A marathon of writing - so sit down and read

Next stop Phnom Penh

Daily afternoon storm in full swing

The luggage carousels at Phnom Penh are open air and did I really see a bunch of Aussie women go almost apoplectic with delirious delight that they could light up a gasper (cigarette) while waiting for their bags? Heat does funny things to you.

Although we are now nearing the end of our stay in Phnom Penh, another city I never thought I would visit, I'm pleased to finally be catching up with the blog postings. Here, is the first time that I have been able to easily log on and we have spent a fair bit of time catching up on correspondence – mostly during rain periods and when calming and cooling down at the end of our days.

We are at another quaint and friendly hotel, the building, a mix of French colonial and Korean architectural influences I was told. It is called Le Rit's and is run by an NGO – www.nyemo.com which works to improve the quality of life of vulnerable women and their children. We also have a dilemma here, the women make such wonderful handicrafts and we have no spare room in our luggage.

We'd arrived early afternoon and Howard decided to search out a friend whose school we'd hoped to visit, so a search by tuk brought us to the office of an NGO which we support, Banteay Srei, whose director phoned the friend and although Howard was able to have a chat, the man is in Battambang, near Siem Reap (if only we'd known). So, we had an early night because we had an early start Friday morning for our visit to the Free The Bears sanctuary.

Our usual dinner became, feather light crepes with cheese. Although we'd seen one delicatessen in Siem Reap, have not seen cheese anywhere at all so this was a surprise. Banana in wine and honey followed by gelato ice cream. There was no way I could explain that the banana could go into the bowl with the ice cream so we had three courses each night. We called this a light meal. Lunches were as close to meatless as possible. The sweet and sour fish was delicious.

Next day we were picked up early by our contact Pesei, for the hour long drive out to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre. Two other “Keepers for a day” were with us, Katja and Ollie who have been medical volunteers out here for two years, and met here. Both are nearing the end of their contracts and are soon homeward bound. They were a fun couple to share the day with. After a short induction we started on our tour of the various enclosures. There are 114 bears here and a total of 154 have been rescued but some have gone on exchange or breeding programs with zoos, some have been rehabilitated into the wild, though most can't be because they were never in the wild, and some have died.

Phnom Tamao was a zoo of 2500 hectares and FTB have 1200 available to use. When Free The Bears took it over it was completely run down but they are doing a great job there and get many daily visitors. Besides bears, there are quite a few other animals there, all of them rescued, some of them relinquished by their wealthy owners.

Although it didn't seem like it, it was a gruelling day because the heat and humidity really takes the stuffing out of you. We visited several enclosures (from the outside mind you), stuffed some bamboo cylinders with sweets which we will help to hide in the afternoon, for the bears to search for . Then to lunch at a local on site “restaurant” - see the photos. As Ollie and Katja are also vegos, we had a few plates of noodles & veg and fried rice to ourselves. The other staff all tuck into various meat dishes. We are closely watched by some young boys who it turns out only want the empty drink cans and bottles. After we finished eating we handed the leftovers to same young boys who made short work of it all.

One of the young workers then took us around the bird enclosures and there were plenty of interesting varieties including birds of prey which you don't get to look at close up too often, then he was to drive us around the other animal enclosures but being a novice driver didn't seem to realise that the car was parked in first gear and he launched the SUV into the fence where it was parked, smashing one front headlight cover and denting the fence. In embarrassment he made himself scarce for the rest of the day. So, Pesei took us around the other animal enclosures and saw the lions, tigers, leopards, pythons, one, a newly arrived 125kg fellow rescued from a Phnom Penh garden after it left the Mekong, which is high due to the amount of water/rain at the moment.

Finally, hide the log time came along and bears were called into their dens so that we could go into the enclosures to hide the various foods. We now also saw our sponsored bear, Brandy, for the first time. Brandy is quite old now and golden brown, and she hides in the shrubbery most of the time because it is cooler there so we were happy when she came into the den and we saw her close up. The bears are called in by different clangs/tunes on a bell. They recognise which is theirs and leave their enclosure. They know what's up and play along with us humans and it was fun watching them make short work of the treats.

Finally we met the cutest young cub which has only about three months old. This little fellow is being hand reared and will probably never be released into the wild.

The crew took a bit of an early mark and a couple of them came back to PP with us. On the road from the centre back to the highway, we saw people coming up to the road, just standing there with their hands out asking for food, very sad.

