Hi friends,
Thanks for all the
updates, encouragement and interesting info. Very sorry to hear about
our friends who had passed on and those who were not in the
best of health. Our prayers and
thoughts go to them and their loved ones.
Your emails were
most welcome on Saturdays, my off-day. There are numerous internet
'cafes' where they charge US$0.50 per hr, much cheaper than
Siem Reap and Sihanouk
Ville. Well, coming back to home sweet home is certainly
nice and comfortable. Of course
family members were happy and relieved to see me on 16 July;
they needn't have worried
too much because the place was relatively safe in spite of
the Siem Reap Hostage-taking
episode and the flu outbreak.
The Sgp Grp met Sau
San and Prof Lee Sing in a gathering organised by Lye on the evening
of 18 July at the Sgp Swimming Club. We had a good time.
Some of us certainly missed the
recent happy get-togethers in KL.
Before you start
shooting the many Qs, I might as well give you a little summary of the
101 days I spent in
of
'05. My assignment was to design and conduct a 3-mth Oral
English Prog for 2 groups of
Staff and a group of neighbourhood kids. At review time,
data showed that actual teaching
time was about 2 mths as scheduled holidays and important
church activities had priority. I
will not bore you with the academic details.The experience
was an enriching one for me. The
pastors, staff and students were very kind and courteous to
me. On overall, I believe I
received more than I had given.
As part of my
orientation, I had the opportunity to follow a number of outreach mission
teams to Kg Speu and 2 remote villages west of Pursat in the
north. The teams mainly taught,
shared, dispensed medicine, handed out used clothes and took
time to fellowship with the
community. The villages we visited had no electricity or
piped-water supply. It was either
river or well-water. As in most remote villages, poor
nutrition, hygiene, and endemic
diseases(malaria) were serious problems. The local school
functioned erratically and there
were no doctors or policemen around. The place was only
accessible to 4-WD vehicles and
motorbikes which travelled on rough tracks, sometimes along
dried-up river beds. During the
wet season, travelling would be very difficult.
Life in
Services like hair-cuts(US0.75) vary with the location; same
with restaurant food
(eg.treated 7 people to a good lunch for US$15; 2 visitors
invited me to their buffet dinner
at their
business-class
& kitchen with fridge, cable TV, air con & 2 fans -
all for US$120 pm (electricity
extra). Good deal, everyone said. If you time your visit to
fall on a Sunday, join the local
and international crowd at the
am.
There were no
streetlamps along sidestreets. Most were lit by the security lamps from the
compound of individual villas/houses. Some of the
sidestreets were not paved at all. After
my last session, if I were on, I would head straight back to
my apt. I noticed that I had
more time for sedate pastimes like reading, reflection,
watching good programmes on cable TV
and even resting. After the very busy first month, I
realised that I was in total command of
my own time in PP. Amazing. I did not even check my blood
pressure for 3 mths.
On 5 May I went to
Ho Chi Min City by bus on a 2N3D visit. I toured HCM city centre on a
motorbike taxi. Very interesting. Saw ships on the
Stayed in
HCM had more motorbikes than PP. Straight-backed, comely
Vietnamese girls in long flowing
white silk 'aodais' riding confidently on their personal
Hondas are a sight to
behold. Sorry, no pictures as I was too slow with my camera.
HCM is a clean city with
lawabiding citizens. Worth a visit especially with cheap
flights, good accomodation,
interesting historical sights and your strong dollar.
My star student, Rev
Tit Hieng the Cambodian pastor, took me
on 2 memorable outings with
his group. One was to
the Takmao Zoo and
locals). Visitors from PP drive their vehicles up to the
edge of the lake and the party
would book a 2mx2m bamboo/wood thatched hut with the
platform a few cm above the water
level. I supposed it was a pleasant way to cool off and
enjoy the light breeze with a picnic
basket or food you could buy/order from the many vendors
going from hut to hut. The
youngsters rented tyre tubes and played in the water. You
could also hire a boat for a
little trip around the area. It was also my first
opportunity to trek to the site of a
nearby 12th Century building. The 2nd outing was to the
PP, also patronised by locals. The party of about 25
parishioners travelled in 2 half-trucks
and we made a river-crossing by ferry. We had to cross the
rather large island, mostly used
for vegetable and fruit farming, to the location of a very
large wooden hut which we rented.
