Last but not least of Cambodia

I have been a bit quiet on the blog front for a couple of weeks. Mainly because life chugs along and with this being a quiet time of year, there is not a lot to report.

The dredging of the river bank continues although somewhat haphazardly, the machinery is sitting there but not doing a lot! The water has been dammed up again and is running off into the irrigation channels around the back of Siem Reap. The river looks hideous and smells but it does look like the concrete works on the spillway are coming to an end.

Have to make up your own mind on this!

Don't think these trees will last too long once the river starts running!

Some locals just don't want to go!! Last remaining food stop!

The voting and the outcome are past history and nothing much is discussed locally now.

There have been a couple of bad accidents between motorbikes and either tour buses or trucks. Even the Cambodians are now starting to get concerned about the increase of traffic and the really bad driving. I discovered this week that anybody of any age can ride a motorbike under 110 cc, on the roads. It is scary seeing kids of 10 pr 12 whizzing around!

Always fresh!!!!! Don't think so, my lungs weren't feeling so fresh!

I have continued riding to school because it has been dry. We haven't had much rain over the last couple of weeks which is good for riding but the locals are looking for the rain. Not because of drought but the atmosphere is heavy and we have all been feeling a bit lethargic, our get up and go has got up and gone! A heavy fall yesterday but it didn't last too long.

Just a little bit of rain!

We had a public holiday last Monday, one of 18 for the year! Annette and I were going to have a ride but she has been very unwell with a virus so I found myself with a day on my own. I saddled up so to speak and headed towards the lake, around a 20 km round trip. Unfortunately I left too late and after 8 km headed back, I was so hot and felt myself sizzling and knowing I had to ride 8 km back I threw in the towel! The pool was calling me! The heat here can be vicious and we are still experiencing mid 30s

These pics show why it probably is a good idea to clean up the river

Sun dried fish anyone??

Sunbrella!!

Alan, Bridget and I decided that we needed a good night out as opposed to more Cambodian food and rice! We headed to the Victoria hotel for cocktails and were going to eat at the French restaurant there but as we were the only customers decided to give it a miss and headed to the Hotel de La Paix which is a bit of an institution here. Next month it will be handed over to the one of the big hotel chains which is a disappointment to the locals. We had a nice bottle of bubbly and a lovely meal. Sometimes you just have to remind your self what it is like to be a westerner!

Grace House runs along smoothly. A little bit tough for a while as I was the only volunteer for a week, another 2 have joined me and a couple more next week so things will get back to normal. Fiscally it means that no volunteers equates to reduced income for the project so that is not sustainable in the long run.

Friday was another hot day but at lunch time we headed off to the local Pagoda for a blessing by the head Monk, certainly one way to cool off as you will see by the pictures. This time I did my best not to giggle as the force of the water whiplashed my head. It was actually a calming experience just sitting there and concentrating on the chanting and the experience.

The Blessing

I would like to stay and waffle on a bit longer but the pool beckons and as I only have a couple of days left here I have to make the most of it! I work Monday and Tuesday, then leave Wednesday afternoon arriving in Melbourne Thursday morning. This evening I am taking the staff from Grace House out for dinner, lucky for me the meals are around $4 and a glass of beer 50c so I think I can afford it!

I will miss my night time view of the pool and my occasional night time swims watching the stars and dragonflys.

It will be frantic for the 3 weeks that I am back in Melbourne as the farm has been put on the market, I have decided that I can't manage that and do the traveling that I enjoy so much and something has to give. It is with sadness that I will see it go but that is the way it is.

So I will sign off for this trip, good luck for you, good dreams for me!

 

Just be a little bit careful...........

Just be a little bit careful in the sun was what the chemist told me today. I wish she had told me to avoid it completely! It is Sunday afternoon and I am sitting on my bed with a very burnt and very sore back, neck, face and shoulders!

I went to bed last night not feeling 100% and with no improvement this morning and another sinus infection getting the better of me, took a walk into the pharmacy. In Cambodia you don't go to a GP, the pharmacy is the first stop. I am in possession of a box of antibiotics and instructions for no alcohol, no Icecream and just take it easy with the sun.

