The prospect of being in Phnom Preuk for over a month with even less to do than normal was so daunting that we decided to get the hell out of there for a few days and took our selves off back to Koh Chang (which means Elephant Island – see photo) in Thailand. Five days of lying on a palm fringed beach by a sparkling blue sea or sipping gin and tonics while watching the sun sink through a crimson sky …… this volunteering lark is hell.
Unsurprisingly Jon made a stunt kite out of plastic bags and bamboo – it flew!In Cambodia, Laos and Thailand the New Year is a big deal. It is both a religious and secular celebration, so the Wats go into overdrive with ceremonial chanting, drums and gamelans, (oh goody) while everyone else parties all night with Karaoke music being played at full blast over mega sound systems (hooray). There is a tradition that at New Year you should be cleansed by water, and our first experience of this was when 2 elderly ladies in the Pagoda we were visiting gently poured a trickle of scented water over our heads and marked our faces with a stripe of talcum powder, charming we thought ……then we went outside. The roads of Koh Chang were lined with young people armed with any receptacle they could find, soaking any transport which dared to run the gauntlet. We were touring the island on a moto and were continually soaked by high power hoses and bazooka size super soaker water pistols.
It was all extremely good humoured albeit very dangerous. Thinking that New Year celebrations would be over we returned to Phnom Preuk to discover that as usual the Khmers had extend the holiday and the jollity was still in full swing. There is a water throwing tradition in Cambodia as well but typically they fling plastic bags of water at passers by, so every roadside is now lined with thousands and thousands of little plastic bags which no one will ever pick up. Rather stupidly we went on a cycle ride and were accosted by the local youff who soaked us from head to toe and rubbed talc onto our faces, but in a very good natured way. Pleased to say we got our revenge when later they passed our house and we turned the garden hose on them. 
Our work in the District was further disrupted when someone in the VSO education office decided that the end of April would be a good time to have a 2 day conference and to hold it in Koh Kong, the Province in the south west which is the furthest away from everyone else in Cambodia. We decided the quickest and cheapest way to get there was to travel via Thailand rather than the 3 days it would take if we had to go via Phnom Penh. So on the way there we popped back to Koh Chang for a couple days for a bit more beach therapy. In fact the conference was fun if not actually useful and it was great to meet up with all the other Volunteers. Koh Kong proved to be very beautiful. One of the few areas of Cambodia that is close to the sea and consequently cooler and more geared for tourists. We took a small speed boat through the river delta to visit some waterfalls, passing mangrove swamps and monkeys on the way. While climbing over the rocks by the waterfall Onno slipped and fell the river taking the Khmer guide with him. Fortunately no one was hurt but a digital camera and 2 mobile phones had an early bath which didn’t do them much good.
While in Koh Kong we visited a little school which is situated on an island about 40 minutes boat ride away from the main town. The combination of an inspirational head, committed staff and supportive community had produced a model school where the kids were obviously motivated and eager to learn.
The rest of us education volunteers are deeply jealous of Nicky who is based in Koh Kong. Not only does she have the seaside, proper roads, a civilized climate, and beautiful scenery she also has schools who actually want to teach children, its not fair!!!!We decided to return to Phnom Preuk the long way round as the road takes you through the Cardamom Mountains which is one few remaining areas of unspoilt forest. The scenery was spectacular although very unusually they were showing an English language film on the video on the bus, this proved rather distracting because as Jon pointed out we were here to see Koh Kong not to watch King Kong! Phnom Penh gave us the opportunity to chill out with friends and stock up on necessities, although distressingly Marmite cannot be found, even for ready money. We were introduced to a charming French colonial hotel where you could lounge by the pool all day for the price of a glass of iced coffee. Well everyone needs a little R and R sometimes
Back in Phnom Preuk we arranged to have a planning meeting with all of the District Education staff to clarify exactly what it was they wanted to achieve in the area and what would be our role. As a relationship building exercise we offered to hold the meeting in our house rather than the office and provide a meal afterwards. We asked our cleaner if she would cook the food as we were not convinced the Khmers would be thrilled with spaghetti bolognaise. Our excitement about the event was severely doused when a hour before kick off we were informed that as 3 of the staff, including the director, had been called off for another meeting they would have to cancel. This was a bit of a blow especially as there were 3 freshly slaughtered chickens bleeding gently into our fridge. But that’s Cambodia for you. In fact we were able to re schedule for a couple of days later and it went reasonably successfully although 2 of the staff only managed to arrive just in time for the dinner.
