Well, I left Phnom Penh on Monday morning to Phnom Srok with 2 of my bosses for work; about as far North West of the country as you can get. We were meant to stay for 3 nights and go back to the Penh tomorrow at 7pm but have decided to come stay in Siem Reap which is on the way back from Phnom Srok (and other districts I’ve visited today) to Phnom Penh. 

So I write to you now with wonderful, wonderful free wifi in our guesthouse my work has kindly put me in. Wifi, I mean, where we were before, there was only electricity from 5pm until 8/10pm. So this is pure luxury. I just showered and the water ran orange because all the earth is red. Everything is great. The place I stayed in was a base for our work in the North West of the country where sericulture (silkworm farming) is based. The trip was just about sericulture and seeing how the farmers were doing with the Mulberry plantations, composting, silk worm rearing etc. But they have hit some hard times due to the most recent floods in Southeast Asia.

It was really rural and I thought on the first night I was not going to do well with stupid things with no electricity, massive bugs, snakes being served for dinner… But I actually really enjoyed the experience. I was the first white person a lot of villages had ever seen before, which was interesting, I had a viewing audience of about 80 people if I added them all together!

Lots of photos to come now if this wifi is quick enough, if not, I’ll post back in Phnom Penh when I get back tomorrow lunch. Just wish I took a photo of the stars when there was no electricity, everything was worth it just to see that sky and no moon. Millions of them.

Peace 

I am currently sat in magnificent café called Blue Pumpkin. I was hot, bothered, ill and feeling sorry for myself this morning so I went online and searched for top cafes and bakeries in Siem Reap to treat myself. This place is great, but its so stark, white and rather epxensive! Picture here 
Had my first English breakfast though, with Danish pastries (filled with passion fruit) and tonnes of Orange juice to get that good old vitamin C for this cold. I’m sat on a balcony writing up notes on the interviews I conducted yesterday at the silk farm, watching the world go by. I can see children running and playing in bare feet, monks giving blessings outside of people’s shops, tuk-tuk drivers harassing ‘barang’ – Khmer for westener.
But, I can also see the bad side of life here. Men with lost limbs due to landmines are sat around trying to get money from the tourists. So many people ask you for money out here and sometimes you just don’t know whether to give or not. I saw a western couple give a wad of Riel (Cambodian currency) to a child last night - there are many running around here asking for help – and a sort of ‘pimp’ sat across the road took what seems all of it off him and sent him off to do more work.
I don’t know, I cant judge because I don’t know what the real deal is here, I don’t think anyone does.
As hectic and hot as it is, I love it here in Cambodia. People are always smiling and happy to talk to you, you don’t get that in England. If you were to smile and chat with a stranger in the underground in London, I think people would think you are mental and do all they can to avoid you!
I’m taking it easy today, just a bit more work here in the café, then the day off at a pool a few minutes tuk tuk ride away to relax and try to get better. Who says you need to sit in bed with chicken soup in the dark, when you can get your vitamin D from the sunshine, swim for exercise and eat fresh tropical fruit all day; oh what a hard life !
Peace