ali (formerly) in asia

Falling...

2011-10-19T14:26:00.001+11:00

I had grand plans of breaking my blog writers block with incisive social commentary on the differences between Australians and Americans after a recent trip home.

I still have aspirations to reflect back on my musings on New York last year now that I've spent plenty more weekends wandering in wonderment on its honeycomb of streets.

Its also probably time I shared some love for my "emerging" neighbourhood on the wrong side of the tracks in D.C.

The intention is there, I promise. Even if my neglected readership is long gone...

For now I'm short on time but buzzed on Blogger's new fancy formats that make flaunting your travel photography even more shameless. So indulge me for a second while you wait for something substantive, and let me show you how awesome Chicago looks in the fall.

That's right - its already crunchy leaf time again and I'm still in North America. Not exactly the original plan, but its definitely not a bad place to be...particularly now that August's unbearable humidity has gone.

After New York and San Francisco, Chicago is one of those places even the American cynics seem to enjoy. Full of cool urban architecture and leafy neighbourhoods with the benefit of cloudless blue skies in all its October glory, I could see why...

and I guess the company didn't hurt either...

Lincoln Park. They do parks well around here, I'll given the Americans that. An pass through the (free) zoo on a morning run past the breakfasting lions was an unexpectedly gleeful detour. Wish Sydney's Taronga was like that!

No seaside in these parts. No surf either. But I didn't exactly expect Lake Michigan to look so inviting. On a hot summer's day, I could probably work with that.

Even if its crazy deep waters are already too chilly for anyone to seriously consider at this time of year...

What to do when your traveling companion doesn't get the benefit of a federal holiday long weekend? Like all good tourists, this solo photographer headed to 'The Bean' (or 'The Cloud Gate' if you want to be all politically correct) to make a clown of herself with hundreds of other toddlers and tourists.

Endless fun with a big piece of bent metal and your own reflection. Simple things for simple minds, as they say...

...at least I clearly wasn't the only one

Like all good things, the long weekend had to come to an end. A little sooner than I had in my mind - just as well I checked that online itinerary while shopping and managed to leg it on a very efficient (albeit noisy) above ground metro to O'Hare airport! I suspect I'll be back though Chicago. You were awesome.

[In the meantime if you want to subject yourself to more photos, they're in my Flickr stream here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alitakesphotos/sets/72157627742653855/]

Lifestyles of a summer research assistant

2011-07-21T11:57:00.005+10:00

Linen dress billowing in sea-breeze + bare feet buffeted by coarse sand and foamy salt water = sensory delight for the Australian beach kid a long way from home...

Believe it or not, I have actually been spending the majority of my days inside air-conditioned libraries working on global health syllabi and text-book chapters this summer. That's the less-than-photogenic truth. I have also been doing my absolute best to flee the DC sweatbox at every available opportunity. Makes for much prettier pictures, I'm sure you'll agree.

Last weekend I dipped myself in the Atlantic for the first time off the coast of the Jersey Shore (no, definitely not the part where they film the trashy reality TV show). I went to a little place called Bay Head. It was splendid.

Although Australian coastline it was not (and there were plenty of flags around to remind you of this), it did have those criteria I alluded to above - the sound of waves, warm sand, salt air, houses with grand porches (or decks as we would say at home) and large BBQs that are essential to any good beach getaway.

The train ride from DC was undoubtedly worth it, but two days is really just a cruel teaser for someone whose summer childhood memories seem to consist of a long series of days on the sands and parks of Bondi and Bronte, complete with fish and chips and dozing off in car-seats during the ride home across town.

If the US can't fully compete on the beach front, I was also fortunate to be invited away couple of weeks ago to the ridiculously green Virginian countryside about 90 minutes outside D.C. to a 'farm' style retreat that had a level of gorgeousness I probably could not have ever dreamt up, even in my wildest 'ultimate place to chill on weekends' dreams...

Yes I know I'm not doing much to elicit sympathy for my 'impoverished student lifestyle' claims in posting this kind of imagery. To be invited here was a real treat for which I'm very grateful (thank you again Meara!)

Possibly the nicest 'pool house' I've ever come across

Saturday afternoon thirst quencher

Saturday sunset camera-games with a bunch of my fellow Research Assistants.

And if you really get stuck in DC there's always cool beers...

Outdoor jazz...

And shady spots in parks to hang around in. That summer research assistant hourly rate may not be the most generous I've ever made, but I won't complain about the lifestyle perks of having a visa that only allows billing a 40 hour week. After a year of weekends spent inside the library, its been a refreshing change. Given its unlikely to last once my Fellowship starts properly on 1 September (especially with American leave entitlements), I'm going to enjoy it while I can!

Digesting America

2011-07-20T06:28:00.015+10:00

Just as well its taken me a full year to amass these pictures: if these meals had been enjoyed within any shorter period, I could well be tipping the scales in a daunting place.

Can I also preface by saying I've had plenty of healthy meals in this country: great oysters, piles of peaches and berries, awesome (expensive) steaks and even wonderful fresh alaskan salmon posted fresh from the source (thanks Chuck!) Don't have many pictures of those though, sorry! What I do have here are some great examples of that stereotypical fare that has the US leading the global obesity rates. Unfortunately you also can't deny much of its deliciousness. If you aren't hungry (and craving something greasy) yet, my guess is that you will be by the time you finish scrolling through this post... please accept my apologies for ruining your diet in advance.

