Goodbye Cambodia! - Siem Reap, Cambodia
Siem Reap, Cambodia
100 days of positivity....
This is not your typical blog entry, but bear with me because in a strange way it gives you a different insight into our lives in Cambodia as well as an opportunity for me to publish some random photos of or time in Siem Reap, Sri Lanka and the UK.
So, what is this 100 days of positivity all about? Well, it was pointed out to me that my Facebook posts were always miserable, - complaining or whingeing about something, and on reflection I realised that it was actually true. So I set myself the challenge of finding something positive to say, every day for 100 days. Good for me, very good for poor, long suffering Colin, and hopefully good for anyone who came into contact with me!
It was a great exercise, and at times was very difficult, so I hope you enjoy the results. If you can't stomach reading all of it, please just dip in and out and at least try to read Day #100 as it is probably the most important of all!
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Day #1 - It's hot today, but just think how much hotter it would be if it wasn't so cloudy! Lucky us.
Day #2 - Those cockerels were cock-a-doodle-dooing all night again. So pleased that they are thriving and not all dropping dead from Bird Flu :o)
Day #3 - (after receiving a BIG jar of Branston pickle from a visitor from the UK) Need I say more? "BRING OUT THE BRANSTON!"
Day #4 - Gotta love it when you pluck up the courage to step on a set of bathroom scales for the first time in more than a year and discover you are not in fact the heaviest you have ever been ;o)
Day #5 - One of the best things about a quiet Saturday night in with the TV is waking up early on a sunny Sunday morning with a clear head and bags of energy! :o)
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Day #6 - a double whammy no less. That dodgy looking mole (which I obviously thought was a melanoma) dropped off overnight, hence my dermatologist appointment in Phnom Penh was so quick he gave me a 25% discount! Oh, and a clean bill of health
Day #7 - Nearly forgot! Perseverance DOES pay off. It's taken FOUR attempts but we finally managed to stay in Phnom Penh and NOT be confined to our room with Cambo belly!
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Day #8 - Hahahahahahaha I just read a document called "The Cambodian Law on Land Traffic". I challenge anyone to read it without laughing their head off.
Here' s a taster for you:
"Telephones are banned from being operated during driving"
It really is a laugh a minute :o)
Day #9 - (during power cuts, meaning no fans and no air-con) Just thankful that it's not the (really really unbearably) hot season yet :)
Day #10 - Our apartment block has a small pool - which is great in itself (especially given the situation with the electric) - but the fact that it's only small means I can already swim FIVE lengths front crawl without having to stop!
Day #11 - The ghetto of Baskerville experiences its first truly lengthy outage of the Great Siem Reap Electricity Crisis of 2013 (which was to last a total of FIVE days) - Thank goodness for those nice fluffy shade-giving clouds...oh and for the fact that the friendly landlord also owns a hotel with a generator... (we soon moved to said hotel).
Day #12 - Raining raining raining raining raining :o) :o) :o) :o) :o)
Day #13 - Having Cambo belly is never good. On the plus side, at least the Great Siem Reap Power Outage of 2013 forced us to stay in a hotel which means whenever we ran out of loo roll we just called reception to ask for more! Result :o)
Day #14 - Returned home after The Great Power Outage of Siem Reap 2013 to find one defrosted fridge freezer and a large, spreading lake of melt water on the floor. Well at least it meant the floor got a good mopping and is now sparkly clean!
Day #15 - thought of this one a while ago...when you feel really hungover look at this way - to feel that bad, you do have to actually be alive, so that's a bonus ;o)
Day #16 - The heat may have returned after two days of lovely cool breezy weather, but ain't it good to know that even in normally stifling March in Cambodia it can also be refreshingly cool? :o)
Day #17 - You can buy SIX juicy fat passion fruits for just over £1 at our local supermarket. Mmmmmmm :o)
Day #18 - I may be suffering the unmistakable hangover of a Molly Malone's pub quiz victory but that means TWO good things - 1) we won the quiz and 2) my drinks bill tonight will be very small!
Day #19 - sometimes you don't need to say anything, just look around you...
Day #20 - Feeling rather off colour today but was still able to laugh till I cried at this fabulous video. Dancing like no one's watching will always be good for the soul... https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=11 8518018336579
Day #21 - I am alive. And...you can hear the lovely sound of tailor birds and sparrows in between the cockerels!
