Public holidays every second week - only in Cambodia !!

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Tuesday 8th Nov
Memo to Self – do a count of the amount of public holidays each year in Cambodia (...just counted – 22). By the end of this week, my eighth here, I will have had the pleasure of having 7 public holidays. Three when I first arrived, for the P’Chum Ben Festival........one 2 weeks ago for the King’s Birthday........and three this week for Independence Day (tomorrow) and two for the Water Festival. It’s amazing.

The Water Festival is historically a huge event and something like 2 million people come to Phnom Penh to celebrate it. Due to the floods this year, and some also say because of the deaths at last year’s festival (tragic event where people were crushed on a bridge), the festival has been considerably scaled back. The official line is that it’s cancelled and the money will be redirected to the victims of this year’s floods, but I understand that only the boat races on the Mekong are cancelled, and that many of the other activities are going ahead. Trying to find out what is actually happening though, is proving difficult and there are conflicting reports on what will take place. My understanding is that the boat races are a key event during the Water Festival, so I’m not sure how big the festival will be this year.

Many of the volunteers are leaving town and taking advantage of the 5-day break, because for quite a few of us these are our last weeks in either PP or Cambodia, and so we are heading out of town to escape the crowds and see more of this gorgeous country. I had thought of heading down to Kampot to see Jo, but even though I’m over the tummy bug, it has left me feeling pretty run down, so I’m heading back to Sihanoukville to just soak up some sun and rest.....I’m hoping the dark circles under my eyes might fade away, as right now they’re pretty scary.

Alan, my tour leader when I was here in 2008, now the owner of the guest house I will be staying at in Siem Reap, and fellow Aussie, is heading home for a wedding the day after I arrive, and will be gone for a week or so. I’d been thinking of asking him if he needed me to assist with anything while he was away, and before I could volunteer, he asked the other day if I’d oversee things in his absence. I’m really looking forward to dipping my toes back into the world of hospitality, and it’s only for a week so I can’t do too much damage..........can I ?? (Alby, hope you’re not reading this bit – I do promise things will be in good hands and that I’ll look after everything for you).

The group I will be volunteering with in Siem Reap, only get the volunteers to work half-days, and so I’ve always thought I’d play tourist in the afternoons and maybe start slowing down into holiday mode. In PP my volunteering is via Projects Abroad (who only have projects in PP), and my project/placement is within an independent organisation that also has schools and other groups in Battambang and Siem Reap. So, I now plan to continue volunteering with them for the last 3 weeks of my time in S.R. (the first will be busy settling in to the new charity, plus the guest house). It will be great to continue my association with my current organisation – they’re excited also.

I caught up with the head monk and also the director of the organisation today, and told them of my desire to financially support one of the girls through school and university, and they are very supportive. I’ve mentioned her in my blogs a few times, and I believe she has so much potential and I want to ensure that she has the opportunity to study and achieve her goals, and not be “forced” to go out to work early due to financial constraints. I see in her a great drive and an ability to achieve whatever she sets her mind to. I saw it in her eyes the first time I met her, but she came across as very shy, and she spoke very, very little English. About 4 weeks ago, I put together a folder of English spelling and grammar rules, along with pages of conversational English to copy and practice. She’s soaked everything up, and now has conversations with me, albeit basic ones, but she’s speaking to me in English and practices with me every single day. Yesterday in class, she actually started translating what I’d written on the whiteboard, before the teacher could, and so we sat back and let her do it. If only you could have seen the joy and satisfaction on her face!!! WOW. The drive that I thought I saw, has been confirmed, and I will do everything in my power to support her future growth. I truly believe that whatever I do for her, she will pay forward and my small donation will in the long term, benefit so many people....I’m so excited !!! Her name is Sreypich – remember it, as the monk has told me I will be considered her “foster mum”....so she will be in effect, my long-distance daughter...

I’ve finally faced up to the idea that my time is actually limited here, and that I really need to look at my travel documents and find out when I fly out of the country.....until this afternoon I just had a vague recollection that it was around the 21st of December. I now know that I leave on a Wednesday, so I will now fly back to PP on the Monday 19th.........and...........go back to see the kids at my school on the Tuesday......provided they’re not on summer holidays etc (memo to self, check that out also). I promised them the other day that I’d email through some pictures of me in the snow in Europe, so they’re all very excited about that. I told them that it’s going to be colder in Europe than it would be if they stood inside a fridge, and they said that they’d hate to be that cold. PP was 29 degrees yesterday, and there was talk of “winter” because it was “so cold” !!!