We may as well start with the burgers. This one (at Ray's Hell Burger in DC) was apparently good enough for Obama and russian president Medvedeve recently...which makes me feel less trashy about enjoying it as a celebratory Masters graduation meal. Complete with sweet potato friends and seven (!) cheese macaroni on the side. We earned it, right?

People come all over for this, you see? They even have a foie gras burger. Maybe next time.

From burgers we may as well head to hot dogs, that other trusty American stereotype. This one was from New York's famed 'Shake Shack' in Madison Square Park. Its a close call, but it may be *just* worth the ridiculous queue at least once. You can attempt to mitigate your wait time by checking out out how bad the queue is from the live webcam on the site. Gotta love that American ingenuity.

Its not all ground meat over here though: they have a penchant for lobster rolls too (especially if you go generous on the lobster, not too generous on the mayonnaise, and you include a good potato bun). The best ones in DC are served out of a food truck that brings the lobsters down from Maine and traverses the city selling them to World Bank employees who are willing to queue all lunch hour for the benefit of having one for the price of $15 a pop. Also worth trying, even on a student budget. At least once.

What else is good around here? BBQ meat. Real, sloooooooow cooked BBQ'd meat. That's gotta be one thing these Americans do seriously well.

Pulled pork is one favorite, though this beef brisket sandwich was pretty delicious too. Especially with your collard greens and beans. This place is dangerously close to my house and newly opened.

Or you could go for the real 'boy option', and order a rib sandwich like Gareth did on the roadside in rural Texas. No they didn't take the bones out. They kind of just fall out as you eat. He insists it was delicious.

Sauce range = an essential feature of any decent BBQ joint.

Your other local options? NY style sliced Pizza. To all you purists out there, don't even try and compare it to the Italian equivalent. This is a completely different product. Oily, yes. Nutritionally shabby? Maybe. Still, they're ubiquitous on the streets of New York, and there's something undeniably irresistible about picking up a massive slice and negotiating your mouth around the bending tip for that first bite of melted cheese. A good friend informs me that the flavour of the crust has sometimes been attributed to the minerals present in the NY city tap water used to make the dough. This has now been double checked and confirmed by Wikipedia, so it *must* be right...

Or if you really want to embrace your US food experience, you can go for the full diner blow out. Best enjoyed early in the day in my opinion - given that you'll probably save yourself any need to eat for the rest of it. Here we have those diner breakfast essentials of mediocre (but refillable) coffee and tasty hot corn bread. Think of it as a first course...

...but don't overindulge as for $8 or whatever, you're still going to get your ham/eggs/home fries etc coming up. Yes, its perfectly reasonable to have a stack of pancakes (usually a full Australian breakfast) as a 'side' for $2 extra. Just don't look too closely at that ladle of buttery stuff going all over everything the grill: that's why everything is so tasty. Even if you only finish a third (much to the chagrin of the waitress who has worked there for 30 years or so and has some serious 'tude), its still worth it for the people-watching and visions of Americana in all its glory.

What else is on the menu? Shakes of course!. Because if your burger/hot dog/other fast food meal isn't filling enough, you can always accompany it with about 6 scoops of ice cream whipped up into something delicious like this toasted marshmallow shake at Good Stuff Eatery that was voted DC's best. It was even on Oprah, so the calories must be worth it, right?

What about dessert? One thing I've noticed here is that Americans don't really have a true appreciation for the goodness of a savoury/meat pie like us Aussies and Brits. Sweet pies, on the other hand...they love em. This apple pie on Thanksgiving was pretty good. Still not sure about this pumpkin thing they've got going on though.

And if you want to venture beyond 'American' cuisine, you may as well go for ethnic food of the regional variety. For the Australian, that means skipping Sydney's good Thai food for the US's pretty sweet Mexican. This burrito in San Francisco probably could have fed four.

Or for something a little more manageable, they also do awesome fresh tacos in these parts. None of those crunchy and always breaking Old El Paso shells that Mum used to feed you on weeknights back home. These are handmade tortillas with all sorts of fresh herbs and fillings. A good fish taco (and I'm not talking about the term as I'd heard it used back in Australia as derogatory slang for female anatomy) is definitely up there with my best US food discoveries.

And if you get sick of that, you can always trust New York to provide you with any kind of cuisine you've ever wanted. That includes Cambodian style sandwiches of the kind you might have found in the Psar Tuol Tumpong market, only without the food poisoning risk this time.

And last but not least, just because it has to be seen to be believed: decent coffee in Washington. This rare sight was captured at Baked and Wired. It may not yet replace Luxe, or Campos or Toby's Estate, or Black Starr on the streets of my beloved Newtown in Sydney, but it wasn't half bad, I'll give them that.

(A)live and broadcasting from the 'Freedom Zone'

2011-05-15T08:07:00.006+10:00

Five months since I updated the blog. Oops! Not that five months of dense global health and international law readings make for compelling blogging, anyway. Its with a mixture of relief and wistful sentimentality that I can report the late nights in libraries are over now. I think its also safe to say despite false alarms a few years ago, I've actually now sat my last ever law exam. If at some point in the future I express a desire to subject myself to more post-graduate study, one of you has to stage an intervention. Promise? Good - I'm glad that's sorted then.

Woefully inadequate as it may be, here's a brief attempt to vignette the past five months as a Masters student in Washington, D.C.

