From the monthly archives: October 2007

Bank holiholiholiday

On October 29 2007 · 2 Comments · In Diary

So today is a bank holiday for some reason, Wednesday is King Sihanouk’s birthday, and as for tomorrow, well, there’s a holiday either side of it so everyone’s taking that off as well.

It’s a miracle anything gets done here.

This morning a few of us helped escort about thirty-five children to an optician in [...]

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Pile stuff on the drunk bloke

On October 21 2007 · 4 Comments · In Cambodia, Diary

I had a tiny glimpse of what it would be like to be a parent last night. A few of us went to see some of the kids from the Sangkheum Centre perform traditional Khmer Apsara dancing at a groovy hotel in town. The kids look amazing, with immaculate costumes and make-up, and they’re so [...]

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Lumpy bumpy rugger bugger

On October 20 2007 · Leave a Comment · In Cambodia, Diary

So it’s the Rugby World Cup final tonight, everyone’s bound to end up shouting ‘come on Jonny’, and when it’s kick-off in Paris, it’s 2am in Cambodia. Good job a bunch of us are out in numbers tonight for a birthday, and a place in town will have the rugby on the big screen. It’s going to [...]

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What am I doing with my life?

On October 12 2007 · 3 Comments · In Cambodia, Diary

…is a common thought for many who come here, or indeed go travelling anywhere. Unfamiliar places, meeting new people of all nationalities, sensory overload or just too much cheap booze gets people all introspective.

Siem Reap can be an intoxicating place, and not just because of Free Beer Friday at the Warehouse. There is seemingly [...]

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Rainy holiday

On October 10 2007 · Leave a Comment · In Cambodia, Diary

It’s Pchum Ben here in Cambodia, a time when the spirits of dead ancestors walk the Earth, and the living may ease their suffering by offering them food to eat. Khmers rise early and scatter food on the ground for the spirits. The local dogs have a field day. I don’t mean to be disrespectful [...]

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Cold hot dogs

On October 6 2007 · Leave a Comment · In Diary, Travel

We got to Luang Prabang, UNESCO World Heritage museum-piece city of Laos on Thursday, and it has been drizzling ever since, that ‘wetting rain’ that doesn’t look much but soaks you through in no time. At least in Cambodia it chucks it down then stops. Here it just rains, and rains, and rains. It is [...]

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