Every Journey Counts

Photos: moleskine sketches

gem_sky — Sun, 8 May 2011 22:23:00 GMT

Friends and fond memories

gem_sky — Sun, 8 May 2011 10:25:00 GMT

Soksaby te Bong? Khynom Chol chet Khmer! AW KOON!!!!

There are many things I have purposefully missed out of this blog. I can chew things over and add things as I go. I'm still yet write up about Ankgor Wat, Sihanoukville and some recipes I picked up, so watch this space and check back soon!

In the meantime I am reminded of my encounters and small details through my everyday routine. Coming back to London has been hard. Although I was only away for 2 months, the time in Cambodia was intense and significant, giving me more than I had anticipated or hoped for.

The Song

Bird song travels through gardens and reaches me.
For no particular reason I scoop up the song.
Once I would have sent it to you
buried somewhere in cities
where fame and obscurities matter,
where dreams are eaten with breakfast.
But knowing I can do nothing but repeat in human terms
those truths we ourselves have made unworkable
I open my hands,
let the song free again.
Your ears might find it. Your eyes might trap its source
between garden and walls.
Now I am lunatic enough to believe
elsewhere the song continues,
affects lives as equally as mine.
Presumptuous to offer as unique those things
we own in common; yet how common the heart
that without touching or wishing to own it,
lets the song nest there.
by Brian Patten

Bangkok: 'Bastion of wholesome tourism'

gem_sky — Thu, 5 May 2011 23:30:00 GMT

Two bits of advice for people visiting Bangkok.. one, have the name and address of your hotel written down in Thai for the taxi driver.. they don't do english! And two, never get in a tuk tuk without an oxygen mask. The pollution is scary. Though not to do this city down, it is an amazing place, with a somewhat futuristic feel to it.

We stayed at a hotel that time forgot 'The Atlanta'. Famous for it's 1950's art deco lobby complete with the original perky and quick witted staff. It's a hidden jewel.

"Zero tolerance & sleaze free zone, no sex tourists, junkies, louts and other degenerates." Dr Henn 1952

The title reads... 'Terrible portrait of Dr Henn good portrait on opposite wall'

Oh how times have changed Dr Henn but don't worry, your vision lives on in The Atlanta!

The rooms were pretty basic but it had a pool and a tropical garden with a family of turtles living there. There were two cats who occupy the guest armchairs in the lobby, stretched out flat like a couple of bolster cushions. There is a miniature library and a reading lounge and a hefty visitor's etiquette guidebook! The internet access has a very serious looking 'honesty box' above it, for use of the net.

Our short stay in Bangkok consisted of a trip to the reclining Buddha and a lesson by our tour guide on how to be a good buddhist. The one tip I remember is 'to live in the present'. So its strange that I'm writing in the past tense?

The palace grounds are full of pagodas (a tomb for ashes) of previous kings and royal family. But as well as being a place of worship, it is also a place of study. There are a wealth of reliefs and murals that can only be described as teaching resources. Monks and privileged people would study there. In one of my photos you can see anatomical drawings used when teaching medicine and accupressure points of the body. Amazing!

I won't say much about the reclining Buddha except that, you must see it! His feet are made from mother of pearl and show the steps to enlightenment. All of the statues there are surprising.

This city feels like it's larger than London (?) with a skytrain and skyscrapers towering over you, an international airport to rival heathrow and hyperactive street life, there is so much to explore here.

Bokor mountain and the abandoned casinos

gem_sky — Thu, 5 May 2011 15:55:00 GMT

Overlooking Kampot and the Tek Chhouu districts is the Elephant mountain range and Bokor national park. An ever changing spectrum of violet skies and veils of pink mist covering the details of the imposing mountain, with only the peak still in view no matter what the weather.

We ventured in a small truck up Bokor mountain, on the best roads in the area, if not Cambodia. Miles of brand new tarmac set in heavily landscaped cuttings and clearings lead up the side of the mountain to a huge plateau near the summit, where a whole resort town seems to be rising from the red earth. Big investments such as this one are starting to pour into the country. A hydroelectric dam is under construction near Kampot, financed with Chinese money. In theory, this should bring cheap and reliable electricity to the region, but it remains to be seen how this might affect the price of power for the average Cambodian not to mention the effect it will have on the local river life and fishing villages.

During French colonial rule, a huge pleasure palace was built right at the top of Bokor, complete with casinos and ballrooms. It was frequented by rich French and Khmer, including the King himself, and was constructed to make the most of the commanding views across miles of tropical forest, all the way to the distant sea.