I wasn't going to swim due to the nose and ears etc but it got the better of me and I ploughed up and down as usual then when finished somebody ( who had not asked for permission to be in my pool) asked me about the markets. We got chatting and 30 minutes later I realized is was all too late hence the burning.

 

The week has been a relatively quiet one activity wise. The elections completed with the CPP of which Hun Sen is the leader, winning with an increased majority. This was actually similar to our local council elections as the people were voting for commune chiefs who of course are aligned to a political party.

This outcome is perplexing as not one person we speak with admits to voting that way. Anecdotally it would appear that the rigging here is very subtle. Stories of young adults who had applied for their ID cards over 12 months ago and still not received them. No ID card, no registration and therefore no voting. Young people who had returned to their homelands to vote to discover that their names had actually been removed from the register even though they have previously voted. There are stories of vote buying and bullying. It seems that the younger generation who would perhaps be able to change things with their votes have been excluded from the process.

Next year is the larger election but a lot of people don't hold out much hope.

 

The digging out of the river has stopped to a point as firstly the money has run out and secondly families can't be relocated in time before the wet sets in. The river side has just been left in a disgraceful way with trees, rubbish etc just sitting there. The locals, who don't waste a thing have been cutting up the timber for cooking, some have been digging up the dirt and shifting it in front of their homes and using it as a base for paving and some it would appear just have a mound sitting there waiting to be used as sand bags to keep back the water should it flood again.

The barricade at the crocodile farm has been removed and the water has been allowed to flow into the spill way once again so that at least has reduced the smell of the still water and allowed the river to flow once again. With the few rains we have had the river in town was getting very high.

 

The ride home in the evenings has been a bit of a race against the weather as the rain seems to come in during the afternoon and then again a bit after 4. So far I have been able to keep cycling to school but it won't be much fun if heavy rains come. I may have to succumb to a tuk tuk ride. I will miss that part of my morning routine should it happen.

 

Socially things are quieter which doesn't really bother me that much. I did get roped into going to a bar after work during the week to watch the rugby between Australia and Scotland and then to a trivia night on thursday which helps raise money for some of the projects here but I really don't enjoy them that much. In fact I think I was out every night but I have to get dinner somewhere! I actually enjoy just having a quiet dinner with Bridget, Alan and Annette and then trotting home at a civilized hour!

 

The weaving ladies have been working very hard to get the purses ready for us to sell on commission at Le Meridien Hotel. I selected the colors and linings for them and there was a little lost in translation as their idea of colour matching differs slightly from mine but all is well now and hopefully the product will be placed by next week.

The really good news is that we received a phone call asking us what out terms are for the place mat order and how should the Victoria Hotel place the order. That is very exciting as not only will we make a little bit of profit but this will keep the weaving ladies employed for a few weeks. I am very happy about the outcome.

 

The project has been moving along steadily but volunteer numbers are declining due to the season and from next week I will be the last man standing so to speak and nobody else until the day before I am due to leave! I will stay with the preschool classes as they need most help but will do what I can to assist the other teachers. I still assist teach in the young adult classes after school but may have to share myself around a bit, Bridget will direct me on that.

 

Last night, the hotel manager organized for me to go into the kitchen and have a little cooking lesson with the sous chef ( a very generous term as he is the cook) the chef who was off duty couldn't help himself and came back in as cooking lessons is something that he would like to offer in the quiet season. They showed me how to make fresh spring rolls and fried spring rolls which do differ from the Vietnamese style. We had a bit of fun and then they asked me how to make the pasta bundles when plating up so I showed them that and how to make a simple seafood marinara. They were surprised just how easy it was to do and that everything that I needed they had in their pantry. They are such nice people and rarely get to interact with the hotel guests and were very shy to start but overcame it. I am hoping that we will get to do it again before I leave. I should have taken some photos but wasn't that organized. I need to get the dipping sauce recipe written down so will visit again and get photos of them all including the staff!!

 

The time is passing very quickly here once again, 3 weeks down and only 2 and a bit to go.

So once again, good luck for you, good dreams for me

 

3 White chicks in a tuk tuk.

Sunday afternoon and I am confined to barracks. I am sure there are worse places to be. I spent the morning at the pool, sun baking ( I know incorrect but I love it) and swimming, swimming. Swimming!!! 2 Kms all up today! Poolside is very peaceful. Had to retreat to room as a storm swept over.

