Ratanakiri

Thanks to the King's birthday lasting 3 days and as additional public holiday in respect of Royal Ploughing Day (which marks the start of the rice planting season), no sooner had I returned to work than I had the delights of another week off! It is such a hard life here! Not being one to miss an opportunity to travel, I persuaded Cory to join me on a road trip to visit Ratanakiri, the 'Wild East' of Cambodia.

First stop was Siam Reap to say hello and goodbye to Lina and Fed. It was surreal to say the least, to meet up with them, great to catch up with each other and really rather special to reminisce on when I'd left London nearly 2 years ago. They had put me up on their sofa in Streatham for my last weeks in the country and had shared much of my excitement and worries int eh final preparation to leave the country, including my motobike training. In fact, it was on their computer in their flat with their cat on my lap (or trying to bite my toes, depending on what mood she was in!) that I had typed the the first entries of this very blog. It feels like a lifetime ago.

From Siam Reap we made the long journey south to Kampong Cham where I spent a month in language training at the very beginning of my placement. We then headed north-east to Kratie (pronounced Kra-cheh) where we stayed a few nights with some other volunteers. Kratie is a sleepy, pretty town with a lovely riverfront and many colonial buildings remaining from when the French inhabited the country having been spared a lot of bomb damage during the war years which destroyed a lot of other provincial towns. It was one of the first towns to be ‘liberated’ by the Khmer Rouge (actually it was the North Vietnamese, but the Khmer Rouge later took the credit) in the summer of 1970.

We spent a day sweating on bicycles to visit a gorgeous island in the middle of the Mekong as well as taking a boat trip to catch glimpses of the allusive and rare Irrawaddy dolphins. Apparently there are only between 60 and 70 animals left in these parts. An already endangered species, they are now termed a species in distress in Cambodia. They are intelligent creatures and apparently aware of their dwindling numbers and therefore have stopped breeding. We pondered whether to visit them at all as some reports suggest the tourist trade has become a factor in their demise but we were assured that if we went with a responsible boat who cut its engine rather than trying to get closer and closer to the shy creatures then we could do little harm. It was so very peaceful after the boat had cut its engine and we drifted for perhaps an hour as the dolphins swam around us, cautiously breaking the surface of the waters every now and then.

Onwards to Ratanakiri and we were made aware of the difference between this area and the parts of Cambodia we are more used to. The main road became a bumpy dirt road for a good few hours and we were surrounded by forest. Lazy, I know but here's what the Lonely Planet had to say... "Tourism is set to take off, but that is if the lowland politicians and generals don’t plunder the place first. Ratanakiri is the frontline in the battle for land, and the slash-and-burn minorities are losing out thanks to their tradition of collective ownership. The forest is disappearing at an alarming and accelerating rate, replaced by rubber plantations and cashew-nut farms. It is to be hoped someone wakes up and smells the coffee – there’s plenty of that as well – before it’s too late." So, a really beautiful place which will either take off and become another reason for Cambodian's to feel pride in their country... or it's natural beauty will be raped and sold off as with many other places in the country!

We were lucky to be able to stay in another volunteer's house in Banlung (provincial town of Ratanakiri) and we enjoyed the simple wooden Khmer style house and its gorgeous balcony for four days with a touch of envy it must be said. The resident volunteer gets to enjoy it all the time and watch the sunset over the hills and forests from the balcony every night. It was a tad different to Sisaphon and Phnom Srok! All in all, a very relaxing place where we ate a lot of avocados (Banlung market was inundated with them! - the first time I have seen them in Cambodia!) and hired a motobike to explore the countryside. We explored beautiful waterfalls, met some elephants and traditional ethnic villagers and visited the volcanic crater lake Boeng Yeak Lom a few times. The lake is magically beautiful, perfectly round with gorgeous clear water. We attempted a jog round the perimeter and managed about half way before walking became a more comfortable option, then enjoyed a swim in the cool waters.

Finally reaching the end of the holiday season and stopping off for a Phnom Penh party on the way home, we had managed to tour through the whole country in one week! I found myself looking forward to getting stuck back into Phnom Srok life again.

Room Rates

Our adventures together in Laos and Cambodia gave us many many new experiences and we really managed to cram in a lot over the three weeks. For example, our travels included the following...

