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Published: February 10th 2013
Bagging Rice
Ginny and Sally busy bagging rice to give to the kids.I though I'd start this blog by giving everyone an idea on what everyday life is like for us, here in Cambodia. We shop at the supermarkets, eat in Pub Street, buy the occasional item or article of clothing in the markets, and pay tuk tuk drivers to get us around. The main currency here is the USD. The Cambodian Riel is worthless with a value of 4000 to the dollar. We still have Riels in our wallets, as small change (less than $1) is paid in them. We, in turn, pass them on as quickly as we can...
We are forever buying groceries here, due to the fact that our fridges are so small. We buy just enough cold goods for a couple of days and it's time to stock up again. Surprisingly, many of the staple food lines are the same price as home, if you shop in the supermarkets, as we do.
For example - one litre of milk is $2.15, apples/oranges .65c ea, 500g Flora Spread $4.80, Arnotts Milk Arrowroot biscuits $2.40, Bundaberg Ginger Beer 375ml $1.50. A bar of 200g Cadbury chocolate is $3.95. I was pleased to find my favourite slab of Old
Rice Distribution
Ginny is standing ready to hand out the bags of rice to the younger students. Gold with Roasted Almonds available, but have only indulged in one since being here. Coke and tonic water we buy in 330ml cans for .40c. 1.5 litre Coke is $1.25. Bread is from $1 a loaf and we can only buy white. Grapes are $6-8 kilo, and a baguette for lunch $1.05. Nice ham is worth $14 kilo, but tomatoes are cheap at $1.35 kilo. There are lots of different cheeses available, we pay around $4 for 250gr. Yogurt prices vary, we've paid as little as .35c per container. I've not eaten a decent banana since leaving home. They sell them by the hand, they are tiny and usually green or over ripe. But, we have since learnt that you eat them green, so probably we should give them another go.
I have bought 400ml body wash for $2.85 and similar sized shampoo for $4.50. A can of personal insect spray, which we use every day - 170gr for $4.95, and a microfibre cloth for wiping surfaces in my room was $1.95. I have taken these prices from shopping dockets I have saved.
Probably the cheapest item to buy here is alcohol, and it's available at the supermarket.
Completed Fish Pond
This is the completed fish pond at Full Belly Farm. It took 3 men 7 days to dig, working 12 hours a day. Cost $300 in labour, about $1.20 per hour. Not the $3.00 a day I previously said. I will correct this mistake.. A litre of Barcardi is $8 and Baileys $10, 700ml Bundy Rum $14.20 and a can of Angkor beer .60c. Despite the cheap price, we don't over indulge, refreshing ginger beer being our beverage of choice. Great fruit smoothies are available in town for $2, and we've been seen at the ice cream servery in The Blue Pumpkin more than once, trying out their gourmet ice cream cones for $1.50ea.
A great meal can be brought in Pub Street for as little as $3. We prepare our own breakfasts and lunches, but if we're hungry and have the energy, we head to Pub Street for dinner. Who would cook when you can have your pick of dozens of restaurants and eateries offering everything from Khmer, Vietnamese, Indian, Mexican, Italian and western style dishes? We've had some great, and not so great, meals since arriving, but never spend more than $5.00. A beer to wash it down will set you back 50c, spirits and cocktails $2-3.
We enjoy browsing the markets here but haven't spent much money in them. We've both bought colourful cotton pants for $7-8 a pair and birthday gifts for each other, and that's about it.
Village Home
This photo was taken on the walk into the village from school. We get annoyed by the constant 'you buy, you buy' sales pitch and don't linger at stands. If you do, they proceed to pull out every colour and size available in whatever it was you touched, and it's harder to get away. Items are often reduced by 50% of their original asking price with the hope of making a sale. I will purchase some souvenirs before I leave but they won't be bought at the markets. I have my eye on products created by local artists....
There are no big shopping malls here. We grocery shop in Lucky Mall, which is a fairly new complex, the largest shops being the supermarket and a stationery store where we buy school supplies from. Another half dozen smaller shops and that's about it. There are some great clothing and arty stores around Pub Street, all small individual shops and probably owned by 'barangs' or foreigners. More expensive, but definitely more upmarket than Khmer owned shops.
Hairdressers here would be hit and miss, there are a few salons around but they all look outdated. The scary thing is you don't have to be trained as a hairdresser to consider yourself one. Even
Village Walkway
We walk down here on the way to the village. more scary, is that this applies to any profession. Want to be a plumber? No worries, put up the signage and you're in business! Or, you can buy yourself a job as a Police Officer for $1000. This is the cost of getting that uniform with the official looking badges on it. Then you can 'legally' badger the common man and get paid off in bribes, which go straight into the pocket of that shiny new uniform. I kid you not! This is how it works over here.