We saw the now abandoned and isolated building in the middle of a blindingly bright day, growing more imposing as we drove nearer. It wasn't much of a leap to imagine how spooky it would be after dark or in thick fog. It was exhilarating to be able to wander around a derelict building such a spectacular location without any restrictive barriers or regulations, except for the 'Danger! Do not enter signs' as a preliminary caution. The building was covered inside and out with vibrant orange lichen, which contributes to the palette of rich blues, reds and greens of the plateau. It is almost as beautiful as the seemingly infinite rainforest views as you look over the edge of the dilapidated hotel.

There is little noise up here. The tour guide serves up rice pork and warm vegetables on the steps of the shelled hotel, probably the nicest food (or most welcome after the long trek) I've had since being in Cambodia. Echoes of people exploring the 4 storey ghost hotel fade as everyone starts to eat and a woman plays italian lady gaga from her i-phone.

The bullet holes in the walls and the AK-47 which our ranger carried provided sharp reminders of how things have been in this part of the world (we were told later that the gun was for protection in case of animal attacks during the jungle trek!). Apparently there are tigers, snakes and bears hidden in the forest. Although I didn't see anything except amazingly coloured and large insects, none of which are in anyway threatening, I heard some unfamiliar sounds in the dense trees.

Whilst on the jungle trek, we became lost as the group ahead of us managed the steep ascent much more easily than us, but we had also gone too far ahead of the group trailing behind. Luckily I had brought my rescue whistle, but it didn't work and I think may have attracted something other than our ranger. After 10 minutes or so of deliberating whether to go forward and catch up or stay put, we heard voices behind and a few others caught up to us. Phew! It was one of those moments when you think.. 'ok, what would Ray Mears do?' and frantically tried to locate a memory of my girl guide handbook!

At the base of the mountain is the tek chhouu river. We took a much deserved sunset boat trip after the mountain trek.

The River

I stayed with a friend who lives by the river with such an idyllic view of both mountain and river life. We swam across a bend in the river to a small island nestled in the tributaries. There, some of the performance students practiced somersaults and back flips, landing repeatedly in the shallow water with a slight stumble until they had perfected the moves.

Sleeping on the deck of her house the misty morning air cleared and I was awoken by the lively morning sounds. After working through the night, the fishermen chug past in their boats. As they slice through the river water, they sound similar to large helicopters pounding air as the noise reverberates around the village like a naval salute. They usually head out to sea about 5pm and come back around 5am. Resting by the side of the river, they sell fish to local people. I ride past each morning at 7am on my way to breakfast at the epic cafe and by 8am, on my way to work, the smell of hot rotting fish drenches the air where the morning activities took place.

The fish are sold at the town market, squirming in silver pools by the feet of passersby. Fish juice, a mixture of sea water and the gutted fish blood flows in the gutters under my feet as my flip flops splash the smelly liquid up my legs.

It's worth it for the fresh fruit I buy and the sounds of the bargaining people in the sun shafts breaking through the sweaty tarpaulin roof.

Island Life

gem_sky — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 18:22:00 GMT

First, there was Rabbit Island (Koh Tonsay).

I went there for my first weekend in Kampot. Taking a fishing boat from Kep (the village next to Kampot) it takes 45 mins for serene and blissful island life!

A beautiful beach, beach strolling monks, fresh crab to eat and coconut juice to drink.

That's about it for Koh Tonsay, you arrive relax and digest. Simples!

Then, there was Phu Quoc... or 'Koh Tral' to Cambodians.

Welcome to Phu Quoc, the island of fish sauce! (Phu Quoc is famous for making fish sauce) there were private beach resorts, white sand beaches and it is over 90% forest mainly because the soil is not rich enough to farm on.

Fisherwomen packing up at sunset after drying out the fish ready to prepare the fish sauce.

Two people, one moto and a lot of island to explore.

To visa or not to visa: Crossing the border from Cambodia to Vietnam wasn't as easy as we were led to believe. All the research I had done as to whether a visa is necessary for a short trip to Phu Quoc pointed to Yes! a visa is necessary, is $50 and takes a week to sort out! But there was still a small flash of hope from a tour guide who reassured us that this was not the case for 4 day trip, so long as we didn't go further eg. Ho Chi Minh City. After much inspection of my passport and reassuring the guard I would only be visiting for a short time and just to the border town etc. and returning in a few days, all was well and we were let in.