The washing line in January. Woolly undergarments mandatory for Australians when biking to school through D.C.'s mostly half-hearted efforts at snow.

Thankfully it didn't stay that cold. In fact, Spring came bearing rather pretty blossoms that brought tourists in annoying slow-moving packs around the tidal basin when you're trying to go for a run.

Spring also came to campus...

...not that I really got to embrace it (don't let that video link fool you, especially not around the 1 minute 50 sec mark). Unfortunately I had to spend most of it inside taking in this now well-known view...

I took this picture on Easter Sunday. Sadly no family all-you-can-eat chocolate fest for this girl in 2011, though we did crash the Catholic student association's free ham and cake offerings for a study break (hope they didn't notice we weren't there for communion during the service beforehand)

A lot of my time in the library was spent thinking about this from the perspective of international legal regulation. Those efforts culminated in a epic 22-hour push on the final day to finish off my last paper and finally go out and consume some of the same.

Of the other cool things that happened over the past few months, a surprise visit from Sotheary (who you may remember from previous Cambodian posts) has to be right up there with the coolest. Never expected to be clinking glasses in my kitchen on this side of the globe. Watching her speak to the International Finance Corporation was an awesome reminder of why I came here again. Taking her into my Human Rights class for show and tell was also fun. Very, very proud of this woman!

And now its mid-May and I'm back in the 'freedom zone' with all my studies complete I can do things like sit on the back step on Sunday mornings eating pancakes without feeling guilty for not opening a book by 10am.

Or take the bike out and stop for sunsets and watch all DC's young hill-staffer types play kick-ball on the National Mall, just to reinvigorate that 'living in the Capitol' feeling.

Or pause on the edge of the Potomac looking back at Georgetown in the warm afternoon sun and appreciate that there's actually quite a lot to like about this place. Just as well, given that I've just signed on to stay (at least) another year...

'The road is life'

2011-01-20T13:47:00.011+11:00

'Our battered suitcases were piled high on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life' (Kerouac, 'On the Road')

Apparently I missed the 'career panic' button alert that went out over the holiday break, the one that sent spine-tingling shocks through the bulk of my LLM class. Anxiety is a powerful contagion among perfectionistic law students, but I'm employing concerted efforts to stay sane in week two...while simultaneously scrambling to print business cards and take whatever seminars the school is offering to coach us in that enviable American art of shameless self-promotion.

Big Sur, California: 'The face of the earth as the creator intended it' (if you believe Henry Miller)

Sorry to disappoint you, but I have no intention of making this post about careers fairs though. Not when I just returned from one of those quintessential American 'Road Trip' experiences. By that I'm not referring to some mediocre B list college movie filled with beer pong, stoners and sex tapes, but rather the kind of raw journey where you find some good company, grab a car, some vague plans, a packet of beef jerky and just drive....

We started in San Francisco. Flying over from the East Coast, I was struck by the difference of California. Differences of architecture, climate, attitude, ethnic mix, 'vibe' (or whatever other more inspired term you can come up with to describe it). Surrounded by eucalypts and Asian restaurants in a city on the water with a famous bridge, I must confess to a slight nostalgia for Sydney. Thankfully I snapped out of it as soon as we got driving, and just a few hours later arrived for a breathtaking sunset at Lake Tahoe, which was so deep in real, fresh snow that it escaped any drawing of homesickness-inducing comparisons with Australia.

After Tahoe there was a trust building exercise in letting the Australian drive on windy, icy roads on the 'wrong side' towards Yosemite. Our survival was toasted by the best cookie-dough milkshake ever, discovered in Jackson, California. Despite some false-leads from the Tom-Tom, eventually we found our way to a wonderful little (bear proof) cabin in Yosemite valley.
Yosemite in winter. Icy, but gorgeous, and providing a kind of isolated peace that you undoubtedly would not find on crowded trails in summer.
Nature. Beautiful. It doesn't get much more simple than that.

Little girl, big trees (Mariposa Grove, Yosemite)

Its not hard to become drawn in by this kind of rambling journey, planning one day to the next, snacking on DIY Safeway sandwiches, following the road...

its attractions...

distractions...

(sometimes grubby but occasionally ridiculously nice) cheap motels...

and diners. There were some seriously good diners, actually. Particularly along the old 'Route 66' way. By 'good' I don't necessarily mean great food, and I certainly don't mean healthy, but they provided living proof of the exact imagery I had in mind when I thought 'american road trip'.

We covered around 2500 miles in about 11 days. See how American I'm becoming? I'm even talking in miles now. Let me return to my roots and supplement that by saying that over 4000km of driving is pretty bloody far.

California and Arizona are spectacular, and the distances were undoubtedly worth it. From Yosemite, to the California coast, to the immensity of the Grand Canyon and the desert landscapes around Monument Valley - the diversity we found within two weeks was a constant source of surprise and delight.

Though the compulsion for continuous movement was at times tiring, there was also a definite sense that if there weren't masters bills to be paid, I could just continue on and on quite happily meandering from sunset to sunset across the great vastness of the United States (or perhaps down across the border if the hire company wasn't so uptight about that)....

It was a couple of weeks free from the confines of the library, job fairs and pressure to activate the 'career panic' button. It was truly an escape. It was blissful.

