the phnom pen

Cambodia ; Ironically…..it is very safe !

July 27, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Who you going to call ? Certainly not 911…………………

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"Get up and get-get-g-get-down.....911's a joke in this town"

COPS SAY AMBULANCE CAUSED IRONIC ACCIDENT
Two people died and another three were injured in an accident involving an ambulance in Takeo province. Police said the ambulance hit a motorbike along National Road 3 on Friday, killing the motorbike driver and his passenger instantly. Witnesses said the ambulance hit the motorbike while it was being driven across the road. Police said the ambulance driver fled the scene of the accident.

Source ; RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

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Sunday Picnic

July 26, 2010 · 1 Comment

Yesterday after a very sedate start to the weekend I thought it was time we went for a mini road-trip . Derek and Wendy were busy so that ruled out Left Bank and when I rang Paul to see if he felt like a run out to his property he was headed out to KL on business. So that left me having to get inventive. As I really did not feel like going far OR spending any money, I decided it might be fun to ride the ferry from Naga over to  Areyksat. I pitched this idea at the missus and she thought it was a sterling one so we made some sandwiches, packed some cold beer and come cokes into the esky and loaded the kid, the dog and the nieces into the ute . Pretty soon we were on the ferry (7000riel  / 10 minutes ) and I have to say, I was pretty bloody nervous the whole way over. With Grace, Nek and Pek all unable to swim and with the ferry having little to no rescue devices, I was seriously running emergency scenarios through my head non-stop. What if we run aground ? What if we have a head on with another ferry ? What if we get cut in half buy a petrol tanker ? Which side to we jump off and who do I grab ? I know that sounds a bit fatalistic but that’s how I felt ! I cannot tell you how relieved I was to land on Terra Firma  and now put the fretting off until the return journey at least.

We were not sure which direction to go in -left or right so we just hung a left and off we went. The dirt roads out on Areyksat are very good so were able to cruise around with ease and it soon became evident that this was Wat central with one every kilometer or so. There was also a celebration going on that saw a lot of the local villagers out and about dressed up in costumes with weird masks seeking alms to bless the next coming rice harvest. We actually had similar characters come down our Phnom Penh St about a week ago and the costumes they were wearing freaked out Grace and Vichea so much they started screaming and crying ! I was not sure how Grace would handle it this time but as we were all in the car she seemed fine.

Now....don't freak out Gracie !

Mobile rock band

After driving around for a while I have to admit it was a little disappointing out there. Not really much to see and very few spots  to stop and relax so we jumped back on the boat and headed back down to Takmeo to see if the Summer Palace was still for rent. Almost 8 months later a sign was still on the gate but this time it said FOR SALE. We rang. The price ? A mere US$220,000. I told them they were dreaming. We then pulled over in a small riverside clearing opposite a Wat and sat in the shade at a coffee shack. Karma ran around sticking her nose into all manner of festering Cambodian roadside detritus whilst Leakhana chatted with the owner and Grace swung in a shady hammock. It was then back to Phnom Penh for some mid afternoon lunch and a DVD or two.

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What does $8 buy where you live ?

July 23, 2010 · 4 Comments

This is what comes back when you google "Images of Becks Beer Cans"

Yesterday afternoon after work I was a bit thirsty ( surprise surprise ! ) and with no beer in the house, I got a hankering for my favorite beer San Miguel. There is a Mini Market called Brother Mart in Russian Market with a big cold fridge so I headed over there. Grabbing a basket , I was soon loading 8 tins of San Mig into it, as well as 3 packets of these little things called Num Trey ( literally – fish cakes ). These things are about the size of a small marble and have a red hot chili in the middle of them and they are great with beer. Just as I am about to finish in the fridge, I notice a nice chilled green can of Becks Beer staring out at me and I call the attendant over;

Me; How much are the Becks ?

Him; 2600 riel ( that is 65c for you western dwellers )

Me ; Struth that’s cheap ! How much are the San Miguel ?

Him ; 5300 riel ( that is …er..um….about $1.30 )

Me; Well……in that case…..screw the San Miguel…..gimme 8 Becks.

Then,when I go to the counter I decided to buy Leakhana a fabulously trashy Khmer fashion magazine which would gain me massive brownie points.

Now…back home I am pretty sure a can of Becks at a bottle-o runs to about $3 minimum so that is $24 for the beer. Fashion magasines are at least $8 and the fish cakes would have been about $3 each packet. So by my reckoning….this lot would have cost me around AUD$41

Total bill here in Phnom Penh for the beer, fish cakes and glossy mag ? $8.30 ( or about $10 Aussie ).

Sucks to be you.

Actual image of the $8 haul

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Karma comes around

July 21, 2010 · 9 Comments

Karma( aka spazzy ears !)

Slo-mo tongue action

We have a new family member.  Her name is Karma and she is an 8 week  old German Shepard Dog ( GSD ). I committed to the purchase whilst Karma was still in the womb so it was a long wait and I am just glad our toddler Grace had no concept of what was happening or it would have been ” is it here yet , it is here yet ?”.   I have only ever owned Australian working dogs like Cattle Dogs ( ACD ) and Kelpies but I have always admired GSDs – who wouldn’t ! A friend here in Phnom Penh got a GSD pup she called Banjo and I watched this dog grow into a fine specimen over an 18 month period before he flew out with Holly for California recently . Every time Banjo walked into the Bar or what have you I was just in awe of his canine presence and he was lovely around Grace. Very forgiving of her pulling his ears and tail etc . So it got me thinking about owning a GSD but how was I to get a good one here in Phnom Penh ? Eventually a pup came to us by way of Susie and Mike who manage the new Gloria Jean’s coffee shop here in Phnom Penh. Susie knew I was looking for a dog and mentioned she had rescued two GSDs and if they ever bred, she would let me know. Well…..about 2 months later…..she let me know !
I immediately put dibs on one and Susie very kindly said we could have pick of the litter – there were only three pups. Rob  (my boss) has taken another and it will be great that the two sisters do not get too separated. Whilst researching all things GSD I came across a group of owners on an internet forum and whilst discussing the dogs, the subject of names came up. I said I wanted to call the dog something distinctly Asian and was about to call the pup Noodles when a nice lady called Lizi in the UK suggested Karma .  Leakhana and I loved it straight away so Karma it is  .

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Grace ; Making a mess

July 15, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Haven’t had any nice shots of Grace up for a while so here we have the little blighter making a right mess with a homemade popsicle on a recent hot afternoon.

Look - no hands !

Precursor to lipstick

Finished -time for another ?

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Gotta get me one of these

July 15, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Simply Stunning

I am all for non-lethal force and whilst I love guns…this thing is just about perfect for all manner of daily Cambodian occurences including ( but not limted to ) ;

  1. Hushing our rooster at 4a.m
  2. Taking down the yard rats that are busy colonising Ratlandia under our genset
  3. Neutralising the roof cats that terrorise the chooks
  4. Quietening the ever industrious, pesky Vietnamese neighbors
  5. Greeting the owner of the car that has yet again parked across the driveway overnight
  6. Silencing the endless stream of 6am vendors that ply the street with their tell tale rattles and whistles
  7. Correcting the manners of greedy motodops
  8. Correcting the manners of wanker Lexus drivers
  9. Correcting the manners of scooter riding freshy boys and girls
  10. Waking up my Security guard at work
  11. Waking up my admin staff and secretaries at work
  12. Other general ad hoc things that give me the shits……………

I wonder how Cambodian Customs will view it………………..

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