Fast or Slow: Can I recommend that when you get the boat to Phu Quoc that you take the slow three hour boat (it's half the price too) it's a comfortable ride. However, the port is further away from the main town and the road is unfinished and a very bumpy. The fast boat made me sick twice and I wasn't the only one, people were being sick all around me... lovely I know! It was a small cramped boat that bounces over the waves like a stomach churning rollercoaster ride, and two hours long!

Playing volleyball on the beach at sunset, bbq'd fish on the beach and cocktails! Pure luxury!

Recipes....

gem_sky — Sat, 5 Mar 2011 15:43:00 GMT

Ok, so I am going to keep adding to this story with new dishes i encounter on my travels...

In Cambodia they have the best fast food, think of your mum's home cooked chicken soup, warming and filling followed by a nice cool fruit shake!

Mee chaa (literally means fried noodles but it involves a lot more):

egg noodles, toasted tofu, chilli, toasted peanuts, bean sprouts.

Borbor

(Rice Porridge): (bloody delicious!)

2000 riel (50 cent) get yourself the best meal of all!

Rice, shredded chicken in chicken broth with chilli, parsley all freshly made.

Yellow pancakes: Pancakes made by blending cooked rice into a mush then mixing in turmeric. Stuff with minced pork and onion and eat with fresh mint, some leaves from the mountain and lettuce and cucumber.

Fruit Shakes: anything you like in the blender plus ice...

sweet milk and mango is good!

Pumpkin Amok:

green pumpkin, fish or chicken amok spice: galangal root, ginger, garlic, lime leaf.

I tried this one out when I got back and it is gooood!!

Sihanoukville

gem_sky — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 19:46:00 GMT

I don't really know how to 'fairly' describe Sihanoukville.

It's a little bit like Blackpool in some parts.. not to do it down, but the (S)Ex-pats neon strip at the 2 lions roundabout is a casino, neon lover, lager lout seedy sexpat haven.

As if there is any surprise then, that I would be sick for two days after eating lobster spring rolls on the beach and drinking cocktails named after sex positions in a bar that proudly screened 'natural born killers' on the wall!?

But the 'Khmernival' showed a different side to the town. We went to support the team in their performance. A community carnival celebrating the best of the regions talent. There were some strange, and quite frankly badly judged dance sequences going on. A boy band with a Michael Jackson complex and an ego to match whilst young girls wailed back in the crowd. And some small children bravely hurling themselves through plastic hoops, and sometimes, shockingly, missing the opening by a fraction?! The Epic team were on another level however. Their well coordinated dance moves, funky hip hop music and sheer skill was great to watch! They combine elements of different dances and moves into one.

There is a helluva lot of coastline to explore if you venture a bit further (a few miles walk) than the average tuk tuk is willing to take you.. the beauty of which, you can never get lost so long as you always have the sea on one side! ;) Something the guidebooks don't tell you, I think, because they are so protective of it. It ain't so secluded if 'everyone' reads about it in 'rough guide'!

One day, my friend, Karin and I went exploring and ended up on a secluded private beach resort. So, went and sat on some white leather sofas and ordered cocktails, naturally. $7 for a meal. Which in London is £5 roughly, so pretty cheap. But having spent $1 for a meal back in Kampot, it felt a bit lush to do so.

One of the best things about Sihanoukville is it's stretch of coast. Karin and I must have walked for hours and miles along it until we reached a small grouping of huts, and a small sign with 'castaway' scrawled onto it and a picture of 'nelson' from Tom Hanks' film of the same name. So obviously, with the western film reference, we hadn't explored far enough to escape and discover a new world, but thought "well, why not?!" We were, after all at the far edges of the beach and heading into the wilderness of Ream national park, mainly lowland evergreens and mangrove swamps. Not good considering I'd left my walking shoes in the back of the taxi on arrival to Sihanoukville!

The hut was made out of thin bamboo and a hop and a skip from the sea. The shower, a bucket, the toilet, a bucket. It was a great recovery!

What's hot in Kampot?

gem_sky — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 19:00:00 GMT

My first taste of the weekend in Kampot. I had dinner with Naomi (the only other volunteer at epic- she has been here for 10 months on a funded trip from Australia and works mainly with the Vocational Training Programme or 'VTP' students). We ate by the river at 'Rusty's'. It's owned by a mancunian guy and so crinkle cut chips and stir fried pork and vegetables were the order of the day. Mixing east and west food already! ;)

Cambodia is not only about food though! Each morning so far I have cycled to have my breakfast in the epic arts cafe where the vtp students and team also hang out. It’s set up in one of Kampot's many dilapidated french colonial buildings. But it's very nice! They have books to help teach you sign language. All the staff are deaf so you can sign your order to them but just to make sure it's right they also have a check list for you on the menu! I once ordered salt when I wanted lime, and coffee when I wanted tea!