Day #22 - at 5am I discovered that Boots the chemist's "Muffles" wax ear plugs do not keep the sound of a Khmer wedding out. However, when I removed the earplugs at 6.30am I realised just how lucky was to have them at all. These weddings are SUMMIN' ELSE!
Day #23 - so today was REALLY hot but this afternoon we had thunder, lightning and strong gusty breezes... No rain, but how good is it to know that those spectacular and refreshingly cool "mango showers" are literally just around the corner!
Day #24 - some days I'm just spoilt for choice - a lovely cooling 5:15am Mango rain....which meant the wedding outside the bedroom window didn't start till after 6:30am...and a "writing from home" day to boot :o)
Day #25 - a quarter of the way there. We had noticed that one of the adorable Baskerville Bash Street kids - had just disappeared. We hadn't seen him in over a week and were starting to fear the worst. They often disappear for a day or two with diarrhoea but soon return, thinner but alive, so his being gone so long was a real worry.
Thankfully he showed up yesterday - very much alive, and we were so happy. But his head had been shaved, which sadly means that either someone close to him has died or he has very bad head lice. Either way, we are glad he is back safe and sound.
Day #26 - a visit to the opticians in downtown Siem Reap today - One pair of "designer" specs and one pair of "designer" prescription sunglasses for less than £60. Oh, and they will be ready tomorrow. Amazing.
Day #27 - Been a busy day, so cheating a bit with a humorous quote from early 20th Century French scientist and philosopher Jean Rostand - "My pessimism extends to the point of even suspecting the sincerity of the pessimists" - Sometimes you just gotta laugh at yourself!
Day #28 - It's soooooo hot here in March and April that deodorant is a total waste of time - just think of all the money we can save ;o)
And of course a great way to keep all those unwanted amorous advances at bay too!
Day #29 - There's a refreshing breeze blowing through our apartment tonight. That's good enough for me.
Day #30 - Had a terrible anxiety dream last featuring the CEO of the company I used to work for in London...But that's the great thing about bad dreams - you wake up!
Day #31 - When you just can't sleep and you have a million things whizzing round your head, they say it's good to think about a happy place and imagine you are there. I am so lucky to have many to choose from. This is my current favourite happy place. Ben More Lake on New Zealand's South Island.
Day #32 - Living in a tourist hot spot can be a bit tiresome at times, especially when you can't get a table in your favourite restaurant...but at least it means we get plenty of visitors too - with Nikki, Dean, Lyra and Elias from good ol' Blighty :o)
Day #33 - These flying insects are such a nuisance....but even they can be, in the right light, quite spectacular
Day#34 - So, there will be many things we miss about Cambodia when we leave at the end of May, but travelling onwards opens up a whole new world of possibilities...
Day #35 - You wake up to a normal day, and by the end of it you are having a cold beer with an old work colleague from the other side of the world. Just goes to show you never know what nice surprises await you every day.
Day #36 - No matter how tired and stressed you are feeling, there's nothing that a trip to the Cambodian Circus can't cure!
Day #37 - It's our last night in The Ghetto of Baskerville. We really will miss plenty of things about this place - having a pool virtually to ourselves whenever we want it, lovely neighbours, the view from the balcony on a sunny morning, our fabulous security guard and all round fixer Ol, and of course the neighbourhood kids, aka The Little Rascals. We'll miss them all, but how lucky we were to be able to enjoy all of these wonderful things for so long :o)
Day #38 - Said our first goodbyes today as we moved out of Baskerville. It was unexpectedly emotional - I can't be totally cold and heartless after all :o)
Bangkok, Thailand
Day #39 - Late posting again due to travelling and very dodgy wi-fi. Anyway, Saturday was a long day, and our last leg was Bangkok to Colombo. After a superb sunrise in Siem Reap, we were also treated to a superb sunset as we boarded our plane (in the foreground). No matter where you are, nature can always throw a little beauty at you to make you smile :o)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Day #40 - The sun doesn't ALWAYS shine in Sri Lanka! But even during stormy weather it is possible to find something beautiful :o)
Day #41 - I really don't like long haul flying - which is why we always try to break up the journey. But the prize at the end of the journey makes it all worth while. So looking forward to seeing everyone in Blighty. @Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
UK, various locations
Day #42 - People are always complaining that the water from the taps in the UK "tastes like chlorine". You know what? I'm just so thankful that it doesn't taste of amoebic dysentery, typhoid or cholera.