Middle of nowhere, Arizona

The road left its mark on me. Despite previous failed attempts, it even makes this cynical Australian want to go back and try to read Kerouac again...

[Oh, and one last thing- you may note from the absence of selfies that I can't take credit for all these shots. I'm greatly indebted to the photographic ability of my traveling companion, whose skills are quickly improving despite his admittedly impatient and sometimes tough tutor. Thank you!]

Half way to Mastery

2010-12-29T12:57:00.003+11:00

Its been three months since I updated the blog. In a brief moment of downtime I'm pleased to report that a lot has happened since September, when I last touched base in that just-recently-discovered-New-York-for-the-first-time afterglow.

For starters, the Fall semester is already over. That means I'm halfway to a Masters Degree. Given how much work I've just come through, that's a relief! However, its also slightly scary when you consider that it apparently means the job hunt should already be on.

Scenes from the 'Restoring Sanity' rally on the mall. Cat Stevens singing 'Peace Train' on the mall. That was a cool study break.

The prospect of deciding where I want to be six months from now is daunting given that about four months ago I assumed I'd be in Geneva today (very relieved I opted out of that logistical nightmare), four months before that I didn't even know I'd be in the USA doing a Masters, and a few months before that I was trucking along in Cambodia thinking I'd probably be there for quite a while... Life, ey?

Americans...

Everything seems to have a habit of falling into place, so I'm not exactly freaking out (yet), but being surrounded by 400 or so over-achieving Masters students in a recession job market does have a way of inducing anxiety that I didn't feel so much by the pool in the Phnom Penh ex-pat bubble. Rest-assured I've got a few ideas on the boil, but you'll have to stay tuned. For now, a pictorial summary of the last couple of months...

If I could only choose one word to represent the past six weeks, it would be 'Library'. That's where I spent the majority of my waking hours. Thankfully, we have a nice one, because I've never had to study so hard. Remind me never, ever to choose so many subjects with essay requirements (as opposed to exams). Try producing over 100 pages of essays in a couple of weeks - all due on the same day. Sure, you can say you'll start writing them early (and I did in fact do the research and present the various arguments in class throughout semester), but I still bet you'll have a lot of writing to do at the end. Regular nights of 3am writing and 7am wake ups. The dark circles start to appear after a while, trust me. Its not like you can hand in a half finished essay either (as opposed to just throwing out what you can in an exam). Nice of them to provide coffee for free at the library from 8pm every night - Its almost like another breakfast at the start of the night shift :)

Thankfully the past three months weren't all about books, 'Fall' came and fell, bringing endless amusement for uptight law students...
Throw into that mix my first Georgetown 48 hour take home exam. That was 43 hours of exam writing and 5 hours sleep (none of them on the second night). Ironically, I was living that dream on a day exactly two years after my last day at HDY, probably working harder than I ever did there, but this time I'm not being paid...in fact I'm paying them for this privilege...hmmmmm

Thanksgiving brought rural Minnesota, turkey, the lovely family of my roommate and guns (when in Rome, right? Forgive me Mum!)
That aside, in some sick way I enjoyed all of this (spoken like a true nerd). There were also plenty of distractions both in and outside the library. Just like Cambodia, I think that if you take the chance to throw yourself at experiences like this there's a high chance you're going to meet other interesting people along the way - the kind of people who are willing to take the same risks...

I also got up to Harvard to see Mila and enjoy the old North Sydney Girls connection... I admit, Harvard had a nicer library than us.

I'm having a fantastic time and I'm loving D.C. I've just come back from my third little trip up to New York, a place that continues to draw me in. I've also now had 5 nights with 8 hours sleep - a complete revelation - I almost feel ready for another semester.

Ok so now I'm really not doing myself any favours on the 'difficult studious life' front - this was Halloween. Runaway bride outfit courtesy of H-Street thrift store ($20), crocodile courtesy of Steve Irwin

First things first though, there's a holiday to enjoy: on Thursday I'm headed to California for two weeks with no fixed plans. Did someone try and tell you this student life was 'tough'? Who, me?

'Liquid, sane, unruly, musical, self-sufficient'

2010-10-06T01:50:00.013+11:00

How can you adequately express New York in words? Beyond the towering physicality of the place, where do you even get started on 'New York' the people, the sensory assault, the attitude, the vibe?

With a mind swirling full of other pressing demands I can't even begin to do this place justice (at least without 'borrowing' from Walt Whitman as I have in the title), but here are a few images/fragments of a dreamy 27th birthday weekend that was a perfect way to feel both at once reduced to the smallest part of something massive, and yet simultaneously so alive.

Central Park on perfect 'fall' days...

...a still moment in a turning world.

Subways that squash lovers with loners, hipsters with homeless, businessmen with beggars

High growths of iron, slender, strong, splendidly uprising toward clear skies (ok, I stolen this one from Whitman too)

A city of dark underground tunnels and soaring skyscrapers...

...where watching the streetscape becomes a cinematic experience

(The Highline - possibly the coolest conversion of disused urban space ever)

Taking in some of the world's greatest art for free: MoMA on Friday afternoons. So it might be a little crowded, but I personally find it inspiring to witness a gallery of 'high' (and often inaccessible) art abuzz with people...

and a post-MoMA sugar high

Passing the city's still healing scars...

..and constant reminders of the value attributed to freedom...

Freedom, and this unshakable belief in the individual's potential to dream: values that seem to underpin every aspect of this place.