Many Volunteers have taken advantage of the fact that because of the national holidays, if you take 2 days leave you can have 10 days off and have gone travelling to Viet Nam, Laos, or Bangkok. We decided to conserve our money and leave so we can use them when all our visitors arrive over the next few months (Will and Russell are coming in 5 weeks time – wheeeeee). Very kindly Jean has offered to let us house sit her lovely flat in Battambang and we intended to spend a few days exploring the local area. This proved to be a very wise decision as our lap top has been infested with swarm of viruses which has made the poor thing very very sick. Jon has spent the last 2 days desperately trying to salvage all our music and photos, which it would break our hearts to loose but it is a very slow progress. The moral of the story being, “back up as you go”. In fact aside from the hours sweating over a hot disc drive we have had had a very pleasant time cycling to the out lying villages, visiting pre Ankorian ruins and a giant modern Buddha. On the way we stopped to see the local cottage industry of spring roll wrapper making.
The temperature has dropped and the rainy season is just beginning. The last 3 days have seen spectacular thunder storms and diluvium rains although it does mean that it is even less possible to get things done. The usual response to any request being ”I’ll have to wait until the rain stops”. The Khmers seem quite surprised to learn that in Europe people go to work in the rain.
The natural history of Cambodia has now reached Mammals. Cambodia used to have a rich diversity of wildlife. Monkeys, elephants, tigers and rhinos all abounded in the forests which covered the country but in the last half centaury due to war, landmines, logging and deforestation there are very few animals left. Any poor little creature that wanders into an inhabited area is promptly killed and eaten. The only mammals which we have seen in Phnom Preuk are domesticated (with the exception of the rats which we really don’t want to talk about). Cows and pigs are the main source of meat. There is no concept of dairy and it is impossible to get indigenous milk or cheese (which probably accounts for our weight loss, although the absence of red wine might be more of a reason). In the wetter rice growing areas water buffalo are used for ploughing and these huge docile animals are really picturesque wading through the rice paddy with a small boy on their backs. On the Tai border the land is too high and dry for rice so here they use huge white oxen as the beast of burden although round our way it is more likely to see a tractor pulling a plough. There are cows every where, many families seem to have at least one that often lives under the stilted house. They are allowed to graze by the side of the road where they are tethered through the nose on quite long ropes. When passing a cow on your moto you have to careful that it has not wandered across the road trailing its rope behind, because a sudden movement could tighten the line and decapitate you. Considering the amount of pork that is eaten we rarely see pigs, except on the backs of motos. Apparently most families do keep a pig or 2 “out the back” and transport 2 or 3 of them at a time to the slaughter houses in baskets attached to the seat of the moto. A real shock the first time you see it.
Dogs. They infest the place and spend most of their time mating with each other. Sometimes no matter how much you avert your eyes you will see copulating canines. Consequently they appear in very weird shapes and sizes but none of a breed that is recognisable. The bitches are either pregnant or feeding and usually look exhausted. In fact most of the dogs look sick, undernourished and full of mange; many have lost all their hair, not a pretty sight. The puppies, like all baby animals look cute for a month or so then they mysteriously disappear. Never eat meat in the market that is advertised as “special”. We are especially fond of the dogs at 4 am when for no apparent reason every mutt in the district joins in the “twilight barking” .which can last up to half an hour!. The above aside we have never felt threaten by a dog and have been told there is no Rabies in the district. The neighbour’s dog Pom is a lovely lady although she does have a sneaky side. If there is food around she will drop on to her tummy and wriggle closer and closer to the table convinced she has made herself invisible. When you tell her off she looks about her with amazement as if to say, “Gosh how did I get here.”
So we are back to Phnom Preuk on Friday and hope to get down to a continuous period of hard work until our good intentions are interrupted by the forth coming elections, disintegrating roads, floods, planting crops, harvesting crops, weddings, funerals, political rallies, religious ceremonies and all the other stuff that makes Cambodia such a wonderful but infuriating place.