And that I can go brush my teeth without taking a bottle of Evian with me :o)
Day #43 - Whilst I miss not being able to wear my fake Havaiana flip-flops every day, it's quite nice not to have to scrub my blackened cracked feet in the shower each morning!
Day #44 - I have a ****** head cold and, bizarrely, the screaming ab dabs. But here in the UK I can just go to the doctors, for free, if I need to. I may struggle to get an appointment but for now at least, the service is available and costs not a penny
Day #45 - While the ab-dabs refuse to subside just yet, I am seeing it as a kind of cheap de-tox regime, much required after nine months of 50 cent beers ;o)
Day #46 - Sunshine..and solids...what a result!
Day #47 - Our canalside walk was lovely apart from the clouds of pesky midgies that followed us everywhere. But according to those proverbial old wives, they are a sign of imminent of good weather. So that's good! :o)
Day #48 - Body clock still a bit up the swannie....but it is very nice to lie awake at dawn listening to melodious birdsong instead of dogs howling and cockerels crowing!
Day #49 - (Margaret Thatcher's death announced today) The Thatcher years were memorable for everyone who survived them for many different reasons. BUT one thing is undeniable - it gave rise to over a decade of fantastic music. Here's one of the best...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X -MSQQwy-AQ
Day #50 - and half way through! Well, London has been rather grim in the freezing cold and grey of a nasty prolonged winter...but today...brilliant sunshine and a touch of spring warmth...and London looked magnificent. A nice surprise and a real treat :o)
Day #51 - A bit of warmer weather and the leaves and blossom are starting to appear on the trees. UK weather can be miserable at times, but there is something very nice about having SEASONS!
Day #52 - Weather forecast here for next Weds (day of Margaret Thatcher's funeral) is overcast. This is very good. The anti-Margarets will be delighted its a suitably grey day for the final send-off. And the pro-Thatchers can claim its a sort of pathetic fallacy for a grieving nation. Win-win.
Day #53 - I know I've used something similar before but sometimes you need a bit of stormy weather to realise how beautiful some things really are
Day #54 - Back on t'internet but a few days behind - so here is a quick and easy one to kick off again. Love those Polynesian harmonies :o) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilMBLV3A 6ug
Day #55 - So Blighty's weather can be a tad depressing , but at least you get the beach to yourself when you go for a walk
Day #56 - In Cambodia if you are feeling peckish you can just stop at a street stall for a satay or a bowl of noodles. Now we may not be able to do that in the UK when hunger strikes on the M25, but you can get one of these....Nom nom!
Day #57 - Heard on the radio this morning - While growing old is inevitable, growing up is strictly optional. Love it ;o)
Day #58 - Cambodia's wall-to-wall heat has really made me appreciate Britain's..ahem...more temperate climate...Now after three weeks of Britain's temperate climate I am quite looking forward to some heat again :o)
Day #59 - Even if your day is not as bright as you would hope, it can all change after a good night's sleep ;o)
Day #60 - the years may be accumulating, but isn't it great when someone makes you a surprise birthday cake? Must be still a kid at heart really :o)
Day #61 - a bit of a lazy one today, but a great quote from 20th Century American writer John Updike:
"Dreams come true; without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them" :o)
Day #62 - When the Indonesian super-volcano Krakatoa went off in the 1800's it was overcast everywhere for about a year. How lucky we are in Blighty that it was only about four months without sunshine ;o)
Day #63 - It's amazing how boring old streets you took or granted as a child look completely different when you grow up (?) and live thousands of miles away. Castle Street, Farnham, Surrey
Day #64 - Sad to be leaving the UK tomorrow, but looking on the bright side - no more hayfever!
Day #65 - A month way from Siem Reap has made us realise all the things we love about it, and will miss when we move on. On the plus side, it only took about 90 seconds on the Siem Reap expats' Facebook page to remind us of all the things we will not miss one little bit ;o)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Day #66 - Even unscheduled delays can be welcome with a bit of planning...13 hours layover in Colombo :o)
Bangkok, Thailand
Day #67 - so this journey really is an epic (left London 28 hours ago and still only in Bangkok....) but I do get to celebrate my birthday in THREE different countries - Sri Lanka, Thailand and good ol' Cambodia - makes Phil Collins' transatlantic Live Aid stunt look tame ;o)
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Day #68 - so we were bemoaning our English sun tans - aka pale and, if we're lucky, interesting - but apparently the Khmers think it looks lovely! There's always a silver lining.
