I got a lot of interesting feedback from quite a few people on my last post thanking me for showing the “real” Cambodia. What is very odd, is that both the rich and the poor co-exist side by side here, so both sides are the “real” Cambodia. That is the juxtaposition that is Cambodia. Read on, and there is yet another side of Cambodia, and that is the rural areas. Rainy season is in full swing in Phnom Penh. It often starts with a big wind, then the clouds come in, then a few drops of rain, and then a full on deluge. If you are outside when this happens, you have about 10 minutes to find cover. It happens so fast! It can almost be predictable some days, as for a few days at a time, it often comes at the same time, usually when I am ready to leave the school. Then the temperature cools down from about 42 degrees all the way to 32 degrees. It is a welcome relief from the heat, but in hours, the temperature goes up again. Being in a tuk tuk when it rains is also an adventure, as the streets are flooded and traffic grinds to a very slow crawl or stops. A few weeks ago, I had a girls day out with a friend from school, and a friend from our apartment building. We rented a remorque (a motorcycle with a carriage to carry 4 people), then stopped at Starbucks for a coffee, and our first stop was to the Golden Wat and then another Wat. From there, we took a ferry from Phnom Penh to a small island called Koh Dach, otherwise known as Silk Island. Did I mention the temperature was 46 degrees! This was a revisit for me, as I was there 2016 but new to the other ladies. I have not ventured far from Phnom Penh this time, as I have seen most places I wanted to see, including Siem Reap twice, the Mondulkiri Elephant Rescue reserve, the islands off the coast of Cambodia, and the pink dolphins in the Mekong River off Battambong. Living in Asia for for 5 years full time and 2 years part time has given us the luxury of travel we may not otherwise have had. Although Silk Island is a short distance from PP, it is really another different world. It has an actual silk farm where you can see the process from larvae to worm to cocoon, how they boil the cocoon to get the silk, how they weave it and then the final product, all done by hand. Quite amazing. Silk Island is rural Cambodia with cows on the side of the road, and agriculture. Although some tourists go to visit Silk Island, Caucasians are still an oddity and we get lots of curious looks and giggles. Often mothers bring their babies over to see us, and the babies are quite traumatized and start crying and hiding their faces! We ended our day with a pizza from a wood fired pizza oven on the island. Another nice event was watching a choir called Musica Felice, which sang at one of the fancy hotels. Along with the choir members, children from Empowering Youth Cambodia attended and did a song and dance with the choir. I connected with Empowering Youth through a yoga teacher I had last time in Phnom Pehn who is actively involved with Empowering Youth. This organization runs 5 schools for the poorest children in PP who couldn’t afford to go to regular school because they could not even afford the uniforms. The Canadian International School has since paired up with these schools, and any fundraisers the school has donates the proceeds to EYC. The money raised from Musica Felice was also donated to EYC. The construction site outside my bedroom window continues to be a source of amazement for me. The cement has been poured, and some nights, construction goes on late into the night with only floodlights and flashlights. Workers are now dangling from the first floor with no safety equipment or hard hats. My social life has slowed down significantly this past week. The friend from school (who also lives in the same apartment as I do) has been sick for over a week now, and has not been able to go to school. And then, on the way back from getting groceries, I stumbled (not even fell, but a small trip) and sprained my knee. I was off school Friday, and I can now hobble around slowly. So far in the past 12 months, one broken elbow, one broken ankle and a sprained knee. I must be done if things come in threes.
So much for this post. There will be more when I am back on my feet!
1 Comment
Sherrill
5/21/2023 09:59:15 am
Very interesting. We had not heard of Silk Island when we were there but then our days were full. I know what you mean about hearing back from people. Nice to know that people are enjoying your blogs. So sorry to hear you have injured yourself yet again. Hopefully this is it. Time is clicking by quickly and you'll be home before you know it. Take care.
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BerniceAfter being retired for 4 years, an opportunity came up to go back to the Canadian International School Phnom Penh, where I had worked for 2 years before retiring. Of course, I jumped at the chance. Here is where I will be posting the everyday and often mundane events of going back to work and going back to Cambodia! Archives
April 2023
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