The Royal Palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom - travel journal
Every time a customer books one of our vacations and opts in to our Trip for a Trip scheme, we organise a day trip for a disadvantaged young person somewhere around the world to see their local tourist sites, often for the first time.
Responsible Travel customers are helping disadvantaged children who attend educational classes at Mith Samlanh education center to visit historical sites and museums in Phnom Penh, often for the first time in their lives.
Our latest trip in Phnom Penh - 26th April 2019
17 children and youths (11 female) visited historical sites in Phnom Penh. The children were aged between 12 and 24. They attended a day trip to the Royal Palace, the National Museum and Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh. One youth said this about their day: "I am really happy to visit the Royal Palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom which is the heritage of Cambodia culture." The majority of young people at Mith Samlanh are extremely marginalised because they come from poor or challenging backgrounds and lack access to education and skills training. Many are exposed to abuse, exploitation, sex work, trafficking and drugs, which further inhibits their ability to access regular education or employment.
To address these issues, Mith Samlanh runs flexible vocational training for young people and remedial education classes for school aged children, giving them the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills and secure stable employment in a safe environment.
SAMPLE ITINERARY OF PHNOM PENH VISIT:
What the children do:
8.30am: The children and young people will have breakfast at Mith Samlanh before heading to the Royal Palace. When they approach the building, their excitement increases as they see the beautiful landscape surrounding the Palace. They go into the Royal Palace and inside the Throne Hall, they see many statues and artefacts such as glasses, plates, pots and spoons made from bronze, platinum and gold. The children and young people learn about the building and its uses which include royal ceremonies, festivals and consecrations.
Afterwards, they visit the Silver Pagoda where King Norodom Sihanouk meets monks and where royal ceremonies are performed. Inside, the children and young people will see lots of photographs of Khmer style houses and traditional clothes. On one of the walls, there is a beautiful picture depicting the famous Cambodian poem Reamker. After the Royal Palace, the group will go to the National Museum. Inside are hundreds of statues and artefacts documenting centuries of Cambodia’s history.
11.15am: The group has lunch in a local restaurant near the post office before continuing on to Wat Phnom. They see the huge trees and a plaque on the wall which commemorates the return of three provinces from Thailand to Cambodia in the early 1900s. The children and young people play in the playground near Wat Phnom before returning to Mith Samlanh at around 1:30pm.
Impact: Most of the young people have never been to the Royal Palace or National Museum, so seeing all the statues and artefacts is a new experience for them. For many, this is a very meaningful and exciting trip and they are very interested to learn about Cambodia’s history. Their favorite part is usually the splendor of the Royal Palace. They also enjoy the green spaces and fresh air and as soon as they returned to Mith Samlanh they ask the social workers when the next trip will be!
Quotes from the day
Young people:
"I am really so happy and lucky to see the wonderful places of Cambodia such as the Royal palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom. Furthermore, I had the chance to ask questions that I wondered about for a long time."
"I felt very proud and lucky to see the Royal Palace, especially the artifacts which have no price value! I hope that, in the future I will bring my relatives to visit the Royal Palace too."
"I was very excited to see the statues in the National Museum. Also, I enjoyed seeing the statues which the foreigners brought back to Cambodia."
"I learnt about Cambodia’s history through the pictures and the statues."
Social workers:
"I am very happy to see the youth visit the Royal Palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom....(they) were really concentrating on each place to make sure they know what it means, what their history is and the origins of their culture."
"I was very happy to see the young people's smiling faces when they saw the Royal Palace."
"The young people learnt and understood well about Cambodia’s history though the pictures and the statues."
"I was very excited to see the young people learn the value of all the statues."
"The children were proud to learn about their heritage and culture."
Other trips that we have run in Phnom Penh:
21st March 2019:
On this trip 20 children and youths aged between 12 and 24 visited historical sites in Phnom Penh. They attended a day trip to the Royal Palace, the National Museum and Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh. One youth said this about their day: "I see that the statues are hundreds or thousands of years old and that makes me so surprised and proud."