Day #69 - Whilst waking up at 4:15am and not being able to get back to sleep is bit of a pain in the butt, at least we got to hear a real dawn chorus (ie NO cockerels) and watch the sunrise over the garden
Day #70 - Advancing years, not to mention a month catching up on pints of REAL ALE in Blighty may have put paid to my chances of a career as an underwear model BUT on the plus side at least I won't be tempted to turn into a poolside poser....unlike this chap, spotted at our new hotel-residence yesterday...tee hee hee
Day #71 - Poor Colin has managed to get four huge mozzie bites on one foot overnight. But on the plus side, I don't have any ;o)
Day #72 - a touch of Cambo belly (we have been back for six days after all...) means not venturing too far from the loo this morning, just to be on the safe side. Luckily this nice little spot is just paces from the loo :o)
Day #73 - 7am, already 27C. So lucky we don't have to take the tube to work :o)
Day #74 - Apparently waking up at 4:30 every day is not only a symptom of jetlag, but something that comes with old age...Thank goodness that wisdom comes with it too ;o)
Day #75 - yes! (Ab)normal service has resumed: so, my old ****'s bad hip is back which means swimming breast stroke is impossible due to that silly kick. I was determined to do a few lengths though...and surprised myself with TEN consecutive lengths of front crawl. You never know you can until you have to :o)
Day #76 - It's the start of the rainy season now, which can be a tad disruptive when it really gets going. On the plus side everything positively bursts into bloom, and you still get lovely sunny mornings to admire it all :o)
Day #77 - I'm not that pleased about constantly waking up early, and there being no wi-fi signal to boot...however, it has give me the perfect opportunity to catch up on some light reading...Comrade Colin Newsteadski, your work here is almost complete!
Day #78 - Serious weight loss is not going to happen while we are here...the food is mostly fried, the beer is dirt cheap and it's too darned hot to exercise. On the plus side, having pudgy cheeks really keeps those 40-something wrinkles plumped up!
Day #79 - we should be grateful for all the little knocks and set backs - grateful that they are only little, and because they give us a chance to practice dealing with them, just in case we have to face a big one some day.
Day #80 - Today's public holiday may have meant we got to endure, er I mean enjoy seven hours of window-rattling music last night, but at least the roads were quiet for our bike ride into work this morning ;o)
Day #81 - Dang! I have ripped a huge hole in my Millwall boxer shorts :o( But I guess every little helps in our bid to get our luggage down to 23KG each :o)
Day #82 - Just when you think you've seen every sunset...a walk into town throws another, even more beautiful one at you :o)
Day #83 - Well I am glad to report that it is not only all GOOD things that "must come to an end..." After two days of the most intense heat I have ever known, ever, at last a good lashing of tropical rain :o)
Day #84 - It is very hot here - because it's the tropics and we are virtually at sea level - so on the plus side at least we don't have to worry about altitude sickness! LOL ;o)
Day #85 - the guy on the right is our wonderful tuk tuk driver who seems to appear from nowhere whenever we need a lift back from town. It is this guy who took us on a long detour and waited outside the supermarket while we shopped, then refused to take any extra money from us.
Can you imagine that happening at home? We asked. Then I remembered one night in London, being stranded at Waterloo Station thanks to heavy snow - I had to share a taxi all the way home. The driver told us what it would cost, approximately, and set off.
When I eventually got home the metre was way over what the driver had estimated, but he still only charged his original price.
Good to know that there are actually kind, principled people everywhere, it's just in some places you need to look a bit harder than others :o)
Day #86 - Flipping up the loo seat in a Siem Reap restaurant to be confronted with the sight - and smell - of someone else's diarrhoea dripping into the toilet bowl is definitely NOT the one. But at least it wasn't MY diarrhoea ;o)
Day #87 - Actually, I can't think of anything really uplifting today. But at least the last 87 days have taught me that tomorrow could be a whole new and much more positive kettle of fish :o)
Day #88 - Oops I missed a day, probably because after a not too inspiring day #87, day #88 turned out to be a highly productive, high achieving, highly positive kind of day after all. and I forgot. That's a good reason to forget I think :o)
Day #89 -We have one of these fellas - a tokay gecko - living outside our window. They make a loud call which sounds like they are saying "ge-cko, ge-cko..." very impressive. Superstition here says that if they cry "ge-cko" less than seven times in a row it is unlucky and you have to kill them. More than seven times in a row, however, is very lucky. The one outside our window does ten "ge-cko's" in a row! Now that has to be very lucky for us....and it's certainly lucky for him too - long live the tokay :o)
Day #90 - Today is Buddha's birthday, so what could be better than a quote from him:
"Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are, it solely relies on what you think"
Day #91 - We've been praying for rain since we got back to Siem Reap. And you know what, its rained a lot this week. They say you should be careful what you wish for...because yes, sometimes wishes do come true!
