Monster trucks

One thing that has got me muttering under my breath more and more in Cambodia is the nations ridiculous obsession with 4 wheel drive vehicles - its a status symbol. Terrorising the roads these hideous things honk their horns at innocent cyclers and plough down pedestrians. These vehicles see you crossing the road and honk and flash their lights at you to warn you of their existence...When I am "honked" I can only grumble: "What do you think I am going to do I am trapped in the middle of the road, you are the size of a small country - I CAN [insert swearing] SEE YOU!!!" Huh! - On they zoom through the town with no care to reach their destination only to park on the PAVEMENT.

Many people who own "monster truck" are in the army (you can tell from number plates) and considering armed forced staff earn $30 a month you have to think about how they can afford the latest Lexus....

You cannot walk here. Fact. Well you can try... but every 100m or so you will have to get off the cracked, crumbling, aged pavement step onto the road (to potentially be met by a roaring jeep coming straight for you) and walk in the gutter because 10 of these monster vehicles will be parked right in front of their destination - very convenient for them I'm sure but totally inconsiderate of anyone else and blocking the pavement.

Whilst making a comparison to Vietnam will probably go down like a tonne of lead here I'll do it anyway. In HCMH city there must be CAR PARKS because there are no monsters on the pavements. The pavements (at least in the areas I saw are for WALKING). Pavements exist. Walking is a reasonably nice experience!... That said in Vietnam there is not an obsession with "monster truck" and the moto still rules the road so....

I'm not sure what will change Mr Cambodian Monster Truck. The ride and park where ever you like scheme suits those with the power - Walking even 50m is apparently ridiculous.

That said, of course, some expats are just as bad - witnessed: A mother pile her kids into monster truck at home and drive 100m to air-con expat cafe. I guess she didn't want her kids having to walk in the gutter.... Aghhhh!!!

My street - where there is no pavement on one side to make way for a car park.

....just a photo taken in HCMC where the pavements can be seen!

Rainy mornings

In England rainy mornings were a reason to crawl under the duvet and push the snooze for the umpteenth time. Here its an excitement that gets me out of bed! The tropical downpour is delightful and cools the hot, polluted city ready for it to be scalding hot bu 11am again.

Today the rain is falling in huge droplets - everybody has to stop and take cover.

Shoes

Catherine... for you, as requested, shoe pictures of one of the pairs! Get designing your wedding shoes! x

A hectic Saturday

A while ago through this Blog a young woman called Britt introduced herself to me. Britt is from California and is a photographer and also works for an amazing US project called Girls Inc. Britt arrived in Cambodia on Friday night and she joined us for the photo workshop on Saturday.

The photos are going well but I am starting to stress a bit now because the exhibition is not long away - on 25 October - there are lots of good pictures but I am a bit disorganised (well that is how I feel). The children have been very keen to take pictures of themselfs posing in the true Asian way with the peace (V) sign rather than taking local shots. I'm all for that but not when in 3 hard hours there are 50 pictures of themself (with their own camera - how does that work?) and 4 of the locals. This week(perhaps learning from the methods used by those with power in Cambodia) Brian added a "sweetener" - 100 pictures this week and next week NOT of yourself/others and we will go on an exciting trip down the river to a resort to swim/play ball etc. In addition to this we went to a fairly crazy market where the kids were unlikely to want to pose. Both that and the bribe worked! The pictures are quite good and I'll but them on the Smile blog soon.

The markets we went to were hectic to say the least. However, I am now fairly used to Cambodian market life and the skinned (still alive) frogs/live chickens next to dead ones/beggars and what looked liked pickled sparrows in a big jar (oh I hope not) did not bother me.

The market did give me an opportunity to buy some kids pants for the next activity....

After the markets a quick lunch at my favourite expat hang out, Java, and then on to CCH to pick up 2 children to take swimming/playing at my international school. The head teacher was kind enough to OK this on Friday. Usually Sina takes alot of time to coax her out of CCH as she is scared ... well not on that day. Her and 2 friends (yes in the end we took 3), called Srey Lik and Menai, jumped into the tuk tuk and zoom.. we were off. Luckily we got into the school with no worries and we changed and jumped in the pool. The kids had told me they could swim....They couldn't.

Sina ready for the tuk tuk

Thank goodness for the life jackets we have at the school for the kids to wear!!! By the end of the swim session Srey Lik and Menai had plucked up enough courage to jump in to the water and were doggy paddling around (with inflatables still on). It was difficult to get them out of the pool until ice cream was mentioned. Then off we went to expat Fresco for ice cream where the staff were quite amused but as ever polite. The children chattered away in Khmer and were singing "If you're happy and you know if clap your hands" in Khmer too which I take to mean they were very happy!

Fun!!!