22nd February 2019:
Sixteen children and youths visited historical sites in Phnom Penh. The youths, aged between 12 and 24, attended a day trip to the Royal Palace, the National Museum and Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh. One youth said this about their day: "I am very glad to see the Royal palace, National museum and Wat Phnom and very proud to see the value of Khmer heritage such as the statues made from gold and bronze."
8th February 2019:
On this trip twenty children and youths from marginalized communities and aged between 12 and 24 attended a day trip to the Royal Palace, the National Museum and Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh. One child said this about their day: "I am very happy to see the Royal palace, National museum and Wat Phnom because I have never seen them before and the most amazing part for me was the statue made from the gold, bronze that is many centuries old".
16th November 2018:
Sixteen children and youths from marginalized communities and aged between 12 and 24 attended a day trip to historical sites in Phnom Penh. They visited The Royal Palace, the National Museum and Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh on Friday 16th November 2018. One child said this about their day: "The most important thing that I am so proud of is that I now know well about the age of the statues and the meaning of all these statues."
30th October 2018:
Twenty children and young people aged between 12 and 24, from Mith Samlanh, attended a day trip visiting The Royal Palace, Wat Phnom and the National Museum in Phnom Penh on Thursday 30th October 2018. One child said this about their day: "I can use the knowledge I've learnt relating to the history to tell my friend and my relative who never seen these places."
3rd October 2018:
On Thursday 3rd October 2018, 19 young people aged between 12 and 24, from Mith Samlanh, attended a day trip made possible by the support of Responsible Travel. The group were from various marginalized communities in Phnom Penh. One child said this about their day: "I am really so happy and lucky to see the wonderful places of Cambodia such as the Royal palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom...I had the chance to ask questions that I wondered about for a long time."
21st September 2018:
On Thursday 21st September 2018, 20 young people aged between 12 and 24 visited The Royal Palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom. They were from various marginalized communities in Phnom Penh communities. One child said this about their day: "I was so proud to see the Royal Palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom. If I didn’t study at Mith Samlanh I wouldn’t get the chance to see these places."
17th August 2018:
20 young people aged between 12 and 24 from various marginalized communities in Phnom Penh communities visited The Royal Palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom on Friday 17th August 2018. One child said this about their day: "I was so excited to see the wonderful Royal Palace. I liked seeing the valuable statues which I had never seen before, especially the ones made from gold and silver."
3rd August 2018:
On this trip, 20 young people visited The Royal Palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom. They were from Mith Samlanh. Living in various marginalized communities in Phnom Penh such as Russey Keo. Some live at our drug rehabilitation center, Green House, and some attend vocational training. One of the children said this about their day: “I will take my knowledge to tell my friends and my relatives so that they know about Khmer history."
29th June 2018:
On Friday 29th June 2018, 21 young people from Mith Samlanh went on a day trip made possible by the support of Responsible Travel. The young people (aged 15-24 years old) live in various marginalised communities in Phnom Penh such as the Greenhouse, Takhmao community and the slum communities. One child said this about their day: "I felt very proud and lucky to see the Royal Palace, especially the artifacts which have no price value! I hope that, in the future I will bring my relatives to visit the Royal Palace too."
25th May 2018:
In total 20 children (aged 11-24) from from various marginalised communities in and around Phnom Penh, visited the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda and the National Museum. One of the children said this about their day: "I was happy to see the Royal Palace because I have never been before." About our partner organisation:
The Intrepid Foundation and Friends-International Partnership – Trip for a Trip
The Intrepid Foundation was set up to provide a way for travelers to give back to the places they’ve been through a range of projects and not-for-profit organisations. Since 2002, we’ve distributed over $6 million to more than 100 projects around the world.
Through a partnership with Friends-International established in 2002, The Intrepid Foundation has raised over AUD $185,000 to support at-risk youth in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. Funds have helped provide young people with vocational skills training in tourism and hospitality.