Day #92 - Two things: 1. Following weeks of breakfasting to the sound of instrumental Carpenters covers today we enjoyed Neil Young with our boiled eggs and drop scones . And 2. last night we did a street food tour, ate the street food, and against all the odds neither of us has the trots today! Just goes to show that it's not just nasty surprises that creep up on you when you least expect them! :o)
Day #93 - Still on the street food theme, we were disappointed not to see any deep fried tarantulas on our tour, but as our guide explained, you don't really get many round Siem Reap. So that's good!
Day #94 - My trusty (very) old baseball cap, purchased many years ago on holiday in Brittany finally met its end when the material on the peak stretched to splitting point in a hot tumble dryer. On the plus side, I might need to but a new hat when we get to Peru...whaddya think?
Day #95 - Just days to go until we leave Cambodia and it's impossible not to start realising all the little things we will miss. Then someone goes and sets up a massive wedding marquee just a few doors away fro our hotel to remind us that moving on does indeed have its plus points ;o)
Day #96 The Apprentice Asia is on. It is so nice to know that wherever you are in the world, you can watch people for a whole hour each week reminding you how talented YOU really are
Day #97 - Feeling a bit peeved to be suffering a dose of the old Cambo belly - but look at this way - we are living in a hotel and have had to eat out every night for the last four weeks - It's amazing we have lasted this long!
Day #98 - Been at this hotel, cursing and complaining about the truly **** wi-fi for 31 days. They have finally bought a new router, and we leave the day after tomorrow. At least I won't feel obliged to write a really negative review on Tripadvisor now :o)
Day #99 - Fancied a quiet morning by the pool, but alas, another local wedding and the music was so loud that I couldn't even listen to my i-pod. So I listened to the gamelans and the pipes and the funny stringed instrument they have...and you know what, it was really quite good! Just goes to show that sometimes, not always, if you can get past all the noise you can occasionally find something worth listening to.
Day #100 - I know today's is long, but please persevere and try to get to the end.....
An odd day to be feeling positive, as today we are leaving Siem Reap and Cambodia for a new adventure, which will eventually take us to South America. Which is very exciting, and at the same time we are feeling very emotional and unbelievably sad about not knowing when we will next see all the wonderful people we are leaving behind.
So, today's positive thought is inspired by them.
Not long after we first arrived here we visited the rubbish dump about 25km from Siem Reap and met some of the people that work and live there. It is like a living hell. http://www.travelfish.org/feature/269
BUT they never lost hope, and never gave up, and today, thanks to the determination, inspiration and constant positivity of a few good people - Togh Main, Alan and Alison Golightly, to name just three - the families who lived on the dump are starting to move into new houses in a purpose-built commune, near the dump.
Now back to day #100 - I can be a miserable git - which was what started this whole 100 days caper in the first place, and finding positive things to say every day for more than three months has been quite a challenge. Harder than a 5km run, definitely harder than a 2,500m swim, and probably up there with giving up alcohol for a month. But was it as worthwhile?
You can see where this is going...If you could make a donation to this cause - think of it as buying me or Colin a birthday drink - since we weren't around for most of you to do so in person (very bad planning) - we would be really really grateful and it would really make those 100 days even more worthwhile. This project is 100% above board, is being managed by the local community under the guidance of Togh Main, who already runs two amazing "poverty schools" - one in Siem Reap and one in the village next to the dump , which is also where Togh's family live.
Here's the address for secure online donations - it's really easy - ....http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fun draiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPr ofilePage.action?userUrl=vdca - just mention "100 days" or 100 positive thoughts in your message. Thanks a million.
Normal blogging service will soon resume as we are now travelling again for the next ten weeks and will be taking in parts of Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti and some other islands of French Polynesia, Easter Island, Chile and Peru.
PS I will try and stay positive too - shouldn't be too difficult, even for me ;o)