Everyone wants to help you to sign. I admire their patience.

In Kampot they have ‘shop-houses’. You're never quite sure if you’re in a bakery or someone’s house as there’s a guy in a towel stood next to you and usually a bed in the corner. The whole family live in the shop-house.

After dinner, around 8pm everything in the town starts to quieten down. Except for a little place on the river just 5 mins across the river from town. Bodhi Villa, the infamous backpacker hangout which floats on the river and has live music and cocktails ‘til whenever the last person is standing. I didn't pay for my drinks but apparently they remember you and keep a tab for a few weeks or until you leave.
I went on my friend's moto, 3 of us- Cambodian style as the road there is in complete darkness except for the odd firefly. They pretty much act as an alternative to cats' eyes out there.
This particular friday night happened to be a full moon and so we sat on the jetty by the lit river dangling our feet in and when you disturb the water it lights up with millions of glittering algae ( or bioluminescence).
It is really nice here and it feels like I've been here for a while already as everyone is so welcoming, and why not? it costs nothing and makes you feel good!
Little kids run out onto the street shouting ‘hello’ when I cycle past, showing
off their english. And I bought some gas from the local shop/shack and the women
there saw I had pans in my shopping bag and started to get really excited my khmer
friend translated that they were saying 'omg! You are cooking your going to cook
your own food! Great!' haha! :) and the man who owns the shop, was so friendly (as friendly as you can be wearing only a small sarong to cover his modesty) would try to speak french to me 'because you are english' ?

Meeting the Epic Team

gem_sky — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:27:00 GMT

Well, where do I start? I had a fantastic and challenging time volunteering for an arts charity in Cambodia called EPiC Arts ( Every Person Counts).

It was great to finally meet the team at Epic and everyone is very nice. The centre is overlooking the Bokor mountains, where you can watch the dramatic changes of the sky taking place as the day progresses, which emulates the rapid development of the students. My house is a short ride (2 leisurely minutes) to the river, which is beautiful!

I observed two workshops on my first day. One was the peace class with children with special educational needs and the second in the afternoon was with a group of deaf students teaching blind children circus skills and then playing games which, I think, helped to develop their spatial awareness. Working in pairs to find their way along a rope they had to stop in the middle when they felt a knot then jump and run to the end. Each time they repeated it they became much more confident and fluent with their movement.

The next week I hung out with some of the vtp students. I learned Khmer sign language which was easier than learning Khmer and it's great to be expressive again.

Recognised for my skills as an Artist, I worked with the SEP team (Special Education Programme) helping them to develop teaching resources for the core skills and art and design aspects of the Special Education programme. I also supported the work of students on the Vocational Training Programme to develop a visual diary and instruction manual for art workshops in schools and the wider community helping to advocate disability awareness. Most of the students in the Vocational Programme were deaf and there was one wheelchair user. They all had incredible talent as both performers and teachers and despite having limited or no formal education (some have only 2 years at a deaf school, some no 'formal' education, as school just wasn’t made accessible for them). However, they take on every challenge with imagination and individual flair!

All the people I worked with were so open and taught me so much with their energy and enthusiasm. And I thank them all and look forward to seeing them again soon!

Urban versus Rural life

gem_sky — Wed, 9 Feb 2011 19:00:00 GMT

There was such a jump between the big cities and rural areas, much more than in Europe, I think because the development has been so much quicker and more recent. It makes things really uneven, and as soon as you start traveling you realise how a lot of that development is just the tiny tip of a mountain, only accessible for the elite and foreigners with the cash to climb it.

I like bus journeys, just so good to have that thinking and staring out of the window time. During a stop over in a small village I met some children, mainly girls selling fruit. No matter how many guidebooks you carry on your back there is no preparing you for the experience of a girl no more than ten stroking your arm and saying in perfect English ‘so white, so beautiful’. Seemingly fascinated by my skin colour and ‘beauty’? You can buy whitening creams here. Every moisturizer and shower gel claims to make your skin beautifully ‘white’! I guess it's the same as our fascination in England with tanning? The idea that we ply ourselves with gravy browning and henna staining must be perverse for the Khmer just like it is for me to be considered beautiful for my whiteness.

