Pied de terre

Not quite satisfied with my humble rural residence in Phnom Srok, I have recently received the keys to a Pied de Terre in Sisaphon. I probably spend half my time there both for work purposes and as a weekend retreat. As much as I am loving Phnom Srok more and more as it feels increasingly like home, I do need to escape every so often in order to maintain my mental health! I enjoy catching up with using the internet, occasionally watch BBC World News and more occasionally watch a dodgy film from the 80s on HBO. Sisaphon doesn’t have much besides lots of dust but it does allow me to visit more restaurants than would be possible in Phnom Srok, drink gin and tonic and conduct conversations in English at a relatively normal speed. Corine’s placement in Malai didn’t work out as expected so she has moved into a huge house in town and very generously given me a set of keys to come and go as I like – well, until she discovers all my bad habits!

Security
It takes about half an hour to get into the house as there are a multitude of locks and keys to negotiate due to the slightly unusual layout of the abode. This makes one feel super safe although it’s a real pain in the neck if you need the toilet as soon as you get home (which I’ve noticed with annoying frequency!) or if you have locked up to go out only to realise you’ve left something on the kitchen table!

Wildlife
We have discovered that Corine is not the only full time resident at this address. Along with the expected geckos, Corine shares her house with some utterly huge spiders, a rather large and noisy lizard, some cockroaches and a bat! But they’re all very friendly when they’re disturbed by the odd human night wanderer on the way to the loo (I try my hardest to hold it till morning...!)

Neighbours
Corine’s neighbours are really friendly. There are some children who live opposite who always wave and say ‘hello’ over and over again as soon as you’re leaving or arriving at the gate. And next door there is an abattoir. Every evening at around 4 or 5 pm motos turn up with pigs strapped upside down to the back. Sometimes they have leafy branches covering their bare bellies to prevent sunburn! They usually give the odd squeal on arrival. We think they then have their last meal and get penned in for the night... until about 4 in the morning. Then, both Corine and I are awoken by the almighty death squeals of the pigs as they are killed, murdered, slaughtered! I’ve heard the saying ‘squealing like a stuck pig’ and now know exactly what that squeal sounds like. It’s horrible! Some pigs go more quietly than others, some sound like they are gurgling and drowning in their own blood, others sound like they need a few thuds on the head to finish them off, and others really don’t want to go at all. It is enough to turn a healthy meat lover into a strict vegetarian! And do you think there could be some psychological effect of waking up to the distressed squeal of a pig being murdered every morning?

Photos will make it here as soon as I can be bothered!