• Number of days on holiday - 24



• Number of hotels/guesthouses - 7



• Number of beds slept in - 11



• Different modes of transport - 8



• Number of people to share one moto - 3



• Number of people to share one boat built for 100 - 3



• Number of languages spoken or attempted - 4
  


• Number of currencies in Dad's wallet - 5
  


• Number of mosquito bites - 354 (between the three of us)

Biggest Irritations:

• Sharing dinner with swarms of flies and other insects
  


• The ill-fitting door to our room at the poshest of hotels!



• Some of the intrusive wildlife at the Boat Landing guesthouse



• Not being able to speak the language in Laos



• A certain guesthouse proprietor who was all smiles but turned out to be the full of rubbish!



• Dad's stinky feet
  
  

Biggest Reliefs:

• the end of the one-day trek



• finding chocolate cake and Abba music half way down the Mekong



• air conditioning



• Tiger Balm on those blinking mozzie bites



• getting off the motodops at the end of the day's tour in Battambang



• every time we arrived at the Green Garden Home Guesthouse in Siam Reap, a home from home



• The swimming pool at the Green Garden Home Guesthouse
  

We also took great joy in developing our own personal Room Rating system which became necessary when we realised how little you can trust the guidebooks at times. We did learn that even with the most current, up-to-date guidebooks, an empty restaurant and a gut feeling is to be taken as a sure sign of a less than successful place to spend time, let alone eat, despite what the guidebooks might say to the contrary.

So, all the guesthouses and hotels we stayed in were rated, after we had left them, according to the following criteria: Service, Facilities, Comfort and Location, with an easy 1-5 scoring system: 5 = exceptional with that little something extra, 4 = really very good, nothing to complain about, 3 = fits the bill but no frills, 2 = poor standards with definitely nothing to write home about, 1 = terrible!

Guesthouse/Hotel No. of nights Service Facilities Comfort Location Other Comments Green Garden Home, Siam Reap, Cambodia 6 4 5 (swimming pool!!) 5 4 Home from home. The friendliest staff and a warm welcome everytime we arrived (3 separate times) My house, Phnom Srok District, Cambodia 2 2 (DIY) 1 1 4 Perfect for exploring daily village life and mixing with the locals as long as no travel after dark! Uncomfortable nights as no electricity to power fans and noisy dogs Rachael’s House, Sisaphon, Cambodia 3 2 (DIY) 3 3 4 The only place we stayed with a huge events room! Royal Hotel, Battambang, Cambodia 1 3 3.5 4 4 Lovely rooftop restaurant view of the city Lani Guesthouse, Vientiene, Laos 2 2 2.5 3 4 Mimumum in service and facilities. Nice and quiet but void of life at times apart from friendly font desk man. Boat Landing, Luang Namtha, Laos 4 4 4 4.5 5 A wonderful eco-friendly example of responsible tourism in a developing country. Gorgeous garden setting, lots of wildlife and the best food of our trip. Would highly recommend this one! Arimid Guesthouse, Huay Xey, Laos 1 1 2 2 3 Disappointing! Thankfully only a pitstop at the border. Initially very friendly proprieter turned out to be not all as he seemed Villa Salika, Pak Beng, Laos 1 1.5 1 2 4 Perfect location but that's about it! Bel Air Resort, Luang Prabang, Laos 4 4.5 4.5 4 3.5 An exceptional hotel with complimentary laptop and Wifi in every room. Slightly awkward location and shame about the front door but otherwise perfect!

Granted, guesthouses and hotel are to suit your needs and each one did just that. Some we stayed in only one night, just because we had to and they did the job. The ones we stayed in for longer we were more than satisfied with! I wonder if this information will be helpful to anyone else!?

My brother wrote to me recently and mused that during my 2 years away from family and friends and everything that I recognise as home in England, that I might be the one developing my relationships and getting to know family members and friends more deeply. I think its true. Friends who have written letters or emails seem to open up more than they might in a face to face interaction. There's something less threatening or more comfortable for some in penning thoughts on a page rather than speaking to someone directly. But I have also been very fortunate in sharing holidays with many friends and family who have managed to fly out to see me here. This has provided lengthy periods of time with people I may not have had the chance to holiday with in the same way had I been at home. There is also t'he sense of neutrality that South-East Asia offers those from the west, making it a place of reflection and perhaps easier to have more intense conversations. I haven't made it back to the UK in the whole 2 years I have been here and at times that has been really hard, so I am even more grateful to those who have spent the time, effort and money coming to see me: Ruth, Mads, Mum, Kate, Dad and Colette, Lina and Fed - thank you all so much! Dad, Colette and I enjoyed some conversation topics we haven't really touched upon in my whole 30 years of existance. I learnt important, challenging and enlightening things about them both and about myself and I am still reflecting on the very special time we spent together.

