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The Adventure Begins Anew

Laden with 17 bags of gear, bicycles, and bountiful well wishes for safe travels, our crew left Singapore and touched down in Siem Reap, prepped and ready for the second round of cross-Cambodian adventures.

Over the next eight days we will follow Sam McGoun, as he runs, bikes, swims and kayaks over 845km across the Cambodian countryside.  This is a one-man tour de force aimed at raising funds and awareness for the Sala Bai Hotel & Restaurant School and human trafficking prevention.

This year, Sam's route will take him from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville, metaphorically following the year-long journey of a Sala Bai student, from their education on through to their graduation.

More about About Sala Bai

For over a decade, Salan Bai has been offering tuition-free hospitality training to 100 impoverished young Camobodians annually.  Their mission is to provide their students with the capabilities and experience necessary -- in one of four disciplines: restaurant service, cooking, front office and housekeeping -- to secure gainful employment in one of Siem Reap's numerous hotels, guesthouses or restaurants. Their students’ training, and their resulting

employment breaks the cycle of poverty, improves their long term quality of life, and prevents human trafficking before it starts by providing them with a strong economic future.

The Pledge is Made

Minutes after touching down in Cambodia, Sam addressed 100 Sala Bai students, for whom this run is inspired by and dedicated to.  Speaking directly to them in a warm and intimate launch ceremony, Sam spoke about the importance of programs like Sala Bai in human trafficking prevention models and the commitment he has made along with Touch Sala Bai and numerous others to seeing this model enhanced and continued, both in Cambodia and around the world.

In a powerful closing statement, Sam officially initiated Take the Pledge, a campaign aimed at combating human trafficking by making it easy for people to understand what human trafficking is, why it occurs and what we all can to do prevent it.  This eight day peregrination is Sam’s personal manifestation of this pledge.

The terrain ahead will include the Angkor Wat temples, ancient pagodas, floating villages, the Cardamon Mountains and, mostly likely, a heavy of dose of monsoon rain.

The Route

Day 1: 15 Nov - Siem Reap - Bak Prea

Day 2: 16 Nov - Bak Prea - Wat Beung Ampeul

Day 3: 17 Nov - Wat Beung Ampeul - Samlaut Tasign

Day 4: 18 Nov - Kampong Lapov - Veal Veaeng

Day 5: 19 Nov - Osom - Cardamom Mountain - Koh Kong

Day 6: 20 Nov - Koh Kong - Mangrove - Tropeng Rung

Day 7: 21 Nov - Tropeng Rung - Veal Renh

Day 8: 22 Nov - Veal Renh - Sihanoukville

Stay tuned to see how Sam and the team weather...the weather, the distance, and a tiny crew car.

Donate to support Sam, Sala Bai and the fight against human trafficking.

Watch 'A Step Between', a short documentary film that chronicles Sam's 2012 Cross-Cambodia Journey through the voice of one courageous human trafficking survivor.

And learn how Sala Bai empowers Cambodia's most impoverished young women to obtain employment in Siem Reap's growing hospitality industry in 'Khatna's Journey: A Sala Bai Story'.

- Meghan Shea