, the ritz crackers & snickers bars that we could buy in one of the small markets. It was there in Cambodia that my passion for coca cola was born, but that's another story for another day. In the photo above, you see me and the kids just a day or so before we finally got to leave Cambodia. They look amazing! Within a few days of getting lots of love and plenty to eat, they were thriving. Now me, on the other hand, I had pinkeye, dysentery, etc., etc.

Ever since we left Cambodia not a day has gone by that I didn't at least for a moment stop to think about this haunting place. Nowhere else have I experienced such a complete mixture of tragedy and hopefulness. And because we don't have details on Brennan's or Kaley's actual birth families, in my heart I feel like this nation itself, Cambodia, gave me the greatest give that I have ever received in my life... these children.

And so this summer we make our return. Brennan will turn 15 while we are there. His 15th birthday will be spent in the same hotel as his first was spent. Kaley will be 14 and a half. I feel a LOT older than I did the last time around but the travel shouldn't be as rigorous this time. We had to pick from several hotels!! Accompanying us will be my husband & the kid's step-dad, Jim, and his good friend and world traveller, Derek. We will be meeting up with a number of other families with kids adopted from Cambodia to participate in a housebuilding project. These families all live in Australia so that will be another piece of the adventure!

I also felt like it was "time" to make the trip. Brennan & Kaley are mature enough (I think) to cope with what they see, but not so old that they are too busy to make this journey. Brennan, in particular, has expressed a desire to know more about his birthfamily if this is possible and we will attempt to find any available information while we are there. Kaley simply hopes to buy shoes from one of the shoemakers in the market to add to her vast collection. A princess can never have too many shoes! Jim would much rather be visiting Ireland or some other less exotic location, but he is going along to do what he can to help with this adventure. Derek has spent time living in India and "misses" Asia and looks forward to the opportunity to explore another place. I am going because I have promises to keep. When I left Cambodia 14 years ago I promised that I would be back.... to show my children their wonderful birthcountry and to show the nannies and government workers and cyclo drivers of Phnom Penh what great young adults "Dara & Kalop" are becoming. (Kalop translates as Rose.) I can't wait to see the looks on the nannies (nurses) faces from the orphanage when they see us!

We will be leaving on June 26th and will return home on July 18th. I plan to post updates to this site almost every day, adding pictures and notes so that you can travel with us. Look at the buttons to the left and you should see a date for each day that I post. If you would like to write to us, please use the guestbook on this site to do so. We would love to hear from you. Please keep us in your prayers that this will be a safe and very positive experience for all of us.