Highlights (other than spending 24/7 with yours truely of course):

• The day on motodops exploring the delights of Battambang



• All the Angkorian temples



• The range of excellent food



• Luang Prabang in Laos



• Experiencing ethnic village life at Ban Sida, Luang Namtha, Laos (but not the trek there)
  

An old fart an' his moll!

(Dad's words, not mine!)

I can't remember the exact context of the conversation we were having but Dad came out with this reference to himself and Colette, I nearly wet myself laughing and thought it was the perfect title of this blog entry.

The adventures in Laos have been amazing to say the least. The country has many similarities to Cambodia but also many differences. I loved being out of Cambodia for a while, spending time with Dad and Colette on holiday and comparing Laos with the country that has become my home. We started out in Vientiane, Laos' second largest city where we enjoyed a walking tour, did some sight-seeing and ate very well!

Next stop was the North-West of the country and a province called Luang Namtha which is where the country shares its border with China. The scenery here was beautiful with mountainous landscapes very different to what I'm used to in Cambodia. We stayed in an eco-lodge in a lovely garden setting overlooking the River Namtha and enthusiastically read about the many treks, kayaking and cycling tours available to visit local ethnic tribes of the area and get out about in the countryside. After exhaustively researching each trip we settled on a one day trek to the Ban Sida village in the mountains, sensibly deciding that we were staying long enough to enjoy a second one-day trip if we fancied! I think we really enjoyed the trek, although there were times when I was worrying for my own coronary health, let alone my father's, and one or two moments through the steep uphill jungle climb when I found myself wondering what the point of this self-torturous exercise was. This was heightened by the fact that when our guide announced our arrival at the top of the mountain, the amazing view of the surrounding area that I had thought would make the trek and my sweat drenched aching body worth it was hidden behind all the blinking trees! On the other hand, I was put to complete shame when we passed local women in flipflops on their way home with baskets of bamboo shoots in a basket tied to their heads and backs.

It was worth it however when we reached the Sida village, although I swear there was a quicker way there from the road! We were just in time to join a family's ceremony at a house there and were promptly invited in. About 250 people inhabit this small ethnic village containing one school, living together, keeping chickens and pigs and foraging for anything else they need in the nearby forest. This particular house had had its roof blown off in a recent storm and being the only home to suffer was cause to believe that the house spirit was unhappy. We learnt that the family were sacrificing one of their dogs to appease the house spirit and we were invited to join the after party. As in Cambodia, a great deal of hard liquor is consumed by the guests at these sort of functions so we were offered an eggcup or 3 of the local brew, a fermented rice wine.

I was glad we had missed the actual killing of the family pet, although a small pool of blood was evident in the main room of the house where it had taken place with a fresh trail leading to the fireplace. The head and legs would be cut and offered to the spirits while the rest of the body would be eaten by the guests at the advice of the village shaman. We were invited to stay to eat but politely declined and moved on to explore the rest of the village. Dad and Colette were persuaded to do some cool down exercises back at our room to help prevent our muscles from aching too much the next day which they thoroughly appreciated.

Our journey continued with a bus ride to Huay Xai, Laos' border crossing to Thailand where we made a quick pit stop and continued with an amazing 2 day boat trip down the mighty River Mekong. The scenery was very special with the river meandering through large mountains and past small villages. We stopped in one where another party was taking place, this time to celebrate the birth of a new baby. We were coerced into more alcohol drinking, blessing the child by tying string round its wrists and leaving some money and we stayed one night half way down the river at Pak Beng. It was a very relaxed 2 days, staring at beautiful scenery which my camera doesn't do justice and as well as stopping at a village we also visited the caves of Pak Ou which are beautiful caves of limestone crammed full of Buddha images. We arrived at Luang Prabang finally and stepped into a very welcoming and comfortable hotel, Bel Air Resort. As the final destination of our tour of northern Laos it has been perfect. From here we have toured the city, a beautifully preserved World Heritage Site full of interesting Wats and architecture from the French colonial period. Here we have chilled out before our journey back to Cambodia, visited the city's highlights and eaten well (again!).

Off the Beaten Track

So Dad and Colette arrived at Siam Reap airport where I greeted them and used my excellent (ahem!) Khmer skills to get them and their luggage safely to our wonderfully air-conditioned guesthouse - bliss! After a general catch up on life I didn't want to get them too used to the comfort there though so the very next day I whipped them off to Phnom Srok.

