It's the end of my third week volunteering at Kais Kids Orphanage in the Kompong Speu region of Cambodia. I was given information about the living accommodation before I came; but it's difficult to know what exactly to expect until you get here. It's in a rural setting in the village of Traeng Trayueng at the base of the Kirirom mountains. At the orphanage there are around 40 children altogether ranging from babies to 17 years old. There's been a lot of controversy surrounding NGO's lately; especially those working with orphanages - I will discuss this in a later post, but for now I just want to show you around!...
My room - we have bunks (the top is best because as I've found out we share accommodation with resident mice!)
The 'shower' it runs from a tap, which is a luxury here at the orphanage since it only got running water and electricity a couple of years ago. These supplies are still very temperamental and the water has a tendency to stop just when you're about to wash! The cold water bucket showers are actually very refreshing at the end of the day to cool down; although we often have to share them with the local frogs!
The 1 Western toilet we have access to! 
The other toilet! 
The volunteer house - this is where we cook, plan lessons and take shade from the sweltering heat! 
The bookshelf - full of great resources for the children, lots of English writing books as well as stories too!
' The Café '
In the mornings we cycle to our local market (blog post to follow soon) where we buy fresh local produce for dinner. My favourite part of the market however is the 'coffee shop cafe!' It's in a little shack style hut, but it is a hidden gem - amongst the hustle of the market it's a cool shady place to sit and indulge in my newly found revelation in Cambodia - ice coffee with sweet milk. I am not even a coffee drinker at home, but I can't go a day here during the week without my little caffeine treat in the morning. It's a little family business too and the couple who run it know us and our orders now! They even have a little TV which they let us watch CNN on! We also see their daughter and son coming back from school if we're there late enough and the girl shyly told me her name is Veeda (pronounced that way anyway!) I love this time in the morning to chill and drink coffee and chat about the day ahead.
With our coffee which costs 2000 riel or 50p we also are served a loose leaf tea or ice tea for free. My favourite little cup is this one with the chick on it!
If we're feeling really hot after our cycle we sometimes have a freshly squeezed palm juice too! So sweet, but so yummy! 
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