Rainy Season?

Is it the rainy season yet? Are these just off-season showers? We have had spurts of rain since March. Weird. It is not supposed to rain until June. But I think that after a weekend of thunder, lightening, floods and heavy downpours, I will admit that the 2007 rainy season has started.

Found at Street 128

Scratched onto one of the tables at Coffee Plus on Street 128 is an unusual piece of graffiti. Between the scribblings of "Ly loves Ty" and "Call me Babe 012...." are the words "Find Oil."

Cambodia has recently found oil. But I'm not sure if it is the key to prosperity that some national leaders claim it will be.

John Ghazavian has published a new book about the oil booms in African nations. (Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's oil.) From Nigeria in the late 1950s to Gabon in the 60s and now Angola, Sudan and Equatorial Guinea, Ghazavian contends that all the oil wealth has done for Africa is to entrench chronically corrupt politicians who squander the money and then toss the leftovers at a few projects they call "development". He argues that this is a pattern that is unlikely to change.

A realist might caution that perhaps the hope for Cambodia isn't in crude oil alone. The cynic could reply that you'd be more likely to find happiness by calling the babe at 012...

Half in the City

Sometime in the next few months the proportion of people living in cities will pass the 50% mark, if it has not done so already. (The Economist May 5th)

I am a confirmed urbanite. I love the brilliant untidiness that comes from shops, offices, courtyards, restaurants, schools and apartments piling up and competing with one another. I’ll take any form of public transport you throw at me and still find a way to enjoy the journey. Cities mean theatre, art, music, employment, restaurants, coffee and conversation.

Yet I am aware that behind the luxury hotels and shiny shopping malls, our world’s developing cities are home to around a billion slum dwellers. Take Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya, for example. Kibera is reported to be Africa’s largest, densest and poorest slum with a population of anything between 600 000 and 1.2 million people. (It depends on the season and how the population is estimated.) India boasts Asia’s largest slum with 600 000 people living in Dhavari, Mumbai.

Phnom Penh too has its share of suburbs that are made up of dense shacks with leaking roofs, muddy laneways, creative plumbing and crazy electrical wiring. I hope to be moving into one such community soon… guess the theatre will have to wait a little longer.

Another First

A Cambodian called me short today. What's with that?! He probably thought I couldn't understand as he made the passing comment to his friend.
I shot back at him, "What did you say? Short? Why so small?"
The guy responded, "Ummmm...only compared to other foreigners. Most of them are really big."
OK- so maybe he just meant I was slim and beautiful and....

Beach Saturday

On Saturday I went to the beach with 2 busloads of people from the Khmer church I attend. It was a 9 hour return trip for 5 hours at the sea. A couple of years ago I would have thought- crazy idea! I grew up in coastal suburbs where the nearest beach was 1km away and there were about 20 to choose from within a 30 minute drive. Spoilt, really. But by Friday night I was excited!



We woke at 4:45 am to pack spare clothes and food for the picnic lunch. The buses left at 6am and we began our journey past dozens of markets- busy and muddy with morning trade. At 8:30 we stopped for breakfast. One of the men in our group seemed a little surprised that many of the young women I live with ordered coffee with their rice or noodles for breakfast. He said to one, “Oh, you’re drinking coffee. Is it delicious?” She replied with her honest evaluation of what I thought was a rather average brew, “No.” (Hmmm….some Khmer coffee drinkers are one thing, but have I created a coffee snob?)

Our main purpose for the trip was to witness the baptism of 14 new Christians. After the service we ate our rice, fried pork, boiled duck eggs and ginger stir fry. Then it was time for a couple of hours of swimming. We played tip in the shallows. We floated out clutching an inner-tube. I body-surfed some tiny waves as they broke on the shore. We stood chatting chest-deep in warm water as the early monsoon pelted us from above.




On the way home the usual bus games, corporate singing, special items and joke telling continued. It was good to have a better grasp of the language to understand more of what was going on. This skill was especially useful for the bible quiz questions. I answered a few myself then started telling others around me the answers so that our back section of the bus could accumulate a good share of the edible rewards. As 12-year-old as it sounds, it felt good to win!

We were home by 8pm. By 10pm I was climbing into bed. It was a cool tropical night with the rain still beating steadily on the roof. The ceiling fan was on low just to keep the air moving and the mosquitoes away. I pulled the sheet up to my chin and plunged into a deep sleep.

Change of Address

A friend sent this photo this morning... a little different from the usual idea of moving house!

100 degrees

Yesterday one of my flatmates asked about an expression she'd heard on TV. "What does it mean when people say, 'It was so hot it must have been 100 degrees.'" I explained to her the Fahrenheit verses celcius methods of measuring temperature. She understood. Then I got out my phone and did a quick conversion. 100 degrees Fahrenheit equals 37.7777 degrees Celcius. Now my friend was confused, "By why do they say that 100 degrees is so hot? This is normal."

We are in the hot season in Cambodia. These are the days when everyone wears hats and long-sleeved shirts to protect themselves from the sun. Living and working requires patience, endurance and a good deoderant.

When I think of 100 degrees I think of:

1. Some Cambodian people admitting to it being hot. I overheard a young drama-queen at the market exclaim, "I'm so hot I'm almost burning!" This was an unusual outburst in a culture that usually puts up with discomforts without a word of complaint.
2. Sleep that is stolen. I usually sleep on a mat on the floor in the hot season because it is cooler than sleeping on a mattress on the bed. Even so, there are many nights when I don't get to sleep until it is almost time to wake up again.
3. Showers. Lots of showers. Two, three or four per day is not uncommon.
4. Power cuts. I find myself making two lists of "things to do" for the work day, having enough items that don't require electricity on the list.
5. Air-con. Anywhere that has air-conditioning feels like heaven. Suddenly browsing the three shelves of the local Caltex on Wednesday night seems like a fabulous recreational activity.
6. Colds. It is strange but true. In March and April I just kept getting sick with colds in the swealtering heat!
7. Mangoes. Gotta have something positive in here. The hot season means plenty of mangoes in Phnom Penh.
8. Ice. A small bag of ice can be bought for 5 cents. My local vendor knows me well.
9. Washing. Clothes dry in under 60 minutes.
10. 100 degrees really isn't normal and it won't last forever. We'll be down to the cool 30s with high humidity soon!

Catching Up

I've been out of Phnom Penh for the past couple of nights, so it was good to pick up a copy of The Cambodia Daily this evening and catch up on some local news. One particular story caught my attention:

Lightening Kills Eleven Cows and Oxen in Pursat

Lightening killed seven cows and four oxen in Pursat province on Monday evening, police said Tuesday. Police chief, Bin Vanna said, "These animals belonged to a farmer in the village."

Sen Savann, advisor to Deputy Prime Minister Tea Banh said meat from animals killed by lightening is safe for human consumption.

Just thought I would pass on this handy reminder.... And if one of your oxen happens to be zapped by mother nature, please do send me an email. BBQ? Curry? I'll bring the beer.