We fellowshipped in the airy hut and after lunch adjourned
to the river edge, some distance
away. It was something like Tonle Bati, but the water seemed
to be clearer. We left late
afternoon and stopped for a very special Cambodian experience.
All along this particular
stretch of Route #1towards PP were rest-stops for weary
travellers I have not seen
elsewhere. We stopped at one 'restaurant' and went into the
shop space built on
raised platform as the
road level was higher than the surrounding lowland. The host ordered
boiled jagong which were sent to each open-air compartment
surrounded by hammocks strung
along the side posts. The sweetcorn was v good. One could
also order their 'rojak'
which was quite good, too. Many took the chance for a
cat-nap. This is a truly unique
Cambodian budget roadside 'motel'.
In June my youngest
son came in from
planned the rest of the trip with my travel agent in PP, flew
to SR for 2 days and then back
to
Ville with a couple of classmates/friends. The SR episode
put an end to the planning on both
sides. Finally, I
proceeded to those two places (each for 2N3D) by myself as it was too
late to make alternative arrangements.
structures, some parts crumbling and definitely very
expensive to maintain, would give you
some ideas as to why those illustrious predecessors and
their civilisation faded away.
Sihanouk Ville is a
pleasant beach resort. It is a town of hotels and guesthouses. I
stayed at Orchidee Guesthouse which was 150 m from the very
popular
the chief
Lek in
Special memories:
a.. On many
occasions I was woken up by a very loud 'Takio, takio,
takio,.........'. It was usually 6 times and sometimes went
on to 7. This happened at
regular intervals throughout the night. I thought it was a
faulty cuckoo clock repeating the
6 o'clock chime. The discovery was an educational
experience. My students told me the
sound was made by a takio, a gecko which could grow up to a
length of 10 inches. Locals
believed that the gecko could bring luck to the house-owner;
no wonder they were everywhere
. The more 'takios' they called out the more wealth the
houseowner would get. But
these oversized lizards don't look too pretty on your wall
though.
b.. In spite of
the horrors and sufferings of the Pol Pot era, Cambodians are, by and
large, very hospitable and cheerful people. They are also
very proud of their country. I
met kind and helpful people throughout my stay.
c.. Cambodians are
blessed with an abundance of very tasty fruits, try the following:
mangoes, pomelos and mangosteens(sometimes whole fruit
seedless).
d.. Keeing the flu
away: Kereng's(CO of CCOP) Burmese grandparents' recipe - cut
lime into two; add mugful of hot water; cover & leave
overnight; next morning, remove
the lime and squeeze the contents into the lime drink; down
the rather bitter drink; wash
down any trace of acid in your mouth with some water; normal
breakfast to follow a little
after that. If you have a weak stomach, try out with
caution.
Some of you were
wondering why I didn't make arrangements for my wife, Yen Chen, to
join me. The travels through the provinces were rather long
and rugged(6 hr to SR, 5 to SV)
and taxi cabs were not readily available in the towns.
Exploring
and climbing the formidable Bakheng is not everyone's cup of
tea. Perhaps, the next
time, when roads and conditions have improved.
In the meantime,
while my memory is still fresh, I thought it best to note down some
useful info before they fade away (see attachment). There's always the
possibility that
someone will seek me out next year or the following with:
Hi, Lee. You've been in PP for
101 days. Can you tell me
what/where/how....................?
Key to the pictures
in the zip file:
01
Pic taken before team left for Kset Borei, west of Pursat. First row
(squating), 1st
from R Mrs Mok Mee Hwa, wife of Rev
Mok; Rev Mok,
in red, is 4th from R; adopted daughter, Sara, in front; Rev Tit
Hieng is standing 4th from L. The crowd is a
mix of
Cambodians and Singaporeans.
02
Cool ride during off-peak. The 'country bus' is usually
over-crowded.
03
Rural transport on remorque-moto. At 100r per km and probably moving
at 20 kmh along
tracks to villages off the main rd.
04 Refreshments at rest-stops. Fried
casava, BBQ eggs or water melon?
05 Cover the holes in the bridge before we
roll on to Kset Borei.
06 Tonli Bati, resort of sorts to locals.
Rent a hut; have a makan, chit chat, sleep or
swim.
07
Mekong River in PP during evening.
08 Mekong River Island riverside playground.
Relaxing place.
19 Open-air travellers' rest-stop. Hammock
for a snooze.
10 Happy meeting for 3 former classmates in
youth group. They are enjoying their local
'rojak'. Another shop in the background.
Warm regards,
LeeLamHua