We spent 2 hot, noisy nights in Phnom Srok joining in some of the Khmer New Year festivities, meeting some of my colleagues and visiting the now infamous Tropieng Tmar reservoir. We weren't the only ones - about half the population of Cambodia had decided to enjoy the normally peaceful serene surroundings of one of Phnom Srok's highlights! Phnom Srok definitely had a different atmosphere about it and for me personally it was quite strange to see so many unknown people enjoying their holiday time at a place so familiar to me. I spotted teachers and school directors I know selling to the Khmer tourists and there were loads of young people and families out for the day.

The plan for our time in Cambodia was loose so we leisurely enjoyed spending some time in both Sisaphon and Battambang doing the "off the beaten track" touristy thing. Almost everything we did over the next 3 or 4 days was not in the guide book and we loved it! We met up with Cory, Claire and Marcus and mooched around the markets, visited the coffee man, climbed a local hill and visited the pagodas, ate at Sisaphon's finest establishments and got a taste of ancient Angkorian temples north of the town. The Lonely Planet remarks that Sisaphon isn't really worth more than a toilet stop as you pass through and granted, it isn't the most attractive of Cambodian towns. However, if you know where to go it holds some real gems! We packed so much into our time there and Cory helped with the authentic Khmer experience, making sure that everyone got doused in water and talcum powder, a traditional Khmer game at New Year!

Battambang was another packed 24 hour adventure of bruised bottoms and aching arms! The four of us caught up with my mate Tony and his cronies (Buffalo, Poe and Dollar) for a motodop tour of the countryside, bamboo train ride, more temples, caves, mountains and wildlife. I undertook this trip back in September with Mads and it was just as impressive the second time round. Despite the sore backsides the finale of seeing millions of bats pour out from the mouth of a mountain cave and stream like a giant snake out into the countryside on their nighttime insect eating mission was again absolutely breathtaking (not to mention smelly!).

It's been fantastic to see Dad and Colette visiting what has become my natural habitat. The heat, and some of the conversation, has been intense but being the seasoned travellers that they are, they have coped well. Dad's even using water to wash with on this holiday, which is something we're all benefiting from! It's been great to show them a slice or two of what life is like here, introduce them to some of my friends and catch up with their news before we start trekking in Laos..

Community Open Day

Following a visit from Rachael, conversations about the model school Chey Oudom which has been developing in Phnom Srok and enthusiasm to work together, Rachael and I have collaborated on begetting the idea of a Community Open Day at the school in order to raise the profile of the school amongst the community and increase the community involvement. It was also to celebrate the fact that Chey Oudom has become a much more Child-Friendly school in recent months.

Rachael and her VA did all the hard work in facilitating the initial meetings where the ideas for a Community Open Day were born. The Phnom Srok DOE and the school Director and key Community members then took the ideas and ran with them, culminating in a very successful day. It was really good to hand over to Rachael , who in turn handed over to the school and community themselves and it was a real team effort helped by the relationship I've already sustained with the school and community and also by Rachael's facilitation and visionary skills and experience with working with communities in the past.

The DOE and particularly the school worked incredibly hard at preparing the school before hand which included building and planting gardens, selling the wood from an old classroom building in order to buy the materials needed to create new toilets for the students and teachers, designing new learning spaces, and displaying examples of different lifeskills special to Phnom Srok.

More on the way, including photos!

Collaborating

A lot of the work I have done so far as a VSO volunteer has been alone, or with my VA and Khmer colleagues at the DOE in Phnom Srok. This has been due to circumstance and convenience rather than choice on the whole. There are increasing numbers of barangs around in Sisaphon: English teachers, American Peace Corps volunteers, not to mention the increasing numbers of VSO volunteers around. It's been great to have different conversations with them all about their experiences in Cambodia and the work they are doing. Many people are here for many different reasons and some definitely seem to prefer to work alone. I have met some NGO workers who don't want other barangs messing up 'their' work, interfering or judging what they are doing and I've found this attitude rather saddening. There are so many NGOs in the country there sometimes almost seems to be competition between these NGOs which sounds ludicrous but suggests some are here for their own glory seeking reasons!? So it has been really rewarding and refreshing when some of the other barangs I've met have expressed an interest in collaborating on development projects.

Jan, a VSO colleague who works in the Provincial Teacher Training College in Sisaphon, brought herself, her VA and 4 teacher trainers to Phnom Srok the other week in order to visit Newly Qualified Teachers working in a district. It was a very good experience for all! It was great for the NQTs to have a bit of interest expressed in their direction, also great for them to have the opportunity to be together as a group, talk to their old trainers and share their successes and problems. The trainers themselves benefited from seeing the living and working conditions of the NQTs sent out to the districts and my DOE are now going to plan in 3 meetings a year for NQTs to join together in order to support them!