In addition to raising funds for Friends-International through our travelers, we also provide support through travel experiences with Intrepid Travel. On certain tour itineraries, travelers have the chance to visit Friends International’s TREE restaurants (Training Restaurants for Employment and Entrepreneurship). These unique dining experiences provide a way for young trainees to practice their skills while also providing a sustainable income to the restaurants which operate as social enterprises.
Responsible Travel customers are helping disadvantaged children who attend educational classes at Mith Samlanh education center to visit historical sites and museums in Phnom Penh, often for the first time in their lives.
17 children and youths (11 female) visited historical sites in Phnom Penh. The children were aged between 12 and 24. They attended a day trip to the Royal Palace, the National Museum and Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh. One youth said this about their day: "I am really happy to visit the Royal Palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom which is the heritage of Cambodia culture." The majority of young people at Mith Samlanh are extremely marginalised because they come from poor or challenging backgrounds and lack access to education and skills training. Many are exposed to abuse, exploitation, sex work, trafficking and drugs, which further inhibits their ability to access regular education or employment.
To address these issues, Mith Samlanh runs flexible vocational training for young people and remedial education classes for school aged children, giving them the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills and secure stable employment in a safe environment.
What the children do:
8.30am: The children and young people will have breakfast at Mith Samlanh before heading to the Royal Palace. When they approach the building, their excitement increases as they see the beautiful landscape surrounding the Palace. They go into the Royal Palace and inside the Throne Hall, they see many statues and artefacts such as glasses, plates, pots and spoons made from bronze, platinum and gold. The children and young people learn about the building and its uses which include royal ceremonies, festivals and consecrations.
Afterwards, they visit the Silver Pagoda where King Norodom Sihanouk meets monks and where royal ceremonies are performed. Inside, the children and young people will see lots of photographs of Khmer style houses and traditional clothes. On one of the walls, there is a beautiful picture depicting the famous Cambodian poem Reamker. After the Royal Palace, the group will go to the National Museum. Inside are hundreds of statues and artefacts documenting centuries of Cambodia’s history.
11.15am: The group has lunch in a local restaurant near the post office before continuing on to Wat Phnom. They see the huge trees and a plaque on the wall which commemorates the return of three provinces from Thailand to Cambodia in the early 1900s. The children and young people play in the playground near Wat Phnom before returning to Mith Samlanh at around 1:30pm.
Impact: Most of the young people have never been to the Royal Palace or National Museum, so seeing all the statues and artefacts is a new experience for them. For many, this is a very meaningful and exciting trip and they are very interested to learn about Cambodia’s history. Their favorite part is usually the splendor of the Royal Palace. They also enjoy the green spaces and fresh air and as soon as they returned to Mith Samlanh they ask the social workers when the next trip will be!
“
"I am really so happy and lucky to see the wonderful places of Cambodia such as the Royal palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom. Furthermore, I had the chance to ask questions that I wondered about for a long time."
"I felt very proud and lucky to see the Royal Palace, especially the artifacts which have no price value! I hope that, in the future I will bring my relatives to visit the Royal Palace too."
"I was very excited to see the statues in the National Museum. Also, I enjoyed seeing the statues which the foreigners brought back to Cambodia."
"I learnt about Cambodia’s history through the pictures and the statues."
Social workers:
"I am very happy to see the youth visit the Royal Palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom....(they) were really concentrating on each place to make sure they know what it means, what their history is and the origins of their culture."
"I was very happy to see the young people's smiling faces when they saw the Royal Palace."
"The young people learnt and understood well about Cambodia’s history though the pictures and the statues."
"I was very excited to see the young people learn the value of all the statues."
"The children were proud to learn about their heritage and culture."
”
On this trip 20 children and youths aged between 12 and 24 visited historical sites in Phnom Penh. They attended a day trip to the Royal Palace, the National Museum and Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh. One youth said this about their day: "I see that the statues are hundreds or thousands of years old and that makes me so surprised and proud."
Sixteen children and youths visited historical sites in Phnom Penh. The youths, aged between 12 and 24, attended a day trip to the Royal Palace, the National Museum and Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh. One youth said this about their day: "I am very glad to see the Royal palace, National museum and Wat Phnom and very proud to see the value of Khmer heritage such as the statues made from gold and bronze."