Little photographer, big city: a humbling but empowering experience.

The inexorable conclusion after four days of wandering and wonderment. If you haven't already, I highly recommend you give yourself a chance to live it, and let it leave an imprint on you too.

[Photo credits to my amazing friend and New York traveling companion Raashi Kumar for a couple of the above pics - incl. Time Square and Brooklyn Bridge]

On that note, I think that this could be my last attempt to update this blog for a while. Things are just too crazy here at the moment, and I feel like life as a Masters student in the US is probably not as intriguing as giving a window into the chaos of Phnom Penh anyway.

I haven't changed the blog's title because I can see that most people still come here looking for information about expat life in Cambodia. All that information is still available - just use the links/tags/search function on the left. If you're following photos, I suggest my flickr link at the top right, and if you want the juicy stuff on what else is new in life, you'll need to email me personally. I'm still here (and well), just focusing on saturating myself in the present!

Ali

Bike rides, drumsticks and colonialists

2010-10-01T06:09:00.002+10:00

Here's a brief story about how I ended up in the house of George Washington himself in mud-soaked black lycra, along with some lessons I learnt along the way.

Tip #1, After a few wines on a Friday night its probably best not to agree to meet a friend for 'a ride over the river somewhere' at 7am the following day. Great idea at the time, but maybe not so exciting when the alarm goes off and you get down there and he tells you its 30km each way. As you can see though, I'm a woman of my word. No turning back now.

Tip #2: When riding in new cities, check your map.

Everything looks pretty sweet in the above picture, right? We totally just outsmarted that 'road closed' sign. Beautiful morning and everything's fantastic until we ride over the edge of a shady part of the path onto a concrete ramp completely eroded by the river and slathered in mud. By the time I see Gareth falling its too late to save myself. Tyres swerve, chains jump and flesh wounds abound. Its enough to make you want to litigate...until you remember the 'road closed' sign. To add insult to injury, we then realise we've been riding in a big circle on an island in the river. That's an extra 5km detour, plus the bruising to add to the morning's adventure. Fantastic.

Tip #3: Toughen up princess

So what if you keep getting weird looks for the mud all down your side, and certain parts really hurt from the impact of a bike seat where and when you weren't expecting it (oooouch!). You made the effort to get out of bed, so you may as well keep going (and stop for some token shots along the way). Smile through the pain :)

Tip #4: Enjoy the view.

The trail to Mount Vernon follows the Potomac through the old town of Alexandria. Its really quite gorgeous on a day like today along the river on boardwalks and through the forested parts during the beginning of 'fall'. Soak it up.

Tip #5: Even if you're completely inappropriately dressed, embrace the Colonial Fair

Well, we rode all the way, so we may as well enter the Mount Vernon estate and see what all the fuss is about. So what if you've landed right in the middle of a colonial fair full of people who like to dress up and do wood-turning and play quaint instruments in period costume. By this stage at least the mud is dry, though other parts are drenched in sweat. Ah well, we won't see anyone we know. We can play the ignorant-but-well-intentioned tourist card. Just ignore the stares...

Saggy beige pants and gunpowder: Apparently some American guys find this an enjoyable pastime.

Tip #6: Find yourself some protein

By this time with all that riding you've worked up quite a hunger. Having fully embraced the colonial spirit, why not sample some of the traditional culinary offerings. Massive smoked turkey leg at 11am? Sure!

During. Yes, my parents taught me great manners.

The aftermath. Only so much protein a girl (and apparently also a boy) can handle at this hour. Now I see the this 'American portion' thing has a long history. Well, we tried.

Then its time to take your special time-allotted ticket and queue up to see inside the quasi-shrine that is Washington's old house. The lovely retired lady volunteers inside are good at enthusiastically dispensing their 2 minute spiel on each room as you move from the dining room to the kitchen to the bedroom where he died.

And I guess this is the view that he used to take in from the porch. Quite a relaxing spot on a warm sunny day.

Then for the tough part: the ride back when your legs are already a little bit achey. Another 30km back? Refer to tip #3 again (and never admit to the boys when you are tired). Back on your bike then!

And after a loooooong ride there's a hill at the end where you get to fly past this building again. Home, sweet, home, six hours later with a singlet tan, a whole lot of dried mud, a few bruises and that satisfying feeling of physical exhaustion that makes it totally worthwhile. Plus, you just got a unexpected dose of American culture in all its colonial glory.

Time to scrub the mud off and head out to the H-Street Festival (more on that next time). A cheap beer in the sun has never tasted so good!

Regular programming will resume soon...

2010-09-28T22:48:00.002+10:00

Here it is: proof I'm still alive. Alive, and reading the New York Times in Central Park. It was about this point on my long weekend in New York that I seriously considered allowing this amazing city to just swallow me up, rather than returning to DC and the late nights of studying...

Thankfully, I got over that and sprinted just hard enough through the crowds at Penn Station to make the bus back. I'm back here now and its really not that bad, even though the skies seem to be a lot greyer all of a sudden. I'll try to actually post something of photographic merit by later in the week.

All good in the 'hood

2010-09-15T14:45:00.003+10:00

I'm going to update this blog at some point. I promise.

I'm just deliriously busy. There's a Masters that's more demanding time-wise at the moment that what I remember of my brief stint as a corporate lawyer. Then there's a list of about 20 people I owe emails/postcards, a general desire to get outdoors and explore DC and a social life to try and maintain. Oh yeah, and don't even get me started on my Australian tax return and a bunch of other undesirables like that on the to-do list.

