Supporting the underdog

Now that I'm almost officially back on form, I've followed through on my commitments to the VSO volunteer magazine (Neak Smak Jet - the phonetic for 'volunteer') and written an article on Sisophon, the poor underdog of a placement location. And you know what - I didn't even have to lie! Well, not much.

Supporting the underdog: Why Sisophon is great.

Having just been offered a year long placement in Cambodia, I run to the travel section of Waterstones bookshop and flip open the first Rough Guide that I can find. Sisophon, Banteay Meanchey: ‘the scruffiest, dustiest town in Cambodia’. Hmmm.

If you’ve not already packed up and declined your offer – turn the page and keep reading. ‘A diamond in the rough’, it seems that there is more to Svei Sisophon than first meets the eye. It may not be handsome, it may not be pretty, but there is something about this dusty little town that charms those of use fortunate enough to live in it.

But what is it? When I put this question to my friend and fellow resident, Anne, she looked fondly into the distance and started saying something about the smiles on peoples faces and the cries of hello as you walk down the street… I’m afraid I burst out laughing at this point, but it did get me thinking. A few weeks later I put the same question to Mary, whose been here four months now, and she too said something about the attitude of the people, and being welcomed with a cup of tea and a cake. Maybe they’re onto something after all?

For those of you that haven’t yet added Sisophon to your tour of Cambodia, you’ll find it on the cross roads of three major destinations: Battambang, Poipet and Siem Reap. Far bigger than I expected, Sisophon is a bustling Khmer town complete with its own set of traffic lights, a Phnom Penh trained hairdresser and a great little massage place at just $5 an hour. With the added advantage of being very close to Thailand, you might have to deal with three currencies, but it does means that you can regularly enjoy the luxuries of Nutella, muslei, yoghurts and milk. Although sadly, not cheese – you have to go to Battambang for that (fortunately it’s not far).

As you might have already guessed, one of the truly great things about Sisophon is its location – not only does it benefit from new tarmac roads, you can get out and about with no trouble at all. It’s actually quicker to get to Bangkok than it is to Phnom Penh, you can explore the beautiful countryside of Battambang over a leisurely weekend, try your luck in the Poipet casinos or take in a good dose of foreign food and temples in Siem Reap, all less than two hours away. And if you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, then why not head up to our very own temple, Banteay Chmar. A similar size to Angkor Wat, Banteay Chmar is gloriously undisturbed. You could easily spend the day almost entirely by yourself, climbing and exploring the ruins without having to fight the tour groups. Come quick though, as a new road linking it to both Siem Reap and Sisophon is in the pipeline.

But living in Sisophon isn’t all about everywhere else. If you can’t be bothered to go day-tripping, come to visit and you can sample the local restaurants: Red and Yellow Chairs place, Wooden Chairs place and Cow on the Mountain place – my favourite restaurant in the whole of Cambodia. Take a stroll round the market, delight in one of Coffee Man’s famous Khmer coffees, bask in the sunshine at the local fish sanctuary or simply explore the back roads of town, which seemingly go on forever. And if that isn’t enough, you can also cruise the countryside on your pushbike stopping for a chocolate ice cream in Country Love Park, Cambodia’s answer to Alice in Wonderland. I’m not sure what everyone else gets up to, but this picture-perfect wedding garden is a great place to explore, feed the fish and have nap in a hammock. Be sure to have your photograph taken next to the Kangaroo or King Kong before you leave.

So that’s Sisophon the town. But what about the people? You wont find many Barang, but they have a way of coming out of the woodwork when new volunteers arrive, and there’s always someone around. A diverse group of Peace Corps, Aus Aid and VSO, people are scattered across the town and further out into the districts – everyone will always be up for a beer and everyone is always very welcome. When it comes to seeing a new face in town, the ex-pats are as curious as the locals. You only need to have been here a few weeks when you realize that if you don’t know them, they can’t be from around these parts – it wont take long for you to join in the staring!