Felt pretty comfortable with Pesei's expert handling of the crazy traffic. We know there are rules, but no one seems to stressed about sticking to them. Horn tooting indicates, move over I'm coming through, indicators are used when driving on the wrong side of the road to overtake a line of tuks, bikes and sundry vehicles. Light flashing is employed when the vehicle coming toward you on your side of the road is definitely not going to slow down and get behind traffic on its side until it's safe to overtake. Pedestrian crossings are fair game for lining up folk on foot. Howard has just about got the trick of once you step off the footpath you keep going with one hand raises and “they” will avoid you, which they do. Speaking of footpaths, these are areas apparently reserved for parking, setting up shop, hanging laundry, etc. etc.

https://picasaweb.google.com/irenewheatley/PhnomPenh?authuser=0&feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/irenewheatley/PhnomPenhFreeTheBearsVisit?authuser=0&feat=directlink



Saturday

We had a late start Saturday and the bulk of the day was spent walking. We took in the Royal Palace, returned to the River front, looking, taking in the atmosphere and sometimes getting lost. We walked for hours, went to the huge Central Markets, got lost again on exiting, did a complete circuit of the markets to try to find our bearings and the way home and when I started whinging, we finally found our street. PP streets are numbered. You might think that was a clever way to lay out your city but the numbers don't run. They are not ordered in any logical way!!

As we are wont to do in the hot humid tropics, once we come home, we stay put for the rest of the day. We had lunch at our hotel and then retired upstairs to wait out the afternoon storm, only to emerge in the evening for a light meal before retiring again. I am getting used to fish now but still try to get veg dishes and sometimes am lucky enough to be understood. The people (mostly women) at Le Rit's are really good to us and as always, friendly and helpful.

Sunday 14th

Sunday seemed to be burnt offering day. We saw many people burning coloured paper in drums, kettle drum type pots and first thought it was garbage day, but decided it was more important than that. There were some monks in the streets begging for alms and the remains of last night's rice apparently left on the footpath for the dogs? Birds? We haven't figured.

Our sightseeing this day was to the “Killing Fields” and to the high school used as a detention and torture centre during the regime of Pol Pot, which the current government like to call a “clique”. I can't elaborate on this because it is too distressing. I will add that out at the Fields, because of the heavy rains, all the paths you walk on, you see tattered remains of clothes being exposed. I have included an album of photos of the memorials. These may be confronting.

We took an afternoon walk looking for a veg restaurant Katja told us about but had no luck finding so it was just an exercise walk and back to the hotel for a late lunch, just in time to miss the heaviest deluge so far, it in fact lasted all night, flooding the streets (and hopefully washing some dirt away).

Because of the downpour, we couldn't get out into the garden restaurant for dinner so had to sit inside where it was a bit clammy, but most of all where we were distracted by the display of handicrafts. We had talked of buying a couple of items but now Howard was bent on leaving the folk here with a sizable donation so now we have stuffed out our case with cushion covers and other delights. I didn't think we could fit any more in but there you go!


Monday 15th

Our first child visit day. We are picked up around 8.00am and taken to the ChildFund PP Office on the second floor, up the back steps of a neat office building. Lots of people working and all happy to greet and welcome us. We met with Carol Mortensen the country director, who gave us a good understanding of the type of operation run in Cambodia plus a short history of the political situation here and the hurdles to be overcome in helping the bulk of the population rise out of poverty. We have had it explained to us that older people here are still very traumatised. People were scattered from their home provinces and some never managed to return, so are now in villages made up of a variety of ethnicities. (We've noticed the different facial features, height and build of people throughout our journey so far) Carol said, everyone knows what everyone did during those times but all keep quiet. In fact the present trials of the remaining leaders of the Pol Pot regime haven't raised the interest that Carol thought they would.

In Cambodia, the sponsorship program works differently than India. Here the target villages and all children in it benefit and there are several levels to the program: Education, child rights, sanitation just three.

Our guide, (Poan) Sina and our driver Veasna (We never learned his surname) loaded us up in the back of the Toyota ute. Then a two and half hour drive out into the country, roughly east, south east to where our child's project was and the highway was fairly good road. We would be close to the Vietnamese border. You never get used to the poverty as life is lived along the roads. We turned off for 15km of rutted pot holed road to Sapov's village. Because of high water in the area our meeting had to take place at the village pagoda. There lined up for us was the family and a handful of ChildFund workers. What a delight this little girl was. Sapov (we learned that the family name was Mey, one never knows whether the family name or Christian name comes first) is 10 years old and currently on school holiday. She was dressed in her school uniform for the day and allowed us to hug her. The new school year starts in October – when the rain slows down. A five year old brother completes the family. Through our interpreters we learned about the circumstances of the family. The parents are subsistence farmers and grow enough rice for their own needs. The farming work falls mostly on the wife, with a little help from the children (when not at school). The father has an electrical repair shop, which he took over from his electrician father who taught him the business. Though we didn't see the shop, it is probably part of their one or two room house.

Lunch was spread out on mats and everyone sat around the mix of dishes cooked by the mother (from chicken and meat supplied by ChildFund). Our guides had also ordered and brought take aways from PP on our way out of town. Everyone dug in, I tried some of the bitter melon included in the pork dish, it was ok but wouldn't want to have to live off it. Sapov is a meat eater so we made sure she got plenty. Her brother is a rice eater, doesn't like meat. Photos all round, with a ChildFund photographer to boot, and we're promised copies of the best ones. One of the fellows took pics with my camera and they turned out blurred, so sorry about the quality!