Something must be going right though, because I've still got a big smile on my face. In fact, I'm loving this place! Hopefully I'll get the camera out and get snapping more of my neighbourhood this weekend. Stay tuned...

Sunday afternoon: a photo essay

2010-08-30T13:17:00.006+10:00

I just finished reading 130 pages or so of articles and cases on international law, trade and health that they expect us to complete before the very first lessons tomorrow. Apparently these US unis like to throw you in from day one! None of this Sydney-uni style 'here's five introductory points and you should probably buy this text book' lectures in week one. Instead I spent a good chunk of hours this weekend trying to reawaken the dormant student within. At least I can say the readings are a whole lot more fascinating when they're on a subject you've chosen to come back to with a bit of real world experience.

Despite the assignments, its still gorgeous end-of-summer days here in DC - so to make sure I'm not wasting them inside, I still went wandering this afternoon with some readings, a highlighter and a camera to Meridian Hill Park where I captured the following...

The drumming circle: supposedly has occurred on Sunday afternoons for the past 50 years. Anything/anyone goes... Terrific people watching, but not conducive to getting readings done!

Gotta be one of the funkiest kids in DC

The park looking considerably more serene up the non-drumming end.

Aside from drumming you can do circus tricks, frisbee, regular yoga or this kind of one on one crazy balancing stuff...you know, just two men improving their flexibility in public...

Yep, you can join this between 3pm-9pm every Sunday

And just around the corner from home when I jumped off the bus, I stopped by the Michael Jackson b'day party being thrown by my neighbour who has a permanent 'shrine' to the Man (it would have been his birthday on August 28th)

According to the invite sign on the footpath, there will be food, fun and 'lots of moonwalking'. Join them for a 'Thriller' as they 'Remember the Time'. Boom tish! Nice people - but I'm glad they're out of earshot around the corner as she literally plays videos of his in the front yard all day every day...

This American Life.

2010-08-26T02:33:00.006+10:00

One 26 hour journey across the world and one week later, this post is coming to you from my new desk in Capitol Hill, Washington DC! I've spent the last week doing sightseeing and now the past few days moving into my new home and going 'back to school'. More to come on those topics later. Given I'm already stupidly busy, for now you'll have to settle for some initial images and thoughts on the city I'll be calling 'home' this semester...

Well, we may as well get the cliched shots out of the way. Of course you all know what this is. The one before that at the top is the Washington monument from what I hope is at least a somewhat original angle...

The Capitol Dome (complete with scaffolding!)

Four score and seven years ago...

The Lincoln memorial. Swarming with tourists during the day, but still impressive. Thankfully they put him on a big big chair so when you take the photos you can't even tell there's hundreds of people milling below his feet.

On my first real morning waking up here I went for a run that took me past the Watergate, the Kennedy Centre and up the steps of the memorial at the base of the National Monument near the Potomac river to find myself sweating like crazy (the humidity means you are seriously hot and sweaty, even by 7am) and in the company of just a guard and Mr Lincoln before me. Then I turned around at the top of the stairs to take in a much emptier version of the view below...

Which always reminds me of Forrest Gump...but also one of those crystallising moments when it hit me that I'm about to start another chapter in new place. Daunting, but exciting...

And if you walk allllll the way up the other end you can get this view...

And of course what's living in America if you don't start eating burgers and fries, ha! This was a rather 'gourmet' (yet still incredibly greasy) version from Eastern Market. I'll definitely be back there for the fresh farmer's produce though!

One thing you can't escape about this place is the sense of history, and in particular, the military history that is commemorated here. I have to hand it to the Americans for some beautiful and thoughtfully designed memorials, that really do give you a sense of the wider significance of this history to the culture and the shape of the place today.

We visited Arlington cemetery, which is actually one of the main things you read about in the guidebooks to do in DC. Aside from JFK, there are also all sorts of military graves here.

These guys guard the tomb of the unknown soldier (or actually, solider(s)) - there were three from different wars, though I believe there are only two in the crypt now as the one from Vietnam was later identified using DNA and his family requested a reburial.

And just one of those interesting things that happens when you are traveling...when we were at the cemetery and on the metro later and then later on the mall again we kept coming across this group of five or so young troops. On the platform I got talking to one of them, a 22 year old girl about to be deployed to Afghanistan for one year, leaving her 3 year old daughter at home with her father. The five of them were from Washington state, doing 'sightseeing' in DC before deployment. Not sure I'd personally be able to handle this kind of 'sightseeing' at military cemeteries and memorials before I went away, but I guess they wanted to pay their respects. She was incredibly honest with me and admitted being pretty scared (so were her parents), 'but confident in her training and leadership'. When they started asking me about Cambodia it was also clear that most of them hadn't really spent much time outside the US before, which makes the prospect of going off to Afghanistan even more daunting perhaps. I had to appreciate their dedication and commitment on a personal level, but I couldn't help but wonder what their thoughts were more broadly about the role of their country in the war and what was being achieved...

To finish on a lighter note though, I'm finding DC fascinating so far. School sounds like its going to be full on, but exciting. My 'emerging' neighbourhood (in the 'wrong' quadrant of DC if you ask some people) also looks to be a pretty interesting place. More on those later, if I can find a spare minute between all those tedious 'setting yourself up in a new place' activities...

