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Blogs from Kampong Cham, East, Cambodia, Asia
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Realiteit, een hallucinatie veroorzaakt door een tekort aan van alles in de bloedbaan...
Published: February 18th 2012Asia » Cambodia » East » Kampong Cham
February 17th 2012
"Realiteit, een hallucinatie veroorzaakt door een tekort aan van alles in de bloedbaan..." was een veelgebruikte zin door de altijd fascinerende Erik van der Z. en zeer toepasselijk op de afgelopen weken. Allereerst voordat ik vertrok mocht ik geen biertje drinken in verband met het slikken van anti-biotica. Dat gaf eigenlijk wel een mooie pauze en ik kwam erachter dat de groene Jupiler met 0-komma-nog-wat-procent alcohol, prima te drinken is! Jammergenoeg hebben ze dat niet hier in Cambodja. Sinds een paar dagen is het onverstandig voor mij hier nog een druppel alcohol te drinken. De Cambodjaanse dokter was daar heel duidelijk in. Koh Chang was heerlijk, leuke mensen, alleen word je er wel erg lui. Ik vond het dus tijd om iets anders te doen en mijn vinger kwam terecht op Siem Reap. Ach, waarom niet? ... read more
September 5th 2011
J'arrive à Kampong Cham, où travaille Laeti comme architecte pour Médecins Sans Frontières. Je loge avec elle dans la maison des expatriés et chaque jour je pars à vélo à la découverte des environs et de la vie rurale de la province. La circulation n'est pas facile, car ici il n'y a aucune règles. J'en fais les frais après 10 minutes de vélo lorsqu'un scooter qui ne m'a pas vu me fonce dessus. Plus de peur que de mal et je suis bonne pour changer de vélo... Dans les alentours de la ville, on trouve de nombreux temples bouddhistes ou hindhouistes, chacun ayant ses légendes associées. Je visite une plantation de caoutchouc et l'usine de traitement associée. Pas de guide et peu de règles de sécurité, je me retrouve donc au milieu de la chaine de ... read more
September 1st 2011
Wie schon im vorigen Blog erwaehnt trugen die Fruechte unseres ersten Versuches Kompong Cham zu erreichen keinen Erfolg. Also haben wir es nach ein paar Tagen Besichtigungstour in Phnom Penh noch einmal probiert, doch leider blieb auch diesmal der Erfolg aus. Wir mussten einen Bus in Richtung Siem Reap nehmen, der nach 150km in Kompong Thom stehen bleiben sollte. Zwar sind wir inzwischen gewoehnt, dass die Fahrten hier ein wenig laenger dauern, doch als der Schaffner uns in sehr gebrochenem Englisch mitteilte, wir kaemen nach etwa 5 Stunden um etwa 7 Uhr abends an, glaubten wir ihm. Die Fahrt selbst war eine Qual: Der Fahrer konnte es nicht lassen, seine Karaokekollektion auf Video bei voller Lautstaerke zu praesentieren. So wurden die ersten zwei Stunden mit berstenden Gesaengen von der DVD "Khmer-Karaoke Vol. 113" ausgehalten, bei der ... read more
St Paddy's Day, Phnom Penh, Homestay & Moto's
Published: March 27th 2011Asia » Cambodia » East » Kampong Cham
March 26th 2011
Hello everyone To start, an apology – I've been incredibly slack on the blogging this past week, forgive me please! So to make up what follows is a bumper update....hold onto your hats.... So, last time we spoke I was finishing my Placement Visit Week, having sorted a house/bank account/meet and greet and was about to head out to Siem Reap. So, some breaking news that's over a week old, I made it safely and soundly to Siem Reap! After a 1hr bus journey - very short by Cambodian standards - I met up with Louise in Siem Reap at our guesthouse, where we both had every intention of having an awesome night! The day before was her birthday, and the day I arrived was St Patrick's day....Louise being from Cork and my Ma being being ... read more
March 12th 2011
Hello everyone So today is my last day in Kompang Cham for a week, as on Sunday morning I'm off to Sisophon, Banteay Meanchey province for my 5 day Placement Visit Week. The week will consist of house hunting, opening a Ka'mai bank account, and getting to know the area where I will be living and working for the next two years - I start proper the 1st week of April. What I'm most looking forward to though is that I will also be meeting my Nursing Advisor counterpart, Jon, and my new Volunteer Assistant, Sam Ang. Jon and I will be working closely together across the hospital and health centre, with Sam Ang supporting us as a translator, interpreter and all-round saviour! I'll also be meeting the managers, clinical leads and staff at the hospital ... read more