It is very amusing because as soon as you are in charge of Cambodian children people (moto drivers/tuk tuk drivers and others..) think you are French or Italian. I'd like to think they think this because I am a sophisticated and coordinated dresser but of course it is because the British have a ban on adoption whereas the French/Italians export them in droves.... I am sure there is an EU case in their somewhere in that policy!!!

Rats

Not being a lover of all meats its hard sometimes to face beef or chicken with rice over and over again here in Cambodia and as mentioned below chicken (and beef) is also very expensive for Khmers who are lucky to earn $1 a day. Often when you ask what meat is in a dish the reply is "meat" (If you will lucky you will get someone mooing or doing a chicken dance but this is rare)... you then have to use judgement and common sense to figure out which animal it was. This is generally acceptable, if not ideal, when you know that the meat is one you would find in Sainsbury's.

However, a further challenge is identifying a new meat to come on to the meat scene - Rat meat. People are looking for an alternative to the expensive norms. Rats are ideal - they are everywhere and are free if you catch them yourself. And of cousre, if you have to many to eat sell them at the market. The demand in Vietnam is high too and many cambodians are going over the border to sell them to the Vietnamese.

However, perhaps even rats are not cheap enough these days. It has been reported that the price of rat meat has quadrupled in Cambodia this year. As more people struggle to afford conventional meats and more turn to the rat the demand has pushed a kilogram of rat meat up to around 5,000 riel (69p) from 1,200 riel last year. It is reported that spicy field rat dishes with added garlic are particularly popular. The provinces in the North have the tastiest rats....

Now where is the salt and pepper....

... a nation of big rat fans Roland would be pleased (The real pictures are too vile)

Cobblers!

After school today I made my way across town to the institution that is the Beautiful Shoes store (Street 143). Hand-made shoes made to order.

I had put in an order about 2 weeks ago for 3 further pairs of shoes (bringing my Beautiful Shoe count up to 7 pairs).... I am shortly off to Australia and New Zealand for a holiday and thought I might get some shoes when I am there so was doing some serious research! However, after looking at various Sydney based designers stores for hand-made shoes online I decided that Beautiful Shoes would be able to do similar for a price about $500 cheaper per pair. Oh yes.... on collection today I was right (!) The shoes are exactly as ordered to my own specification (including the size of heel /toe/colour etc) and I am very happy with them. So happy, in fact, that I immediately put my order in for a further pair of black heeled shoes. What a wonderful place this city is!

On a deeper level the history of the shop is interesting. The family business opened in the 1950s was the first on what is now a bit of a Shoe Street. Manager Ay Sisopheak’s grandfather originally set up the business, which has been passed down through the family. On the Khmer Rouge taking over Cambodia in the 1970s the family managed to survive the harsh regime in the fields and upon liberation returned to the city – Luckily they found that their business was pretty much untouched with all of their tools left and so the business then flourished...

More at: http://www.cambodiapocketguide.com/phnompenh/editorial/2006/KhmerCobblers.aspx

Miss Saigon

The Cambodian name for Ho Chi Minh still used by Khmers living in Vietnam...

I have now returned from 2 days in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City.

The weekend began with what can be described as a bus journey from hell. The trip to Vietnam was prompted by a national holiday - A holiday where most people in PP go back to their home province. So first, getting out of the city was a nightmare. We had to go over Monivong bridge to get to the National Highway and it was packed. We were not even out of the city and the bus conductor (or operator/drivers helper) was already saying to expect to wait an hour on the bridge. About 20 minutes later we were on the "road". Roads in Cambodia are not the greatest (unless the Japanese or some other nation has funded them).... Travelling through the provinces of Kandal, Prey Veng and Svay Rieng the city changed to green rice fields swollen with floods and surrounded by the living areas of some of the poorest people in the world.

We made good progress and then the Mekong got in our way. Usually 2 ferries transport the traffic with little waiting time required. However, when we arrived our bus was about 800th in the queue - No exaggeration (I counted). Shared taxis, cars packed to bursting level waiting...and motorbikes zooming to the front. 8 painful hours later we were at the front of the queue - On we got to the tiny ferry and made the 5 minute journey across the Mekong.... we were on our way .... just very very late! Only another 4 hours to Ho Chi Minh!! More awful movies followed and more terrible Khmer karaoke. [On the way back the same road that lasted for 8 hour wait took 60 seconds - agh!]

Here is evidence of the time we got onto the ferry and a packed shared minibus taxi..


In the pitch black darkness we travelled. We had our lights on but Cambodians do not like to travel with their headlights on at night as it is believed it attracts ghosts. Not the greatest idea.
Sleep was required. Lots of it.

Here is a collection of pictures from the next 2 days adventures....


Coned hats and busy China town street


The reunification palace and surrounds - inc. me with tank!

Ho and me


China town


Lots of weddings to gate crash on... One was at a museum - about 5 brides and grooms all waiting to have their pictures taken with a car and various bits of old Vietnam. At the botanical gardens there was a couple in traditional wedding dress.