A few days ago, Ginny's tuk tuk was pulled over by Police. This 'officer' raged at the poor driver because he wasn't wearing his vest. All tuk tuk drivers who move tourists around are required to wear a vest with an identity number on it. The driver explained he was employed by Globalteer and didn't have to wear the vest. The officer demanded to know, from Ginny, if she had been to the temples, thus proving to himself that the driver was lying. He obviously didn't believe him and could see his bribe, which the driver would have had to pay had he been in the wrong, fast disappearing. Ginny said
Village Kids
These happy boys were dividing up a huge pile of used incense sticks to play with. Photo taken in the walkway to the village. he ranted for 10 minutes before allowing them to go.
We spend $2 per journey for tuk tuks and catch one to and from school every day now for our afternoon lessons. We need to order one in advance from the security man at Globalteer House, and they're usually waiting for us when we're ready to go. The drivers are all very amicable fellows, but we feel apologetic bringing them and their scooters over the awful road to Globalteer House. They take it in their stride and are always very pleasant. Fuel is expensive, by Cambodian standards, at $1.20 per litre. This would explain why there are so many scooters on the road.
We pay $1 per kilo to have our clothes washed, and they are picked up and returned to us at Globalteer House. Unfortunately, ironing isn't included in the price, and as there is no iron here for us to use, we have grown used to wearing wrinkled clothes. Unheard of at home, but no one here really cares, including us! Our rooms are cleaned, and linens/towels changed three times a week. This costs us nothing and is done by Globalteer's domestic staff.
What do
The Rake Lady
This is our shopkeeper in the village, the rake lady, we call her. She still dusts off stools when she sees us.. I miss the most? It would have to be clean air, clean streets, lawns, flowers, and colour. Nobody has lawn here, let alone flowers, Cambodians live their lives on the footpath. They cook and eat in front if their homes or stalls, doze in hammocks, and perform the rituals of their daily lives in full view of the street. There is some lawn around the Royal Residence and in the parks but it's not the same as home. It is tougher and drier, but I think everything has to be tough to survive in this country. Garbage is everywhere in the streets outside the tourist areas. You can't call it litter, it's a lot worse than that. Black garbage bags of household rubbish, which people can't afford to have collected, pile up and up, fermenting in the heat. Then the dogs rip open bags and scavenge for food themselves, making the problem worse. We see 'the working poor' here, women who sweep the streets for a living. They work tirelessly in the hot sun, wheeling their bins around, sweeping up leaves and dust with their traditional style brooms. To us, it makes no sense. Why sweep up leaves and leave
Palm Sugar Drink Vendor
This lady is extracting juice from palm sugar. It is sold as a drink of pure sugar, and probably one of the reasons why so many kids have dental problems. piles of garbage behind?
On to our week - Tuesday was rice distribution day for the month at school. After finishing our reading comprehension class, we spent the rest of our time bagging rice for the kids to take home. 18 x 50 kilo bags of rice were delivered on a scooter, three at a time, at a cost of $25.00 per bag. Every month the children are each given 3.5kg of rice to take home. In return, Tammy expects that the children who receive this rice to be freed from work and attend school regularly.
Tuesday was also Tammy's 35th birthday, so a table for 15 was booked at a local vegetarian restaurant for dinner that night. The service was slow, the meal not much better, and we were amongst the first to leave. Such a disappointment!
Wednesday dawned hot, hot, hot! I decided a cold shower was in order before starting the day, but there was no water! I had to redress, and run downstairs to speak to our security man who got the problem sorted right away. 40 steps down, 40 steps up again, no wonder the weight is falling off me! We cycled
Pumping Water
Yes, we do work! Pumping water comes as naturally to us these days as turning on a tap. to school, to find there was no power there either, which to us, means no fans in the classrooms. Same at Globalteer House - no power all day! We left school early after the morning session, and headed into Pub Street, as we had a couple of things to do. Then we headed to The Blue Pumpkin to take advantage of their air conditioned wifi room, and enjoy a fruit smoothie. Unfortunately the rest of Siem Reap had the same idea, but we did get a table, unpacked our technology, and stayed put until it was time to go back to school
at 1.30pm.
Still no power
at 5.30pm when we returned to Globalteer House so we decided to grab our swimsuits and head around the corner to the Frangipani Hotel and enjoy a swim in their pool. We had a lovely couple of hours there, and ordered dinner from the restaurant which was served poolside. The power was back on when we returned home, thank goodness. We had to toss out cold food after ten hours with no refrigeration. The dog next door scored again!
Thursday is paint shopping day! Tammy, Ginny and I went into town from ABC's
Pumping More Water
Yep, I can do it too! to buy the base coat paint for our mural wall. Not telling you what colours we ended up buying, can't spoil the surprise! Later we walked into the village again to visit our favourite shop keeper, and purchased new paint rollers as well. We stayed in
tonight and snacked on whatever food we had in the fridge.
On Friday we stayed at school after the kids and staff had left
at 11.00am. We wanted to get the undercoat on the wall whilst there were no kids around and figured it would only take half an hour. We were wrong, it took us two hours to complete. Ginny with a roller and me with a brush, we worked in the heat until it was done! We decided to give afternoon classes a miss, and left a note saying so. We would have been late back anyway by the time we cycled home, showered and ate, and tuk tucked back again. So, an early start to the weekend for us... When we got back to Globalteer House we decided to treat ourselves and purchased air conditioning for our rooms for the weekend. This entailed signing a book and being given the remotes.
The Mural Wall
Time to start painting. We are about to prime our mural wall. This luxury will cost us $4 a day, money well spent for a weekend of comfort.
Later on we headed into Pub Street for a meal. Neither of us was over hungry so we ended up at The Singing Tree Cafe again, enjoying fruit smoothies, some spring rolls and the delightful company of a woman from Taipai, who shared her table with us.
It was quiz night again at Molly Malone's Irish Bar and all the ABC's staff and other volunteers from Globalteer House were there. Molly's was looking festive, decked out in red and gold Chinese lanterns for Chinese New Year on Sunday. We made the mistake of stopping by, ended up joining a team and having the biggest night out we've had since leaving home. We danced up a storm at the Angkor What? bar after leaving Molly's, finally calling it quits
at 2.00am. Thank God it's Friday, or is that Saturday?
For three days now we have been listening to what is called 'Cambodian Cacophony'. I'm sure this is a subtle form of torture to Westerners! This intrusion in our headspace is part of the traditional Buddhist funeral or wedding ritual, played out somewhere in
The Landmine Museum
A sign at the museum. Cambodia every hour, every day. This particular one is for a funeral. It is actually a non stop rendition of droning dirges and monks reciting sermons, being broadcast live at top volume to the entire neighbourhood. There is no escaping it! If the family is wealthy, this can go on for seven days. Hopefully, these people aren't, in which case it will cease
tonight (Friday).
We woke up (a little late) on Saturday to more of the same funeral renditions! Not happy! We had hoped they would be over by now. We decided a country drive would do us the world of good, so ordered a tuk tuk for
10am. We are going to visit the Landmine Museum and Relief Centre and the Banteaysrey Butterfly Farm.
The Landmine Museum and Relief Centre is about 25klm from Siem Reap. It was started in 1997 by a former child soldier of the Khmer Rouge, named Aki Ra. After the Khmer Rouge was defeated, he started clearing all the landmines which had been laid under their command. He estimates he has defused 60,000 of them. This arsenal was originally kept at his home and he opened the museum from there. In
Goodbye Sally
We're sad to see fellow Aussie Sally leaving, she's a lovely lady. 2007 the museum moved to it's current site. There is a relief centre attached to the museum, which is closed to the public. About 35 'at risk' children live and are educated here. Our admission price of $3 is used to help support these kids.
Next stop was the Butterfly Farm. It consisted of a huge netted garden and breeding centre for butterflies. We had a short tour of the centre, admired the gardens and the different species of butterflies we saw, and left. There's not a lot to do there. We wandered down the road and tried to talk with some of the local women who had small market stands lining the road, all selling palm sugar sweets which they made themselves. I was intrigued with their ovens which were made from earth, all topped with the big metal bowls they stirred their palm sugar in. We both bought a lovely scarf for $5.00 each from one of the stalls, and were tempted by another lady's offer to taste her sweets. Or course we had to buy a jar of them after that, they cost us $1.00.
We enjoyed the day out and saw more of rural
The Landmine Museum
Defused landmines and other arsenal on display at the museum. Cambodia. I miss a lot if great photo opportunities, but I can't be constantly asking the tuk tuk driver to stop on a busy road. On the way home we asked to be dropped off at Lucky Mall, where we shopped for groceries again, catching another tuk tuk home. A quiet night in is on the cards
tonight, I think.
Sunday dawned with another slow start from us. They seem to be becoming a habit these days, those slow Sunday mornings. We had no plans so decided to cycle into Pub Street for a wander around. We ended up indulging in massages again, this time at The Moon Spa. Their 50%!o(MISSING)ff sign was too good to miss, and we enjoyed two hour massages for a mere $15 each.
After leaving here, feeling thoroughly relaxed, we headed to Artisans D'Angkor, a five minute walk away. Artisans D'Angkor was created to help the young rural population to find work in their home villages by providing them with highly skilled training, and a vocation, from which they can earn a living. Today they employ over 1000 people. The craftsmen have formed an association which holds a 20%!s(MISSING)hare in the
The Landmine Museum
Very basic artificial limbs on display. company. They learn the art of carving wood, soapstone or sandstone, silk weaving, lacquering, gilding and ornamental painting. Their gift shop has the most beautiful items you'll find anywhere in Cambodia. Well worth another visit, I think...
For a day which started out with no plans, I think we've done okay. Back to school tomorrow.
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Jackie Elward and Jo Taylor
non-member comment
Holidays
Wow what a trip so far we love to read ur stories. Can't wait for the book . Trust all is going well for u. Jac and Jo