There are more photos from DC on my flickr page here if you're really interested!

(re)Born in the USA

2010-08-24T11:54:00.007+10:00

Here it is - photographic evidence that I'm alive and well in Washington, DC. In the National Mall, no less!

You'll have to forgive my silence as I'm just caught up in all that 'starting over' stuff - not only a new country and city this time, but also resuming life as student in a rather rigorous academic system. At least the language barrier is limited to an accent/different slang this time!

I will post more soon about my first few days in DC as a tourist, the 'Back to School' experience and whether the food really is *that* bad. I probably should also overhaul that 'ali in asia' tag line. That would require me having 5 spare minutes though. Stay tuned...

This is not a food blog (but the food is pretty bloody good)

2010-07-27T17:01:00.017+10:00

I was accused of being a food-snob the other day. I don't think that's really a fair accusation, but I will admit to having an appreciation of good food (are you saying you don't?), and I'll also admit to enjoying a food adventure, whether it be the search for a great (not necessarily expensive) restaurant, or seeking out fresh produce to cook up myself (the latter being more likely on my current pre-masters budget).

Some favourite Sydney cafe discoveries since being home: Top - a trio of mini burgers including kangaroo at Baffi & Mo in Redfern and above, sourdough toasted sandwiches at Luxe, located dangerously close to work...

Maybe my parents have a point when they noticed my pre-occupation with food has escalated by hanging out with foodie friends of late (hellooooo Rani, you'll always be a favourite guest in our house :)). At least I can attest that unlike several million Australians who apparently just became macaron crazed as a result of watching Masterchef, this isn't a recent obsession. I actually never watched a single episode of the show, but I will confess to lusting after Zumbo's weird cakes years ago as a kind of escapism from the day to day excitement of insurance law :)

More of the good stuff that they serve up at Baffi and Mo (the potato hash stack breakfast)

I know I've been slack in updating the blog. That's because the day to day views from my office are hardly as interesting as my weekend adventures around Cambodia. However, if the proliferation of food blogs online is anything to go by, food + photography are apparently a match made in heaven for procrastination. So...jumping on that bandwagon (and attempting to keep this thing ticking over until I get some new international material in a couple of weeks), here are a few snaps and tips about some of the best things I've been scoffing in Sydney lately.

Who needs Zumbo when you're got friends who are domestic goddesses anyway...(thanks Mindi!)

With just two weeks left until I leave for the US, its also as good a time as any to reflect on just how much particular foods are inextricably tied to memories of a certain time and place. Three months down the track there's no doubt I miss some of my Cambodian diet (cheap seafood with pepper, mangoes and java cafe cookies spring to mind). At the same time you might have noticed from the first post I put up after coming home, that many of the things I missed overseas were foods I've been making the most of since coming home. I'm also looking forward to the US and all the new foods I'm likely to find there (and yes, I'll be packing my exercise gear)...

Lamb shanks: Common topic of discussion relating to 'foods we miss' in Phnom Penh- but then again, even if we could source the meat, there's something about eating this kind of food in 30 degree heat and 100% humidity that seems kind of perverse. It was a different story back in Sydney winter by the fireplace though...

Food was always going to be a theme of the weekend just passed, given I'd been counting down to another short-but-sweet chance to hang out with my gorgeous friend and fellow pinstripe-prison-escapee Rani, who herself left the corporate law world to spend a year in Italy doing a Masters in Food Culture and Communication (tough gig, ey?). So what did we eat then, you ask?

The first course at Le Monde - Granola & Watermelon with Black Olive, Frozen Grapes, Vanilla Bean Yoghurt & Baby Mint. Gorgeous, but I guess I can see where my parents 'food-snob' taunt came from...

One of the first things we did (aside from crack open bubbles to celebrate being together in Sydney again after catching up in both Parma and Phnom Penh in the past 18 months) was head to Le Monde in Surry Hills for this breakfast degustation/tasting plate thing the SMH was raving about lately.

Even by Sydney standards, this might be taking the coffee and breakfast obsession to new heights. Basically, you get three courses and a couple of matching coffees. One of them is a 'clover' coffee, which is a different way of brewing coffee from espresso. It involves a slightly-weird and insanely-priced machine, and produces a coffee that looks a lot more like a tea. Apparently there are only 300 such machines in the world right now, though the number of you tube videos extolling their virtues far outnumbered this. At the risk of attracting the wrath of all these coffee-purists, I'll admit that I'm not sure I was a big fan of all these 'vegetal' flavours that the machine produced, at least in the blend we tried. Sure, it was something different, but I don't think you'll find me going back to pay $6 a pop for a cup.

I'll leave the proper review to Rani who will no doubt have a more qualified, elegant way of expressing it, but I'm sorry to say that after a promising start with the watermelon dish, the main deconstructed take on a 'Bacon, Avocado, Lettuce, Tomato (BLAT)' sandwich might have crossed a (greasy) line into food-snob territory...As you can see from the board above, the whole thing looked very pretty, but to combine confit pork belly + avocado mousse + tomato and seeded mustard mayonnaise + a poached quail egg in one sandwich (which is how they told us we should eat it) was all just a bit much for this belly at 10am. It was followed by quite a lovely dish of blueberries and pumpkin seeds and 'ice-coffee', but unfortunately I didn't capture that well as I was still feeling a bit queasy!