On this trip twenty children and youths from marginalized communities and aged between 12 and 24 attended a day trip to the Royal Palace, the National Museum and Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh. One child said this about their day: "I am very happy to see the Royal palace, National museum and Wat Phnom because I have never seen them before and the most amazing part for me was the statue made from the gold, bronze that is many centuries old".
Sixteen children and youths from marginalized communities and aged between 12 and 24 attended a day trip to historical sites in Phnom Penh. They visited The Royal Palace, the National Museum and Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh on Friday 16th November 2018. One child said this about their day: "The most important thing that I am so proud of is that I now know well about the age of the statues and the meaning of all these statues."
Twenty children and young people aged between 12 and 24, from Mith Samlanh, attended a day trip visiting The Royal Palace, Wat Phnom and the National Museum in Phnom Penh on Thursday 30th October 2018. One child said this about their day: "I can use the knowledge I've learnt relating to the history to tell my friend and my relative who never seen these places."
On Thursday 3rd October 2018, 19 young people aged between 12 and 24, from Mith Samlanh, attended a day trip made possible by the support of Responsible Travel. The group were from various marginalized communities in Phnom Penh. One child said this about their day: "I am really so happy and lucky to see the wonderful places of Cambodia such as the Royal palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom...I had the chance to ask questions that I wondered about for a long time."
On Thursday 21st September 2018, 20 young people aged between 12 and 24 visited The Royal Palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom. They were from various marginalized communities in Phnom Penh communities. One child said this about their day: "I was so proud to see the Royal Palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom. If I didn’t study at Mith Samlanh I wouldn’t get the chance to see these places."
20 young people aged between 12 and 24 from various marginalized communities in Phnom Penh communities visited The Royal Palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom on Friday 17th August 2018. One child said this about their day: "I was so excited to see the wonderful Royal Palace. I liked seeing the valuable statues which I had never seen before, especially the ones made from gold and silver."
On this trip, 20 young people visited The Royal Palace, National Museum and Wat Phnom. They were from Mith Samlanh. Living in various marginalized communities in Phnom Penh such as Russey Keo. Some live at our drug rehabilitation center, Green House, and some attend vocational training. One of the children said this about their day: “I will take my knowledge to tell my friends and my relatives so that they know about Khmer history."
On Friday 29th June 2018, 21 young people from Mith Samlanh went on a day trip made possible by the support of Responsible Travel. The young people (aged 15-24 years old) live in various marginalised communities in Phnom Penh such as the Greenhouse, Takhmao community and the slum communities. One child said this about their day: "I felt very proud and lucky to see the Royal Palace, especially the artifacts which have no price value! I hope that, in the future I will bring my relatives to visit the Royal Palace too."
In total 20 children (aged 11-24) from from various marginalised communities in and around Phnom Penh, visited the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda and the National Museum. One of the children said this about their day: "I was happy to see the Royal Palace because I have never been before." About our partner organisation:
The Intrepid Foundation and Friends-International Partnership – Trip for a Trip
The Intrepid Foundation was set up to provide a way for travelers to give back to the places they’ve been through a range of projects and not-for-profit organisations. Since 2002, we’ve distributed over $6 million to more than 100 projects around the world.
Through a partnership with Friends-International established in 2002, The Intrepid Foundation has raised over AUD $185,000 to support at-risk youth in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. Funds have helped provide young people with vocational skills training in tourism and hospitality.
In addition to raising funds for Friends-International through our travelers, we also provide support through travel experiences with Intrepid Travel. On certain tour itineraries, travelers have the chance to visit Friends International’s TREE restaurants (Training Restaurants for Employment and Entrepreneurship). These unique dining experiences provide a way for young trainees to practice their skills while also providing a sustainable income to the restaurants which operate as social enterprises.
More about Trip for a Trip
- Read more about Trip for a Trip and other trips we've run.
- If you've booked a vacation via Responsible Travel, claim your booking gift to join our Trip for a Trip scheme.