Finally then, there are the Khmer’s themselves. I used to think Anne a bit mad, but when I visit my local money change lady and we have our traditional chat about rice, and when I go to the shop to get some photocopies and leave half an hour later laden with fruit and two new friends, I wonder if maybe she was right after all. It may not have elephants or waterfalls, but whether I’ve been to Battambang, Phnom Penh or Bangkok, it’s always great to get home.

1) Some cows

2) Some dust

3) The kangaroo and Country Love Park
4) A back street

5) The market

All the Khmer ladies

If you’re female and ever go to Cambodia there is one activity that you should not leave the country without doing. Be proud and go Khmer!

As a birthday treat (yes, I’m that behind on my blog), for the reasonable sum of $12 each, me and my four girls (it would have been five, but Ilya was doing something productive) turned up at Apple photo-studio ready to be done up as Khmer as possible. Photo-shoots in Cambodia are a pretty big deal, you can get them done anywhere – family portraits, wedding photos or just for fun. You will be airbrushed to high heaven and look beautiful no matter what:

Quote: “You want me to airbrush you slimmer? No worry, we can do that”.

It took five hours, a LOT of make-up, fake eyelashes, fake hair and some sparkly dresses – but it was worth every second of it! It was even worth the disheartening realization that the dress was not going to zip up and would have to be pinned into place. It’s difficult not to laugh when you pinned into place, balanced on a chair, head up, chin down, look at the camera… and relax.

And the result? Well, you can be the judge of that.

Up, up and away...

Having spent the last month (or two) moaning to anyone who will listen, you will be pleased to know that I think the textbook six month slump is beginning to lift… I’m in the process of adapting a new found resignation for loud Khmer music and have had the busiest, most productive week of the last three months. And I even made time for six episodes of House, Season 1.

What’s caused this change? I think it’s a mix of things. Acceptance of what I can and can’t do in the next six to nine months perhaps, and the confidence to just give it a go – what have I got to loose? And whatever happens, at least I’ll go home knowing that I tried. In light of this I’m running two workshops and a study visit next month. Oh and my translator will be on paternity leave for half of it, so that should be interesting… still, it’s given me a bit more purpose and it’s nice to feel that I might actually being doing something useful.

The other big change I think is that I haven’t had to be anywhere else for the last week and half. Since Christmas everything has been so disrupted that I haven’t really known if I’ve been coming or going. I’ve been up and down from Phnom Penh for language training and workshops and with the house being broken into as well – it’s all quite unsettling. But now I really feel like I live here again. Even just being around and about makes a big difference. Going for daily coffee with Jan and Mary makes everything feel a bit more like team work, and zipping around on my pushbike or moto and doing little things like going to the money-change lady, or bike-fixer lady, makes me feel more part of the town. Oh, and I also cracked and hired a cleaner. You have no idea what a relief it is to not have to think about dusting everyday or about when I’m going to wipe up the new selection of gecko turds off the kitchen floor. She (Netta) only comes twice a week but already I feel more on top of my life and love her for washing my bedsheets (ever tried doing that in a bucket? Rinsing them out is impossible).

Anyway, so I’m feeling more spirited, and that’s what’s important. I have work to do for the next five weeks and that’s great. I’ve even made some time to go into my schools and play with the kids (in a vain attempt to stop them staring at me) – actually I did this a few weeks ago, but was too busy feeling sorry for myself to put it into a blog entry.

The Khmer Riche

An interesting read...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7023700.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1

Theft

And the joys just keep coming. Having been in Phnom Penh for two weeks, caught up with my girls, learnt some Khmer and generally had a nice time – I headed back home full of ideas for work.

It did feel a bit weird coming back. I’ve been surrounded by people for the last six weeks and now I’m by myself – and though I’ve got a small but lovely group of friends up in Sisophon, it was still my birthday and I’m really starting to miss my life back home.