We spend a pleasant hour or so and then because our guide and driver had a long drive back to PP we headed into Svay Rieng to find our hotel. Another long and bumpy ride along an irrigation canal which would dry up in the dry season. We first stopped at the regional office and said hello to all the workers and regional director who gave us a run down of the program here. We came away so impressed with the work these people do.

Svay Rieng may once have been a bustling Franco provincial town but now almost crumbled. Our hotel a bitter disappointment, a dump but only $10 for the night. Our guides would have suggested the Red Cross Guesthouse up the road if we hadn't prebooked and they were too polite to interfere. Note to Footprint Guidebooks, get this dump out of your book. It is listed as the best option in town!!

Also we wouldn't be able to get onto a bus for Vietnam from here. The ChildFund area manager had organised a taxi to pick us up at 9.00am and take us to the border. They were all looking after us.

Howard had assumed that Svay Rieng being a largish provincial town would have a bus stop. We went for a walk to find the bank for necessary money changing. It was next door to the RC Guesthouse. I suggested we check out the rooms, Howard said no, it was only one night. We tried to buy some food at a modern looking shop by the service station on the other side of the RCG and came away with oat and pumpkin cookies and toilet paper. So walked back and looked for dinner food. Not easy in this town. The only cooked food looked like the roadside satay places. No greenery involved here. One little old man had bananas so we took half his stock and made him very happy and this would do us. The hotel restaurant had a sign outside that simply said STOP! Once inside I did the usual shower the day's sweat off. No hot water here. Not even any toilet paper. Straight after my shower, Howard, who was now disgusted with the useless TV and abandoned the awful chemical tasting biscuits, hinted at the RC Guesthouse so I got dressed and we took another walk.

Yes we could have a room for the night, only $15. A friend of the receptionist who we took to be a security person for the guesthouse offered to ride us back to the hotel. Our first time at three to a scooter, but only a few minutes worth. We quickly took our stuff, paid the $10 to the witless staff who had no idea nor cared since there was a soapy on the TV. Our big pack sat in front of the driver, I behind. It was suggested that the three of us would fit but our daypacks were too heavy to balance on knees so Howard elected to walk. In the event another scooter rider picked him up. We'd been heckled by them during our walks and laughed at when we said (acted out) walking.

So, a big improvement and a satisfied hubby. Bananas for dinner and breakfast. Only negative was me seeing a mosquito in the bathroom and missing it with the towel, knowing that I would be it's dinner. Not even the DEET lasts all night.

This morning we walked back to the hotel to wait for our taxi. The ChildFund people were still looking after us. They'd discovered that we'd moved house and I don't know, maybe the taxi driver turned up early before we returned to the hotel and called them, but the photographer turned up called the taxi and waited with us. So, back to the RCG, pack the taxi and off on the 40km drive to the border. Lots more scenery but what met us at the border was unbelievable. It was Vegas in Cambodia. Pity I couldn't get a shot of the glitziest hotels and casinos as we drove past. Cambodian passport control was neat and tidy. Walk over to Vietnam and did anybody really care? Its a run down shambles on this side. We were harassed by a “fare spotter” as soon as we left Cambodia and he wanted to ride us to a “taxi”. In the end we gave in to him once formalities were over and paid $20 for about 60km to our hotel. Everything is very similar over this side.

Hate Saigon, it is another dirty, stinky, half modernised, overgrown city, and drivers more aggressive than anywhere we've been so far. To boot there are many more smokers here. We'll have to make sure to ask for non smokers rooms while we are here, not having given this a thought when we handed the booking out to an agent.

More soon. We fly to Rach Gia on Wednesday morning even though we can't see the bear sanctuary there due to politicking.



Stuff I forgot

On arrival at Siem Reap Airport (built by the French), first stop was the visa section where 18 military suits sat lined up on a raised, curved, beautiful, wood desk. First you hand over the passport and money, then make your way along to the end of the line while the passports are checked along the line and then stamped and handed back when your name is called. Funny!

In Siem Reap, we saw foot cleaning tanks along the footpaths. These were large fish tanks where people could pay to dangle their feet to be nibbled at by tiny carp. A new twist to the usual massages on offer.

Massage clinics or day spas proliferate, as do beauty parlours. Women seem under pressure to spend, spend, spend. Dental clinics are also highly visible.

If there's one bakery on the street then there would be a number of them all in a row. Or, gift hamper shops with shiny cellophane wrapped baskets.

Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam are sweatshop countries, helping to supply the world with cheap clothing so its no wonder that everyone of a certain age is in skinny jeans, hang off the arse jeans, the latest style in tops and so on although the traditional long silk skirts and tops are everywhere to be seen with not much difference in style between countries.

The cars here are extra blingy, metal light and door surrounds/covers are shinier and sometimes patterned, looks so trashy.

Well, now that I've caught up you might expect some pics. Sorry no. Am having the devil of a time trying to upload, but I will keep trying. Night all.