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Published: June 25th 2008
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gma
96 and still fighting fit! Whoa, where did the last 3 months go?! Not that I'm complaining because it means I've finished work and am about to put on my travelling boots again. But not before I get my dose of family, delicious Asian food, and cheap but good foot massages!
Whilst my time in
Phnom Penh is normally spent relaxing, eating, and hanging out with my grandma, I've realised that after spending almost 6 months here in the last year I can barely string more than a sentence together in
Khmer . So I've decided to get off my butt and take some lessons so I can feel more like a local.
So far, I've already learned how to count, tell the time, meet and greet, bargain at the markets and give directions, although my accent is yielding strange looks from a lot of people! The language is very difficult to master. I seem to find ways of remembering vocab, but I can't grasp the complex pronunciation of a lot of words, and the way the phonetic alphabet has been developed, it just does not make sense at all! For eg, the word "sqaek" spelt phonetically, meaning tomorrow,
spling lolls
yummy spring rolls from Psar Toul Tom Pong (Russian Market). is actually pronounced more like "tse-ai".
In addition to this, they don't make it easy to count. Similar to Japanese, Khmer has different counters for different things. For example, there is a specific word you use to count long slender objects like pencils or spring rolls hehe (trees are also included in this one), to count animals AND books you have to use the SAME specifier (where is the sense in that)? There are also specific counters for people, electronics, houses, and fruit (bananas has one all to itself)! My favourite is the same specifier for the following: eggs, candy, and medicine (but only pills, as liquid medicines use a different one - well of course)!!! And these are just the common counters...Go figure!
I can't say that it's a particularly beautiful language to speak or listen to, like Thai or Spanish is to me, but I think I'm developing a love for learning languages, which is useful given that I'm going to have to try and conversate in Russian, Uzbek, Kyrgyz and Turkish in the next couple of months!
Last week I met up with a
Travbuddy . It felt like I was going
dessert stall
at Psar Thmey (Central Market) on a blind date! haha. Niki from Fiji had sent me a message and we arranged to meet up when she got to Phnom Penh. If she had been a guy, I'm not sure I would have approached it with so much gusto but I'm really glad I did. Niki is lovely and she brought a token German traveller along (I think just in case I turned out to be a psycho) and I showed them around for the afternoon. So if anyone wants to visit Cambodia, I've now become a self proclaimed tour guide..
A lot of my time is also spent wandering around the markets here. They are always buzzing, colourful, and offer an insight into the local way of life. My senses are always stirred - by the sound of buyers and sellers bargaining, the wafting smell of food grilling or frying in woks, the sight of vibrant silk scarfs, bags and countless items. You can buy everything from useless knick knacks or trinkets, fake Birks and watches, or pirated DVD's to quality silk scarves. My favourite part of the market is wandering through the food area of course, although I generally avoid the meat
butchers way
walking through this part of the market is not for the faint hearted! the meat hangs from hooks in the heat, with flys swarming all over it... section...
I am always amused at the way people get around here and transport what seems to be everything but their kitchen sink! It is common to see "motos" carrying a whole family with babies sleeping, breastfeeding or standing up on the seat! I've seen motos transporting everything from king sized mattresses, to baskets of pigs and some motos have turned into mobile food stalls. My favourite form of transport though is the
cyclo but more on them later.
If you have a long distance to travel, forget about safety, comfort and space! Locals travel by vans or mini-buses between provinces and they do not waste ANY space! A van that comfortably seats 12-20 people can be seen carrying up to 50! If you don't get there early enough to be squashed like a sardine inside the van, then there's space for you on top! No seats come with seatbelts or leg room either. The pictures of the vans were taken from the car on a trip to Sihanoukville for a night and it gives you an idea of how crazy it is.
This week I'm spending time getting acquainted with my
the spice of life
a woman pounding fresh chilli, Sihanoukville. new lens and have got a couple of photography projects lined up. There are 2 NGO's in Cambodia that I'm interested in supporting and contributing to, and I'll be doing some work with them this week so will be writing about that later in the week...Then before I know it, the weekend will have arrived and it will be time for me to pack my bags and head off!
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Karin
non-member comment
Love the grandpa/grandson shot.