Hi all,
On Valentine's Day, Barry organised for us to go to a really amazing restaurant called Hotel de la Paix which is one of the many 5 star hotels in Siem Reap, mostly catering for the increasing tourist trade. When we arrived there was a red carpet laid to the front door (I really thought that Barry had gone to a lot of trouble in arranging this for me!). When we reached the door, the doorman said that the Princess of Cambodia had just arrived and was opening an art exhibition. Much to our amazement, he invited us to go in to the event which we duly did. We were then offered drinks and trays of food and watched a special Apsara (dance) performance for the princess. She was sitting quite close and there were only about 50-60 people in the room. The exhibition was by a feminist painter that we presume must have been well known as the prices were from US$3,ooo-6,500.
Thursday, we were bought sharply back to the realities of the lives of the Cambodian people as we travelled out again to the villages on the back of the moto. I am pleased to report that I am no longer terrified on the moto, just terribly, terribly alert! Especially going on the back roads with the many large potholes swallowing their daily diet of bicycles, carts, motos and people. This week however, we witnessed a road improvement scheme that involved the (presumably volunteer) labour of teams of student teachers - in their nice clean uniforms - white blouses and blue skirts for the girls and white shirts and trousers for the boys. The students dug a drain, approx. 1 metre deep along the side of the road and then put the dirt into the holes. Quite effective, but I'm glad that I am not a student teacher!
The life of a teacher is very difficult and is also one of the most poorly paid, US$30 per month. I was talking to a couple of the teachers of the deaf children and their day starts at 6am and begins with them going to classes for further study for 2 hours before beginning teaching at 8am. They finish at 6pm and work 6 days PW. Because there are not enough schools, children ether go to school in the morning, orthe afternoon. The teachers come to our English class during their "break"!" We were taking the class of blind children a couple of days ago and Barry was playing the guitar and a women wandered in to listen. It turned out that she is also a volunteer who comes to teach the deaf children to paint 2 days per week. We have bought a guitar today to give to the Blind School for the students. One of the young lads is very bright and extremely interested in learning the guitar, so hopefully Barry will be able to teach him a few chords before we leave.
This week it has been ChineseNew Year (Year of the Golden Pig). It started on Sat and went for 3 days. The first day, everybody cleans the house and then the next 2 days are spent visiting friends and family and having a party. Many people have Chinese-Cambodian ethnic origins, so it is quite a large event. Many of the shops were closed on Sat and even the tuk-tuk drivers were difficult to find. For 3 nights we could hear firecrackers going off and people having a great time. Apparently making fireworks is a very lucrative business here.
It's so good to see people having fun after everything the Cambodian people have been through. I have just finished reading the saddest book called "Stay Alive My Son". It is a typical story of a Cambodian man who lost 14 members of his family who either starved to death, were murdered or died through neglect during the 3 years of Pol Pot regime and the following 10 years of gorilla warfare. He eventually escaped to Thailand, but lost his wife and 3 children. The Cambodian people are still waiting for justice to be done and an explaination of what happened during this period. There have been many delays in setting up an International War Crimes Tribunal and deciding on the Terms of Reference and the model. This has been extremely frustrating for the Cambodians.
Today we visited an organisation called Handicapped International. We have been quite concerned about a man that we regularly see in one of the villages. He only has one leg and he crawls along the dusty road on his bottom. We were pleased to discover that this organisation assists disabled people with aids such as crutches, prosthesis, and physiotherapy. The service is completely free and they are funded by donations from Belgium. They also have an outreach program and will visit the man to do an assessment of his needs. About 3.5 percent of the population have a severe disability. The main causes are unexploded mines (600 new cases each year), road accidents and birth defects. Road accidents being the main cause. This organisation is also working with the Cambodian government to educate people about road safety and to try to legislate for a new set of road rules. The cost of a complete assessment, prothesis, physio and follow up is approx US$100-240.
We had a great weekend with our daughter-in-law, Thieng and her mother, Saroum. They arrived on Friday. Saturday we hired a bus, a driver and interpreter and went to a very large reservoir about 10 kms out of town. This is where the Cambodian people go to swim and have a picnic. Many home made umbrellas were set up along the edge of the water and bright hammocks swung beneath thatched huts. Stalls were set up which were grilling whole fish and smelled delicious. For the more adventurous, you could even try the grilled frogs! Not exactly the Riveria but close!
We then went to silk factory and a guide showed us through the process from the Mulberry bushes, collecting the silk thread, spinning, dyeing and then weaving. And of course - the inevitable shop selling beautiful silk garments, scarves, handbags, &c.
We then travelled back to Siem Reap and visited the Cambodian Cultural Centre. This has many exhibitions, including each of the different ethnic groups in Cambodia and every half hour there is a different show depicting the dances and typical life of the village people. Perhaps because it was the Chines New Year, most of the crowd were Cambodian families. Everywhere in Cambodia there is a Banyan (tourist) price and a local Cambodian price. This seems to us a fair system and means that the local people can enjoy events such as this and Ankor Wat, which is free to Cambodians and US20 for tourists.
On Sunday had to say goodbye to Thieng and her mother, but have arranged for Thieng to come back to Siem Reap next Sunday for one month of private English tutoring. It will be good to be able to spend more time with her.
Well that's about all this week from us.
