Life Outside Volunteering

With everybody living in the same location, it makes getting to know the other volunteers a lot easier, and with cheap drinks available, you’ll never have a reason to leave the MBC! Many volunteers enjoy a brief nap after they have finished work for the day, others sit around a table enjoying an ice-cold beer and having a chat whilst others sit back under a palm tree, or in the gardens and immerse themselves in a good book.

Always on hand to play chess or cards, have a story read to them or to engage in conversation with you about your life and country are the MaD Kids. We became their proud foster parents in early 2009, and they live with us at the MaD Base Camp.

As we are now so close to the centre of Siem Reap, it is easy to escape the MBC for an afternoon or an evening if you so desire and head in to explore one of the biggest tourist hubs in South East Asia. Walking to the centre takes around 15-20 minutes or we can easily organise you a tuktuk which takes only 2 minutes. Once in Siem Reap town there is a huge variety of things to see and do. Whether its eating at classy restaurants, drinking and dancing in trendy bars, visiting interesting museums, shopping at local artisan markets, discovering the secrets of Khmer cuisine in one of the many cooking courses, trying your hand at Buddhist meditation, taking a refreshing dip at one of the swimming pools or getting a wonderfully relaxing massage at a spa, the possibilities awaiting tourists in Siem Reap are endless.

Weekly days off during the vMaD volunteering placements usually end up as trips to the many tourist attractions that have made Siem Reap so famous, such as Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples or Tonle Sap Lake. We can help volunteers to organise trips to see these tourist sites, and can often get them significant discounts through our contacts in Siem Reap! More information on Siem Reap attractions.

We also organize occasional social events and day-trips for the volunteers– a good chance for everyone to relax outside of work. These include bike rides, picnics, parties at project locations - and we encourage volunteers to organise some events themselves (though be warned, organising anything in Cambodia is a challenge!)

For those that enjoy their night life, Siem Reap is now firmly on established as a key nightlife spot in South East Asia. Once in the centre you can hit the infamous pub street, where there are pubs, bars, restaurants and a few clubs – where the beer can be sold for as little as $0.50!! Previously volunteers had to stay in town when they went to enjoy the nightlife of Siem Reap as a tuktuk back to the MaD Base in Bakong could cost up to $20! But now, volunteers have the opportunity to stay out as late as they want and get a tuktuk back to the MBC for as little as $2!