As there as so few people here at the moment and the Asian tourists , although a bit noisy around the hotel , rarely use the pool. MY pool.

The past week has been a very interesting one in Siem Reap, the electioneering continued with dressed up tuk tuks, trucks and people wearing the colors of their parties. Mainly white for the Sam Rainsey party and blue for the Cambodian People's party. The CPP will. "win" whether or not they get the votes!!!! Sam Rainsey opposes from beyond the borders and if steps a foot in Cambodia will be arrested for something!!! Many locals have returned to their home towns , some of which are quite a way off and so the project is closed Monday to give them some travel time. I was invited by one of the hotel staff to go with her to her village for the weekend but Bridget suggested not as some of the villages are very political and not adverse to shooting their rivals. Alcohol , politics and guns, the same world wide.

Sam Rainsey party faithful

Hun Sen the Prime Minister of Cambodia sent out an edict saying that from midnight Friday until midnight Sunday there was to be no selling or drinking of alcohol in Cambodia due to the elections. As the week wore on and he either realized how stupid this was and how badly it was going to affect the tourist trade at what is already a very quiet time, the stance softened. Pub Street and the hotels serving foreigners were given dispensation and as it ended it was just the Khmers who were targeted.

This initially had caused uproar here with the expats as they love any opportunity to drink and have a party and as most of them are British or from the Commonwealth , they had plans for the 60th anniversary. I suggested a flotilla down the Siem Reap river forgetting that half of it is blocked off as they continue to widen it and encourage the growth of disgusting algae as the water is just a slimy trickle downstream of the crocodile farm. Sadly kids still play in it and men still try to do some fishing. They will have to open it soon or the town will flood if it rains too heavily.

Look no evil...... 4 wise monkees!!!!

Would you be happy if you had to travel like this? No nor would I!!

There are already quite a few Queens in Siem Reap so the celebrations aren't entirely out of place here!

The volunteers, all 5 of us ( and I know 2 of them won't turn up) are going in to work to do some painting and maintenance work around the place on Monday. We are still very light on for help at the moment but I believe this improves in a few weeks.

The other action around town has included the finding of a body in the compound where one of the teachers live, a woman strangled by her now missing husband. There has been a major house fire and two days ago a massive smash on route 6 which is the main road to the airport and Phnom Penh. An army truck loaded with soldiers and a tourist bus hit head on, 6 dead at the scene, 5 of them tourists. The overtaking here is horrendous, no care, no responsibility, no road rules to speak of and I have found far more aggressive behavior on the roads since I first came. It is every man for himself. There are far too many big vehicles and buses using roads meant for locals and nothing gets done about it. Most mornings I take a big breathe before I set off on my bike!!

The wet season is slowly forcing itself upon us. The days are really hot and then a bit of cloud comes over, the wind whips up and the heavens open, same every time and it is almost every day. It does afford a little bit of cool for a short time though. Then the rain is gone as fast as it arrives and we have to jump puddles for a couple of hours until it evaporates.

Last weekend I headed off with Kate and Annette ( our disability worker). We went to visit another NGO where Kate had worked when she was here last year during the floods. They are loathe to be called an orphanage as this is a dirty word here now!!!!!! It is a "residential" project. Most of the kids aren't orphans and have been picked up as neglected kids on the streets or have been placed there by families who either cant look after them or don't really want them. The kids are encouraged to return home at the weekends if they have one and if anyone wants them there!

