I'm in Nam

And it is sweet. Just hopped off a 9 hour bus ride which was supposed to last 4, but we're in the mountains and it's lovely and cool! 9 hours on a bus is a big deal for me. You see, I've always had an irrational fear of busses... well, today I kicked it and now the (bus)world is my oyster! Chuff'd.

Map skills

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Todays word is institutionalisation

When the youth team was here in the summer, one of the things we did was to trial a workshop run by an ICC project that is researching the needs of kids in orphanages. The idea behind us being involved was to see if the material was suitable for someone who was illiterate - not being able to read Khmer we were prefect guinea pigs!

I had dinner with the project leader last night and we discussed what they have been doing so far. The research phase is now nearly complete and the finding are eagerly awaited by policy makers around the globe. This little project run from a one room office in Phnom Penh is groundbreaking in the simple fact that no-one has ever taken the initiative to ask the orphans themselves what it's like to grow up in care, and then be released into the world with little or no life-skills. Hopefully with the data gathered, proposals and policies can be made that will significantly benefit peoples lives worldwide. I am so full of hope and joy that this work is being done here, and delighted that it is being owned by the Khmer people involved. Nice to see Cambodia on the world stage for a positive reason.

More info on project SKY.

Mmmmm, tasty!

Check out this amazing dinner! Stopped off at a BBQ (1srt right just after Tuol Tom Pong for those in PP) on my way back from the gym. A lump of chicken, 2 limes, a cucumber and some plant that was growing at the kerbside. All this for a dollar...yum!

Photos posted

The Krabi photos are now at my flickr.

A boat trip to paradise

This last week was the realisation of a long awaited trip to the Krabi peninsula in Thailand! George and I headed off last Tuesday for the sun-kissed shores and limestone grandeur of Railay and Tonsai beaches for some serious relaxing and climbing in this world renowned rock based playground. T'was a bit of a mad moto scramble to get to the airport on time, but we made it!

Our first day traveling landed us in Bangkok in a ghetto hostel - 2 beds resplendent with Styrofoam (polystyrene to us brits) mattresses. Not that G and I were complaining (being men and all that)...a solid nights kip saw us ready to complete the journey to the Phra Nang peninsula.

As we rounded the headland in a longtail boat the beauty of the place really sunk in - it seriously is up there with the most amazing places I've been. Palm trees framed the cobalt horizon above azure seas and striking outcrops of limestone and stretches of gleaming sand. (Sold it to ya yet?) On the boat ride, we chatted to a local climber dude, and subsequently met many more locals at the bottom of the cliff faces, urging novice climbers higher and higher and hanging out after hours at the beachfront. They all exuded an effortless cool. Imagine Bob Marley combined with Jack Sparrow and Chris Sharma and you just about get the picture.

This was my only lead climb of the week. All the stuff was pretty hard and since neither of us had been climbing for a while, we were rustier than the original bolts on Humanality. Still, despite humbly requiring some help retrieving gear on one occasion, we stuck with it and got a good few climbs under the belt. Awesome rock, fantastic scenery, sunshine, hairy millipedes hiding in holds and good banter with other international climbers. Just like a typical day at Auchenstarrie.....

It seems like the peninsula contains 2 types of people - climbers, and young couples. On the last night, G and I watched the sunset from Phra Nang beach, surely up there on a list of romantic things to do. Sadly, G isn't a girl, and as he commented too, neither am I. Ah well. We shouldered our backpacks and trudged back to our hotel for another evening talking about cars, drinking petrol and crushing rocks on our foreheads while the rich young couples whiled away the evening hours.

The next day we were back to Bangkok where we explored the Koah Sarn road and had dinner with 2 Spanish girls who were staying in the same guesthouse as us. I think this one was even more ghetto that the first... ghetto enough to give me an ear infection. Saying Sayonara to G, I headed back to the familiar chaos of Phnom Penh where the VISA guys in the airport acknowledged me by name, a water Buffalo held up the traffic, and my moto driver held my leg all the way home. It's strange coming back to a place that is not your home, but feels homely. A curious mix of emotions. So far, this trip has been amazing and even though it won't last forever, I love this unique and special country* :-) More pictures will follow on the flickr account...

D

*not because of the leg holding, that still freaks me out...

Much ado about nothing

Not so much going on here just now. George and I scrapped our plans for adventurous doings in favour of relaxing in preparation for Thailand next week. Watch this space for the tales of daring do.

One of the many things G and I have talked about this week is how churches support missionaries in the field. I guess I want to write this here so that at least some people hear the thought. What if, instead of merely supporting missionaries with money and prayer, a church paid for some of their friends to travel out to see them and just, well, hang out. It's been so encouraging having a friend from home here, and I'm sure lots of people abroad would appreciate it. There's also the side benefit of the people travelling possibly getting interested in mission etc...and they get to see what life in that country is really like. However I don't see any churches doing that (anyone?). Something to ponder...suggest to your pastor?

Meanwhile we're off tonight to a Lebanese restaurant. It will probably taste fantastic and cost me less than this haggis supper. And contain less radioactive substances. Somehow, I still yearn... Mmmmm, haggis supper.

Of coffee and caution

This guy is simply one of the nicest cambodian people I've met. He runs a coffee stall in the market that has a sign proudly displaying "The best iced coffee in Phnom Penh". You know, I've tried a few, and I'm not inclined to disagree with him.

George and I stopped off for a coffee there after consuming various artery clogging deep fried rice products (you can take the scotsman out of scotland....?). The coffee dude (who's actual name is Mr Ay Onbounnnareth - it's less damage my "n" key if I just call him the coffee dude) and I fell to talking in my broken Khmer and his broken english (see? such a boring language, doesn't even deserve a capital..).

It transpires that he's 50 years old and pretty open about his time during the Khmer Rouge era. He and his family were forced out of Phnom Penh and fled up to the border with Thailand (a journey of several hundred kilometers). I mentioned that we were going to Thailand next week and his eyes clouded with genuine concern. "Please, please, please don't go to the south" he said. "It is still full of mines, and muslims fighting the government". I've seriously never had a more passionate plea from a (relative) stranger. Such a nice guy. Anyway, I signed his notebook, said I would frequent the stall more often. He promised to find a scottish flag to put up in the collectino above the stall - however, given that his working hours are 4 am to 9 pm, I'll forgive him if this doesn't happen for quite some time. Coffee dude, I salute you.