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February 28th 2011
Hello everyone So with Sunday being our only day off from language training, we arranged with some local Tuk Tuk drivers to go on a small trip around the Kompang Cham province yesterday (Sunday 27/02/2011) - we were all eager to get out of the town, which is fairly touristy and see some real villages and jungle/forest. So, at 8:30 we congregated in the lobby and boarded our steeds! We headed out of town along Kizuna Bridge (a big concrete monstrosity that spans the Mekong built in honour of Japanese industrialist) and into the Province in our Tuk Tuk convey, dodging lorries, SUV's and cyclists...I have to admit, the early morning breeze was helping my Saturday night hangover! Our lead Tuk Tuk driver, Gideon, had planned an awesome route that took us around villages, rural ... read more
February 24th 2011
Hey y'all I meant to post some pictures last week of a show we were invited to at Wat Nokor (Wat is Ka'mai for temple), which was organised by a charity called BSDA. BSDA works with vulnerable and severely impoverished children in Cambodia, providing support, education, training and housing to those children most at risk of abuse, trafficking, prostitution and exploitation. We were treated to a display of traditional Ka'mai dancing, starting with an amazing show where the dancers were dressed in traditional Cambodian ceremonial dress, performing a variety of very beautiful dances. It was just so graceful and dignified - not exactly the kinda thing you see at the Dog & Duck on a Saturday night! The second half of the show was a group of about 15 younger kids, who danced did a kind ... read more
February 20th 2011
Hello everyone, I'd like you to meet the new woman in my life, Rosario.....ain't she a looker! As we are in Kampong Cham for a while, and our language school is about a mile away, VSO have given us bikes to get about on.....and my-oh-my are they terrible machines! Rosario is a particularly awful piece of mechanical engineering. She has a slightly buckled front wheel, about 3 inches of slack on the chain, the mud guards rub against the tyres, the basket at the front rattles like a maraca, the back parcel shelf is bust, the brakes literally don't work and the pedals squeak like a trapped rat! But, of course I love her!! Thankfully Cambodia is very flat, as Rosario is a single speed, meaning she has no gears....only my legs...so by the time I ... read more
February 20th 2011
So my language training is in full flow, and we've started out with basic words and phrases and some grammatical rules. However, the two things you need for learning a language, natural aptitude and memory, are two talents I distinctly lack! Thankfully our teacher, Dara, is an absolute genius. He taught himself English by reading a dictionary in a refugee camp in Thailand during the Khmer Rouge period, speaks Ka'Mai, English, Spanish, French, Thai, Vietnamese and who knows what else. It is fair to say that more than a couple of the female volunteers have developed a crush on him! Dara is a brilliant teacher and has a knack of honing in on those words/phrases that you struggle with, pushing you (subtly but firmly) to nail it. We are learning about 30 new words a day, ... read more
February 17th 2011
Hello everyone, first and foremost I'd like to say thank you very much to everyone who has left comments and sent me messages – it really means a lot to hear from you. I'll do a posting this week to respond to the various questions and queries people have asked. Please do send me an email to let me know what you are up to, and if you are on Skype, let me know your Skype Name and I'll find and add you so that we can have some face-to-face banter. So last night my fellow volunteers and I arrived safe and sound in Kampong Cham....despite the best efforts of the bus driver I must add! Quick tip for anyone ever travelling in a Cambodian bus - never sit at the front, ignorance is bliss ... read more