Wednesday 9th
Busy day.....Sara (Belgian volunteer) and I went out for breakfast as today is her last day in PP before travelling through Cambodia and then heading home. We get on really well, so I will miss her.....though hopefully we will catch up again in Siem Reap in a couple of weeks when she passes through. We went to riverside for breakfast and there was a wedding party across the road from us, having their photos taken by the Mekong, so Sara dashed across to get a few photos herself. Over here, it’s considered good luck if you invite a “white” person to your wedding, so they very quickly got her to pose in a heap of their photos. She looked very sweet amongst the lolly pink fluffy dresses...

After breakfast we went for massages – me – foot and shoulders, and Sara – full body....hmmmmm, nice. We then headed to the Russian market for a few last minute items we both wanted. No matter how many times you go to this market, it’s almost impossible to find your way around...there are so many entrances and they lead to a veritable rabbit warren of stalls. Sara is like me, and brave enough to try various foods, in unusual places when travelling, so we stayed at the food market and had lunch – it was really nice (beef with noodles). Afterwards, we had our toenails painted at one of the stalls....it’s so cheap here, so I get them done every second week, with a new design each time....it’s all good fun. After we finished there, we headed our separates ways on the back of motos and will catch up again tonight for dinner, then meet Laura & Anne for ice-cream at the Blue Pumpkin. They’re great girls and I will miss them also....they leave a few days after I do and we’ve all agreed that we can’t believe how quickly the time has flown by....it seems like we all just arrived.

As I was coming home this afternoon on the back of the moto, literally with the wind blowing through my hair, and up my dress (have you ever tried to maintain your modesty on the back of a bike, while wearing a silk dress that wants to take off like a kite??!!).....I was thinking about how much I feel at home in this city and how much I love living here. It can be challenging, sure, but I love the friendliness of the locals (frankly, the Westerners can be painful – not all, but certainly some need a good lesson in humility and humanity)......I love that you can sit in a dark, steamy, often grotty market, and a friendly local with a smattering of English, will strike up a conversation with you. I find it very uncomfy though when you give a small amount of money to an old man that is obviously destitute, and he spends a minute blessing and thanking you...I don’t do it for the gratitude, I just don’t want him to suffer....I remember dad once told me one of his greatest fears was to run out of money and have to live on the streets (I was shocked at his thoughts, and the fact that he thought I would ever let it happen, but he came from a very poor childhood and it was one of his genuine fears). When I see these old people begging, I always think of dad and his fears, and feel so sad that these people must have had the same fears, that became reality.

Anyway, on another note, I’ve booked my flights to Siem Reap, and the return to PP for my flights to Europe......it’s really happening, I’m really having to leave.......I know I will love the next stage, but I’m nowhere near ready to go...this has been the most awesome experience, and I’m so grateful that I’ve had it....I’ve said to many people that I believe this is God’s plan for my life, and I can only say “what a great plan !!!”.

Ok, I’m off...I’m sure there are things to see, experience and photograph....catch you all later.

Hugs, Rob

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Photos

Wat on riverside, crazy intersection
Probably the quietest I've ever seen this intersection...it's crazy trying to cross it

southern end of riverside
it looks deceptively quiet...

Lunch at Russian market
beef with noodles and egg

Oranges for juicing
clever way of stacking them

Comments

[Sylvi]

Have a great long week-end
Hope you have as much fun in the sun as your last visit to the beach. Love the loads of long week-ends they have and it's good for you too to let you relax in between your hard work at school. Fantastic that you're doing some hospitality work for you friend. I tell you.....this may be where you're meant to be. Helping this guy run his guest house :) Love the photo of the hand holding the frangipani and i love that you get your toes done right next door to where they prepare food in the markets. What a crazy place but it all seems to work. We're in St Ives which sounds glam and it is but more so in summer when it's full of surfers. At the moment it's quite cool but not too bad. It's right down the south of the UK so we would have seen the top most in Scotland (John O Groats) and now the bottom most here (Land's End). Might stay here a few days. Take care. Have a fabulous long week-end and I hope you're last week at school is super fabulous and not too teary. Sylvi xo