Love and best wishes to you all..............Barry and Rhon xxxxxxxxxxxx
On Valentine's Day, Barry organised for us to go to a really amazing restaurant called Hotel de la Paix which is one of the many 5 star hotels in Siem Reap, mostly catering for the increasing tourist trade. When we arrived there was a red carpet laid to the front door (I really thought that Barry had gone to a lot of trouble in arranging this for me!). When we reached the door, the doorman said that the Princess of Cambodia had just arrived and was opening an art exhibition. Much to our amazement, he invited us to go in to the event which we duly did. We were then offered drinks and trays of food and watched a special Apsara (dance) performance for the princess. She was sitting quite close and there were only about 50-60 people in the room. The exhibition was by a feminist painter that we presume must have been well known as the prices were from US$3,ooo-6,500.
Thursday, we were bought sharply back to the realities of the lives of the Cambodian people as we travelled out again to the villages on the back of the moto. I am pleased to report that I am no longer terrified on the moto, just terribly, terribly alert! Especially going on the back roads with the many large potholes swallowing their daily diet of bicycles, carts, motos and people. This week however, we witnessed a road improvement scheme that involved the (presumably volunteer) labour of teams of student teachers - in their nice clean uniforms - white blouses and blue skirts for the girls and white shirts and trousers for the boys. The students dug a drain, approx. 1 metre deep along the side of the road and then put the dirt into the holes. Quite effective, but I'm glad that I am not a student teacher!
The life of a teacher is very difficult and is also one of the most poorly paid, US$30 per month. I was talking to a couple of the teachers of the deaf children and their day starts at 6am and begins with them going to classes for further study for 2 hours before beginning teaching at 8am. They finish at 6pm and work 6 days PW. Because there are not enough schools, children ether go to school in the morning, orthe afternoon. The teachers come to our English class during their "break"!" We were taking the class of blind children a couple of days ago and Barry was playing the guitar and a women wandered in to listen. It turned out that she is also a volunteer who comes to teach the deaf children to paint 2 days per week. We have bought a guitar today to give to the Blind School for the students. One of the young lads is very bright and extremely interested in learning the guitar, so hopefully Barry will be able to teach him a few chords before we leave.
This week it has been ChineseNew Year (Year of the Golden Pig). It started on Sat and went for 3 days. The first day, everybody cleans the house and then the next 2 days are spent visiting friends and family and having a party. Many people have Chinese-Cambodian ethnic origins, so it is quite a large event. Many of the shops were closed on Sat and even the tuk-tuk drivers were difficult to find. For 3 nights we could hear firecrackers going off and people having a great time. Apparently making fireworks is a very lucrative business here.
It's so good to see people having fun after everything the Cambodian people have been through. I have just finished reading the saddest book called "Stay Alive My Son". It is a typical story of a Cambodian man who lost 14 members of his family who either starved to death, were murdered or died through neglect during the 3 years of Pol Pot regime and the following 10 years of gorilla warfare. He eventually escaped to Thailand, but lost his wife and 3 children. The Cambodian people are still waiting for justice to be done and an explaination of what happened during this period. There have been many delays in setting up an International War Crimes Tribunal and deciding on the Terms of Reference and the model. This has been extremely frustrating for the Cambodians.
Today we visited an organisation called Handicapped International. We have been quite concerned about a man that we regularly see in one of the villages. He only has one leg and he crawls along the dusty road on his bottom. We were pleased to discover that this organisation assists disabled people with aids such as crutches, prosthesis, and physiotherapy. The service is completely free and they are funded by donations from Belgium. They also have an outreach program and will visit the man to do an assessment of his needs. About 3.5 percent of the population have a severe disability. The main causes are unexploded mines (600 new cases each year), road accidents and birth defects. Road accidents being the main cause. This organisation is also working with the Cambodian government to educate people about road safety and to try to legislate for a new set of road rules. The cost of a complete assessment, prothesis, physio and follow up is approx US$100-240.
We had a great weekend with our daughter-in-law, Thieng and her mother, Saroum. They arrived on Friday. Saturday we hired a bus, a driver and interpreter and went to a very large reservoir about 10 kms out of town. This is where the Cambodian people go to swim and have a picnic. Many home made umbrellas were set up along the edge of the water and bright hammocks swung beneath thatched huts. Stalls were set up which were grilling whole fish and smelled delicious. For the more adventurous, you could even try the grilled frogs! Not exactly the Riveria but close!
We then went to silk factory and a guide showed us through the process from the Mulberry bushes, collecting the silk thread, spinning, dyeing and then weaving. And of course - the inevitable shop selling beautiful silk garments, scarves, handbags, &c.
We then travelled back to Siem Reap and visited the Cambodian Cultural Centre. This has many exhibitions, including each of the different ethnic groups in Cambodia and every half hour there is a different show depicting the dances and typical life of the village people. Perhaps because it was the Chines New Year, most of the crowd were Cambodian families. Everywhere in Cambodia there is a Banyan (tourist) price and a local Cambodian price. This seems to us a fair system and means that the local people can enjoy events such as this and Ankor Wat, which is free to Cambodians and US20 for tourists.
On Sunday had to say goodbye to Thieng and her mother, but have arranged for Thieng to come back to Siem Reap next Sunday for one month of private English tutoring. It will be good to be able to spend more time with her.
Well that's about all this week from us.
Love and best wishes to you all..............Barry and Rhon xxxxxxxxxxxx
1 comment:
Hi Barry and Rhon
Sounds like you are having some fabulous experiences, although tempered by the difficulties and hardships of the Cambodian people.
We would be happy to pay the disabled man's costs for a prothesis, a small gesture given the enormous need that exists. If you can/want to do this maybe we could transfer the necessary money into your bank account if you supply us the details or you may have another suggestion.
Love Russ and Marg
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