So, as if by some special power – someone knew this and just when I was starting to feel better I get back from work and my house has been broken into. What worries me most is that is wasn’t opportunistic. Someone (or, judging by the footprints, several someones) thought it necessary to climb over my fence, onto my roof and to actually saw a hole into the wall of my bedroom. Fortunately I had my valuables locked up in a drawer in my wardrobe – so they didn’t get anything worthwhile. In fact, as I keep discovering things that they have taken, these include:

My bin liners (presumably to carry my stuff in)
A top
A skirt
Some pretty fabric I was going to get trousers made from
Some manky cushions
Peanut butter
Dried noodles
x3 yoghurts, x3 tins of coconut milk, x1 tin of sweetcorn
My iron

They left:
The TV
A collection of DVDs
A motorbike

I don’t know what to make of it to be honest. My landlady was great, she was round in a shot – she insisted on staying the night, the hole has been fixed and barbed wire now goes round the whole fence and on the roof where they climbed. It’s not as pretty as it used to be, but it’s secure. But the feeling that someone wanted to get into my house so badly un-nerves me. And they did it in broad daylight. On my birthday (although of course they didn’t know that, just bad timing I guess). I don’t know what to think anymore. I wanted to come here so badly, but now? Well, I just don’t know.

Expectations

Looking back over my blog, particularly at the photographs, I can see just how easy it is to create an impression of luxury and paradise. And why not? Although I knew I was coming here to work, I also knew that this year would probably turn out to be one of the hardest, but one of the best years of my life. I expected that, no matter what, I would love it. I think everyone expected, and still expects, that.

So here’s what the photos don’t tell you. For the last couple of weeks (or, if I’m honest about it, the last month), I’ve been finding life in Cambodia very difficult. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s that I don’t love it, and this is a very strange realization to have had. It’s like when you start university and everyone asks you how it is, and you just know that the auto-response to this question should be “Fantastic thanks!”. So what happens when it isn’t? I feel like the fact that I don’t love it is some big guilty secret – like there’s something wrong with me for thinking this. How could you not love it?

Well, the novelty of being woken up at 4am most mornings has well and truly worn off, and I’m tired. It’s hot. I miss my family and I miss my boyfriend. Maybe that would all be okay if I really felt like what I was doing was worth it. But I’m just not overly sure it is. There is so much built into the politics Cambodia, and it is so saturated with NGOs that you really do start to wonder what work you can do – and is it worth all the frustration and heart-ache? This is not a plea for people to tell me that my just being here is making a difference to peoples lives, because that really is not the case – I’m not even sure how much people actually want the help we are offering. And all this is very hard to come to terms with. Cambodia has surprised me in many ways, but I really didn’t expect to not like it all that much. Well, I mean – Cambodia’s great, but living it, working it and breathing it is something different entirely.

Hammocks, hamburgers and mojitos: A Cambodian Adventure

He came, he saw and he’s gone again. For one whole month I had someone to fix pipes, fight spiders and leave the toilet seat up. I must say, I do feel a little sorry for Matt - given that as VSO has now taken over my life, it’s all I talk/think and stress about. I’m not sure how varied my conversation was, but he put up with me and provided some much needed moral support and perspective. Put simply, once he’d got the hang of washing his feet before getting into bed – I really enjoyed having him here, and can’t help but feel a little forlorn that he’s gone… I know this whole thing was my idea, but that doesn’t make it any easier to say goodbye.

Still, in the month that he was here we did manage to see quite a bit of Cambodia. I took a week off, and as true Champagne Backpackers (backpacking in style) we started in Siem Reap, took in the Angkor Temples, headed down to Phnom Penh for a visit to the Tuol Sleng museum and then headed south to Kep where we whiled away a few days in various hammocks and on the beautiful beach of Rabbit Island. Rested and refreshed we headed across to Kampot for New Year and then back up to Phnom Penh before catching the bus back home. We even managed to fit in a weekend in Battambang and another in Siem Reap!

And what have we discovered about Cambodia? You will find the best burger in the Gecko Café in Battambang, some solid Mojitos across the country but particularly in Siem Reap (at a bargain Happy Hour price of $1.50) and that hammocks are very comfortable, particularly with a beer in hand and a good view. Oh, and if you do decide to moto up to the Banteay Ch’mar temple, it will take you two and a half hours each way and will give you sores – my advice? Get a share-taxi.

Anyway, here are some photos of the best bits: