Blogs from Central, Cambodia, Asia - page 6

The Dept of Women’s Affairs (DWA) has network of offices in all provinces and districts. However, Cambodia is good in developing national plans and paying for staff but not good at funding resources to make it all work. So QSA has supported the DWA in Pursat province for over 7 years by paying for equipment and training for village women in work skills, business skills and personal development. They are focusing on work women can do at home which will reduce number of women moving to Phnom Penh for factory or “entertainment” work. The increase in income will also increase the women’s value to husbands, if they have one (13% are women headed households), reduce domestic violence and help reduce need to take children out of school. ... read more

Cambodia is one of my favourite countries, after so much adversity the people have so much optimism. In Cambodia, we book 5 star hotels because of our dollars strength. They like modern things, interspersed with thousands of years of history in a quirky little style of decor all of their own. The french occupied days left a fondness for fine imitation Luis IX furniture and opulent chandeliers and grand arches and verandahs that some Cambodian hotels have emulated with their own twist - adding bizarelly modern gadgets found nowhere else in the world. Things like Steam showers with telephones, stereos and televisions in there and elevators that are constructed entirely of some wierd perspex with LED lighting like Snoops Dawgs hummer limo. Going down to the lobby is like droppin acid straight from the woodstock ... read more

Well it’s been a while since we’ve had any real time to sit at the PC with no pressure on time nor access. Over the last 10 days we have had a series of outages starting with water, then Internet then power. Last week was also largely spent in the field, meaning days that started at 0700 and that continued until at least 1600 each day. Dusty, dirty but above all hot work. One of the pieces of equipment we’ve have been using is an Orp meter (measures electrical conductivity in soil). It has an in built thermometer which clocked the other day as 37.5 Celsius! Hot in any language! Unfortunately I got sun burnt on the back of my neck on day 01. Uncomfortable though fortunately only for a short time. I do have a ... read more

Amper een week reizen we nu door Cambodja en het moet gezegd: het land heeft ons nu al betoverd! We doorkuisen prachtige plattelandstaferelen: zelfs op de drukke wegen zijn paard-en-kar en de ossenwagen geen uitzonderingen, overal sieren houten paalwoningen met rieten daken het straatbeeld, de papa's vissen in de roodbruine riviers terwijl de kinderen in hetzelfde water plonsen en de allerkleinsten in hun blootje in de tuin spelen. We rijden dan ook door deze landschappen in een vitesse lager om volop te genieten! Dan weer passeren we velden vol palmbomen, iets later rijden we langs droogstaande rijstvelden (het is namelijk droogseizoen), dan weer steken we de rivier over via een oude houten bruggetje dat kraakt onder het gewicht van onze volgeladen minsk, om wat verder langs de bananenplantages door te rijden en uiteindelijk te stoppen in ... read more

Day 4 - Phnom Penh Today we left Phuket for Phnom Phen. The taxi to the airport was 5 mins late and it was an old skool 1989 Camry which struggled up the mountains. When pepsi paid the driver he gave him a 1000thb note instead of a 100thb note. The driver quickly slipped the note into his pocket but luckily I noticed...... We only got ripped off once today when pepsi was overcharged for a can of pepsi. We landed in Phnom Penh and the traffic was unbelievable. People were everywhere on motorbikes and the drivers were crazy. We checked in with our buddy Khoun Thy. I went to use the fitness centre and it was the most dodgy gym I have ever seen. The bench press was a metal pole with concrete on each ... read more