Volunteer Cambodia: Sihanoukville

This program is currently fully booked until May 2010

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T2T has long wanted to expand our volunteer programs into more areas of Cambodia and has recently added Sihanoukville as a volunteer location. Sihanoukville has become one of the most popular destinations in Cambodia with tourists and the Khmer people alike.

Sihanoukville is a coastal port town southwest of Phnom Penh which sits on a small peninsula within the Gulf of Thailand. Sihanoukville is a spread out tourist town where one can catch glimpses of traditional Khmer life and enjoy some of the amenities of home in a tropical setting. Even with the influx of many tourists and new businesses there are many people whom remain in abject poverty and most noticeable of these are the children. While reclining in your chair on the sand there is often a parade of children and adults streaming by hawking goods. The ‘beach kids’ often sell handmade jewelry and fruit and do this in order to help out their family and put food in their stomachs. One of the main volunteer projects we work with helps these ‘beach kids’.

In the beginning our volunteer program in Sihanoukville will focus on English teaching and community work but we hope to include environmental conservation in the near future.

Volunteer Projects in Sihanoukville

Teaching Art, English and Computer Teaching

Our project is located on Serendipity beach with the aim of supporting, educating, and taking general care of Sihanoukville’s beach kids. This is a place where the children can come to paint, be creative and inspired. They can also sell their paintings in order to make a small income.

This project was initially initiated and inspired by a painter from Spain who was on the beach painting while visiting and was soon surrounded by many children asking if they could also paint. Thus the project was started in 2004 and just a few years later the project became a full-fledged Cambodian NGO with the aim to help these children and provide a safe environment for them. The project is now being expanded with a new classroom to teach English and computers. Volunteers with this project will help teach English, Art, or Computers.

General Sihanoukville Info

Where Will I Stay?

Travel to Teach volunteers stay in very nice house close to Serendipity beach. The house is newly built and housing up to six volunteers and has cooking facilities and a living with TV and DVD player.

Food

Sihanoukville has a variety of restaurants including those with Khmer, Thai, Vietnamese and Western cuisine. There is excellent seafood available and many street stalls selling Khmer dishes and snacks. A typical meal costs between $1-$5 depending on the type of restaurant, western food being the most expensive. There are two night markets where a variety of goods can be found including fresh fruit and other foods. There is also a supermarket which has imported western goods.

Weather

The weather in Cambodia is hot and humid throughout the year with 2 distinct seasons, hot, from December to April, and rainy (although still hot) from May to November. The coolest time of the year is November – February where temperatures average approximately 22 degrees Celsius.

Free Time

Sihanoukville is a beach resort and the painting project is set just meters away from Serendipity Beach. Here you can find an array of late night bars and restaurants to choose from, whether you would like western or traditional Khmer food, and there is even a decent Tex-Mex restaurant only a five minute walk away from the project and volunteer house.

Weekends can be spent soaking up the sun, working on your tan, either on Serendipity beach or on one of the many other beaches you can find that are only a short tuk-tuk ride away. We at Travel to Teach recommend sipping a cocktail or two whilst watching the sunset over Victory beach from the amazing Russian hanger bar, which is complete with full sized airplane!

There are many boat trip excursions, which will take you out to the beautiful "Bamboo island" (mostly referred to as paradise) where you can snorkel in the clear blue seas and see the most beautiful fish. Or, for the more adventurous, you can try jumping off the top decks of the boat (make sure you are covered by your travelers insurance just incase!)

On Serendipity beach there is also a 5 star Dive Center where you can obtain your Padi license. This dive center stays open all year round and comes highly recommended by previous volunteers.

For the culture vultures then after volunteering, or maybe en route to our program in Sihanoukville may we recommend stopping off in Siam Reap and seeing the breath taking Angkor Wat. You can also be reminded and absorb some of the sad history of Cambodia in Phnom Penh by visiting the Killing Fields and Khmer Rouge S21 prison.

Where Is?/ Getting To Sihanoukville

Most people arrive in Sihanoukville from the capital Phnom Penh. Buses run several times daily and bus fare costs around $6 US and takes 5 hours. There is also a railway running from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville, however its in very bad condition meaning that trains are currently only running once a week and the service is slow and unreliable.

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