I've arrived in Kampot and my first impression it's a very small town.
Much quieter than the city except for the crickets and geckos. It's so nice to be here
and such a change to the city. When I arrived there was a bike from Epic waiting for me at the hostel. It’s actually safer to ride than walk since there is no pavement or crossings for pedestrians at all.

Tomorrow I will meet the Epic team at the centre, but I don't too feel nervous, just full of long over due excitement and anticipation!

Meeting the neighbours... I moved into a room at the weekend, not far from the Epic Arts centre. It’s out of town by a one minute cycle and there's no street lights (but there isn't really many in the town either) and down a bit of a dirt track. At least I can give it a go! I much prefer to have my own space where I can cook myself and wash clothes etc, just have a bit of extra freedom... Khmer style! This morning I met the neighbours when they were helping me to hang the mozzy net by fashioning 2 bricks to a piece of string, throwing it over the wall and tying the net to it! Sounds like something Heath-Robinson would come up with!! I love the makeshift style!

Yep, as you can see, that is a chicken walking past my back door! They drink the water in the back passage where people cook. There are chicks everywhere and cows that feed in the trenches dug out for when the rain comes, but at the moment are filled with litter.

Thrown into the tropical soup

gem_sky — Mon, 7 Feb 2011 08:47:00 GMT

Tuk tuks are quite something! It was my first time in a tuk tuk, heading from the airport to the centre yesterday. You get thrown helplessly into the middle of the tropical soup and just hold on while they spin you round the corners into on coming traffic...:) it was good except for the fact it was rush hour!! It was an interesting way to see the city as we (me and 'Lucky', my tuktuk driver) pass through grimy poorer outskirts and into the centre with manicured garden aerobics outside the university.

I thought I could escape the jet lag by sleeping throughout the journey but it puts such a strain on the body, the worst I think, to my eyes. The in-flight air conditioning and non-stop food serving just dried them out completely. Eye drops are essential for long haul.

I went to the Silver Pagoda and the Royal palace today, only it was closed for a state visit. So, an entreprenurial tuktuk driver took me to Tuol Sleng, the prison that the khmer rouge ran to interogate people. A former school, the prison was used to torture and hold people for questioning. If you entered there as a prisoner, you weren't going to leave! There were rooms with one bed, the frame of which had a pattern which resembled a sunset. As I walked around there I just kept repeating in my head, who does this? who are the people who held them here? Who could be so perverse as to torture another human being, stand to listen to the the cries of another and watch someone in so much pain and anguish? Then photograph it? There were photos of the prisoners during or after torture or just suffering alone in their room. Documented for the KR to use as 'evidence', to 'legitimise' their crimes. Just making them all the more perverse. Then, at the end of the photos and the stories of those who witnessed or had lived it, there were a few rooms lent to the stories of the people who were the guards, the torturers and the passive witnesses to the horrors that took place there. It was good to go as a few years ago during an exhibition of the photos that documented the prisoners, I read about what happened there. The photos informed me of the atrocities here but could not assist the comprehension of their suffering. Although I can experience the residue of their pain in the echoes made by the walls of the now, museum, still now I am glad I cannot fully comprehend their situation. That is what led me to learn more about Cambodia and now, subsequently, here I am.

Photos: Epic shots

gem_sky — Mon, 7 Feb 2011 07:52:00 GMT

Volunteering for Epic Arts Charity in Cambodia

Happy Heart!

gem_sky — Mon, 7 Feb 2011 07:41:00 GMT

Oh how happy my heart is to be in Thailand!! - even if it is only the airport for now!
Stepping outside the airport I was nearing tears when I smelt the warm jasmine air. Stood under the entrance shelter, the smells and sounds funnily enough echo that of a swimming pool! That fresh and clean smell with hints of soapy perfume and it's sweaty atmosphere too, but not in an sticky and uncomfortable way. What a fabulous place!

After finding my bearings I'm in the sun! Its the biggest airport I have ever been to and it is surrounded by green pockets of botanical gardens, of which I am sat in now enjoying a nice thai curry and ice tea for less than £1! It’s like the eden project. Not too sure what the veggies are in it but its cooked and hot plus its from a small canteen of which I'm the only 'tourist'! The rest of the diners are staff of the airport but I feel at home with the security crew its like being at work again! :)
My next flight is at 15.15 6 hours to wait. I will check in again when I reach Phnom Penh. I'm off for a walk in the garden and to find something else to eat. This long wait will soon fly by! :)