Yut Chhon

Yut is my Khmer name which means “Justice.”  I was born in Cambodia in 1981 while the country was still under the guerrilla fighting which started years before.  Despite all this, I was sent to one of the Buddhist monasteries in Siem Reap by my beloved parents for an education when I was around 13 or 14 years old.  I was a calm and peaceful monk for almost thirteen years.  I went to high school in Phnom Penh at the best Buddhist high school in the kingdom and then I pursued my university at one of the most popular Buddhist universities in Chiang Mai in the northern part of Thailand.  After finishing university in 2006, I decided to stop being a monk and moved back to Siem Reap to be with my family.  Soon I was offered a job as an English translator for two months at an NGO, Raja Yoga.  After two months with Raja Yoga, which focused on positive thinking training, I was then selected by the European Union Observation Mission for the National Election of Cambodia for another four months contract.  I was assigned to Sihanoukville and Koh Kong provinces where I worked as a language translator.  Finally, today I work as a cultural Tour Guide.  I am so happy with my job as a Guide which allows me to convey and represent Cambodia, our lives, our traditions and our culture, to the world.  I am so proud to be a part of the Angkor civilization.