Cambodia Camp 16 June - 7 July 2026
College Students and staff members departed on 16 June on the Cambodia Camp with Camps International, and will return on 7 July 2026.
DAY 1
After an early breakfast, students spent a very sombre morning visiting S21, the Genocide Museum, followed by The Killing Fields. At S21 students could talk to former detainees about their experiences during Pol Pot regime. After lunch students had some time to freshen up at the accommodation before heading out to Central Market for another shopping adventure. T-shirts, caps, fridge magnets were all top of the shopping list, but today’s bargain buy were Gucci handbags! Afterwards students and staff walked along the Mekong River and had dinner at a local restaurant.
Today was certainly a very poignant and somewhat challenging day, but it really helped students to add clarity to the people they will meet in the Cambodia countryside in the next few days. After the 2-night stay in Phnom Penh students will undertake a 4-hour drive to their first camp, staying in the village of Beng Pae. Students will be instructed to not use their phones to access Wi-Fi and will be encouraged to immerse themselves fully in the daily ritual of rural life and support the development of essential infrastructure such as drainage and running water facilities.
Andrew Sole
Head of Outdoor Education
A.B. Paterson College acknowledges the Kombumerri People as Traditional Custodians of the land, sea, waterways, and skies in which we learn and play. We also pay our respects to elders, past, present, and emerging, and recognise their continuing connection to country and ways of learning.