We were visiting because they had a couple of kids to be assessed for disability care. The girls picked me up at 8 am and first stop was to pick up 2 kittens from the vet! You don't get addresses here, you get indecipherable instructions! The cats had been taken to Phnom Penh for de sexing. We discovered later on in the piece that there is no vet here, only an Australian veterinary nurse who can fix up the male cats but the girls require surgery! So off we head in our tuk tuk. 30 minutes later and having found ourselves in a very narrow lane way full of pot holes and a driver who says, I am not going any further. I could quite understand as I was with him on this! The locals all gave us differing instructions all of which turned out to be incorrect. So we find what we think is the correct lane, once again driver says I am not going down there, Annette and I look at each other and say, neither are we so off sets Kate. I am watching her disappear in the distance through the zoom of my camera, down a very winding narrow, pot holed, muddy road. We are feeling very guilty!! 30 minutes later along comes Kate on the back of a strangers motor bike!!! Wrong directions!!! Her phone had been ringing while she was wandering off and I eventually fished it out of her bag but missed the call. It was Katie the veterinary nurse. Where are you???? We arrange for Katie the nurse ( who none of us had met before) to come onto the main road to meet us. How will I recognize you she asks. Kate tells her, we are the 3 white chicks in a tuk tuk. She finds us and we get these mangy cats along with a $210 bill to give to the project. Quite frankly, when the staff at the hotel only get $70 per month wages I find this an awful waste of money. Not a cat lover obviously!

Fuel stop!!!

The long and winding road

Kate returns

Eventually we get to the project, it is stinking hot, very little shelter for us, powered by generator which nobody was about to fire up to get the fans going for the 3 white chicks. A lovely area, nice gardens, good accommodation for the kids, nice staff but I am glad that I don't work there. Apart from the 50 minute bike ride from town, starting the work day there at 8am, finish at 5 with a 3 hour break in the middle and nowhere to go as it is so far out. Give me Grace House any day. Still it was an experience to see another project. Annette will try to help them with these 2 kids but it is limited what she can offer due to the distance.

Girls learning Apsara dancing at Honour Village

All this on one Sunday morning!

At mid day I was picked up by Nak and taken to his home for lunch. First time that I have been in a Khmer house hold apart from the village shacks. When a Khmer marries, the male leaves his family to move in with his wife's. So if you have a household of girls you know that numbers are going to multiply eventually! Nak is one of seven, 5 are females. This means that his home is a small community! A central outdoor eating and cooking area with several small houses for the families. He shares a bedroom with his mother and his mother shares her bed with one of the grand children. This is the way it is here, all in together boys!

They had eaten lunch already and it was just Nak and I. It was beautiful home cooked food but it is just food and not a social occasion like when we invite people for lunch. We had hot sour soup, stir fry chicken and veg with rice and some fried fish. I am having dinner with Nak tonight and have to get the recipes from him. The soup was amazing!

The week has been a very busy one, I am teaching 4 classes as we are short handed. They are all pre school but all at different levels. Had been given a folder which had a new curriculum outline written by a long term volunteer who is a very experienced primary school teacher. I followed what to teach, wrote my lesson plans for the 4 classes for the week to discover after class 1 that we weren't even going to get through the first days work in a week!!!! I now write one very simple plan and adapt it as necessary!! The kids are delightful and a joy to be with and teach. After school I am assist teaching a class of young adults. This will be 4 days a week but what else do I have to do?

Friday was international children's day and we celebrated by having an open day at the school. The preschoolers sang 2 songs, heads and shoulders, and if you're happy and you know it..... I am sure you will all be familiar with them. I am now too familiar with them and never want to hear them again!

Other classes sang and the senior students did a shadow puppet show which they wrote, made the scenery and the puppets. It was fantastic and the little ones loved it as did all the parents who turned up. It was a very exciting day for the project to see these families come and show interest in what their children are doing and to look at their school work. We were all so proud.

My other role has been to try to find a couple of up market outlets for some of our weaving products. I wrote to 3 GMs of big hotels, got 2 replies and 2 meetings. 1 is going to give us a 3 month probation selling on commission and the other one was away but the food and beverage manager saw me and asked if we made to order as he needed a sample and a price on new table mats as he preferred to use local product and support NGOs. I had the weaving ladies make a mat, which I was very happy with, I took it to him on Friday, gave him a quote and he has since emailed me back saying they will be in touch with a purchase order. This is very exciting even though it isn't going to make a lot of money but it will be a small profit, it will give these girls something to make that is not just going to sit on the shelves and it gives us confidence to approach other places with a similar offer. Selling skills working in Cambodia!!!!!

Maybe I could sell a few blinds and curtains while I am at it!!!!

This white chick is signing off for another week, good luck for you, good dreams for me.