I have enjoyed spending some time in other people's placements recently too, one being a private school in Mongkul Borei District which is supported by the Rotary Club in the USA. Poor children are supported financially so that they can come to school, have a very good basic education, learn English and get a lunch-time meal. I has been really wonderful visiting my friend Cory's English class there which is SO different to any classroom I have seen in the country, talking to the children (whose English is excellent), observing Cory's goofy teaching and arguing over the USA vs British pronunciation of the words he is teaching! It has also made me really miss having my own classroom of children to teach. I am definitely not an ESL teacher but am longing to get stuck back into teaching when I get back to England.

Another project I have started in Phnom Srok was spawned from donations from the USA used to build toilet buildings. Months ago I observed toilets being built in many schools in Phnom Srok, only to be kept locked all the time and unused. There is a definite lack of eduction on sanitation and hygiene although it is part of the National Curriculum and health and good sanitation practices are part of the Child-Friendly Schools Policy I have been working on with schools in the district. So after visiting a meeting on Water Sanitation in Phnom Penh, discussing project ideas with other NGOs and collaborating with a nearby Peace Corps volunteer, a project is underway! Deidre is the Peace Corps volunteer and is teaching English at a High School in the neighbouring district of Preah neth Preah. Having a difficult time with teaching her classes due to the amount of time the school is closed, she jumped at the chance of working in Phnom Srok and having a fun day of activities relating to good hand washing, safe latrine use and the rest! We have met to talk shit (literally) a few times and a project is underway... watch this space!

And finally, the topic of my next post is about my collaboration with a fantastic YfD (Youth for Development) volunteer Rachael who joined the Banteay Meanchey team about 6 months ago to focus her efforts on community involvement in schools...

Oddar Meanchey, Take Two

The last time I visited this part of the world I experienced a near-death experience - no word of a lie. When I re-tell the story to friends or random strangers on the bus, I take care not to exaggerate the story of desperation, pain and loss of dignity I lived through - not that I am known for exaggerating the facts at all, see the Road Trip blog entry posted around this time last year - but the fact that I was composing my final dying messages to my nearest and dearest in my head while I lay nursing myself and my explosive rear-end can sometimes seem far-fetched.

Due to this far from positive experience of visiting my previous VA's home and family in Samroang, Oddar Meanchey Province, it has been at the forefront of my mind to repeat the trip when I was feeling back to full fitness again. Feeling back to my peak and with a few free days to travel, my Khmer colleagues and I decided to take the trip together to visit Soroth. He was only my VA for about 3 or 4 months (before he found a much better job - sob!) but he made quite an impact on Mr Sophan, Srei Saart and Daney, not to mention others, so much so that they were all more than willing to take the trip to see him.

With a calm happy tummy we dug into Soroth's mother's great cooking when we arrived and I presented the family with gifts of kramas from Phnom Srok District. I also gave Soroth a large World Map poster after a particular conversation of whether the United States of America was in Europe had stuck in my brain. Also to serve as a reminder of where I will be when I return to England in 8 months time. He also got a long over due but very complimentary, and rightly so, letter of recommendation from me which he read translated to Mr Sophan with a lot of excitement.

We had quite a party that evening with a Khmer-style Gordon Ramsey look-a-like and some other VSO volunteers who live nearby. It is an interesting province, one of the very last to stop fighting as recently as 8 or 9 years ago I believe. It is still heavily mined in some areas, has increasing NGO support in health and community and education development and is expanding as the population increases. It shares a border with Thailand which we visited the day after our arrival which was very exciting for my Khmer friends and colleagues who got to cross the border and shop in the market on the Thai side. I wasn't let through as I'd forgotten my passport so swung in a hammock and watched bus loads of Thais come through to gamble their money away at the ever increasing number of casinos on Cambodian soil. We had a great picnic wrapped in banana leaves and returned to Soroth's house before the goodbyes.

I am so pleased to have stayed in contact with Soroth. He is the gentlest and most caring and considerate Khmer man I have met in this country. He has a fantastic understanding of his own culture and is sensitive to foreign cultures as well, a perfect host and someone who could really make a positive difference to his country. I am also pleased that my guts behaved this time and I could enjoy the hospitality of his family!

Still problems with viruses - photos on the way!