I don't want to sound overly harsh on the place here, as we did enjoy the whole experience and it was definitely an interesting breakfast- but maybe next time I'll just save my pennies and order off what looked to be an extremely delicious and reasonably priced regular menu...

With a couple of hours to kill after breakfast, we actually stumbled across another foodie-heaven in the Carriageworks/ Eveleigh Saturday farmers market which I've been meaning to check out for ages.

Kylie Kwong herself was there serving up her organic deliciousness (and concentrating hard, if the tongue is anything to go by)- our only regret being that in our continued state of pork-belly induced nausea, we couldn't really appreciate everything the market had to offer. I guess that's just an excuse to come back then!

Hangin' Out

2010-07-26T20:53:00.000+10:00

So you wanna know where I've been lately? Not updating the blog, that's for sure...

Aside from spending a good portion of my days immersed in the tricky business of trying to improve the situation of Aboriginal health in rural and remote Australia, I've just been hanging around Sydney; catching up with friends and family, eating good food (as per the previous post), running and generally trying to stay out of mischief in the lead up to the next move. Just under two weeks and counting til I arrive in D.C....eeeeep!

It goes without saying that I've also had my camera with me a fair bit, and as you can see from the above pictures, I have still managed to break up the routine with things like a lovely girls' weekend to the Leura in the Blue Mountains just outside Sydney.

If only the view was like this from the bedroom every morning in Sydney...

The best way to start a winter weekend (complete with a fire made without male assistance and marshmallows - nice work girls)

We're just a little bit excited to be out of the big smoke for the weekend, in case you can't tell...

I was also lucky to catch my little brother (yes, the clown in shorts in the foreground) who managed to fly over from New Zealand to ensure that we could enjoy our constant sibling banter in person for at least a few days this year. This picture was taken on the 14th of July - smack bang in the middle of winter - Sydney doesn't look too bad for that time of year, right?

Sunday with Dad and the social bikers set

2010-07-04T17:00:00.010+10:00

Missing the cheap thrill of moto-dopping your way through Phnom Penh traffic as your preferred mode of transport? Sunday runs not high enough on the risk-taking scale? Trying to ensure you spend quality time with all your four parents/step-parents during your 'pit-stop' in Aus?

Its time to head out of town on the back of Dad's bike then, and join his Sunday social 'biker' friends and their machines on a leisurely coffee crawl through the northern outskirts of Sydney...

Someone looked a bit upset not to be invited on the adventure. Sorry Ed. Next time.

Pre-trip fuel stop. Compulsory caffeine fix at Clover.

Motorcycle? Piece of art? I confess I'm still in the former camp, but it is quite pretty I admit.

Shrek. Not sure I'd pick this colour if I had a choice, but its growing on me.

[As the sticker suggests]

The most difficult question for today: pie or sausage roll [actually I was lame and went for the tea and scones, but hey it was only 9.30am]

Meat pie + tomato sauce = favoured breakfast of the aging European biker set...

Wattle and winter skies

Ahhhhhh Australian bushland...missed ya!

Country servo. Aussie institution.

Mum wasn't exactly thrilled when I casually mentioned what I was doing today. Cue under the breath murmurs of speed and highways and accidents. Apparently she forgot that I just spent a year sitting sidesaddle on the back of complete stranger's scooters wearing linen dresses, a pair of flip flops and a shoddy helmet, shopping on lap while texting on my mobile. Admittedly on Cambodian roads its rarely possible for speed to be added as a risk factor, though from the smells I caught occasionally from moto-dop driver's breath, alcohol undoubtedly was!

Cruising (and stopping for the occasional 'vintage' bike technical glitch) near Peat's Ridge

The turnaround point: a fish 'n chip stop at Brooklyn

Sunday serenity

And when the last ring of calamari is scoffed, and the last chip swiped from the plate, its time to swing the leg back over that (slightly uncomfortable) pillion seat and head back to Sydney, where the Sunday-itis sets in...

For the full photo essay: A link to the Flickr set

Longing for chaos...

2010-06-16T21:05:00.012+10:00

I've been home for over a month now already. Some people comment when they see me, all clad in winter-coat with that polished made-up look and the nice black leather accessories, that its like I never left. That's not true. Maybe its just hard to see the imprint that Cambodia left on my heart.

This week I managed to get along to two current Sydney arts festivals - the kind of thing you definitely miss out on living in a developing country. No disrespect intended to the admirable effort actually going into rejuvenating the Khmer Rouge-decimated Cambodian arts and cultural scene. Understandably, when you don't have enough resources to provide everyone with basic education, food and health services it would be a bit indulgent to spend millions projecting pretty lights onto buildings or to turn a whole island into an art installation.

Standing in the dark before a 360 panorama of screens that formed Russian group AES + F's modern take on Trimalchio's feast from the Satyricon and confronting everything its flawless images portray about vanity, desire and gluttony in an orgy of consumerism, I couldn't have been further from my recent life in Phnom Penh.

I've got it all here: the (generally) adoring family, the nice house (thanks parents), harbourside paths to run along while inhaling clean air, a great job within walking distance where I can spend my days in a well-equipped office surrounded by productive professionals, friends that have welcomed me in again as a drop-in visitor on their nice, successful (if albeit a little 'safe' for this freewheeler) lives... all in all its been pretty effortless to slide back into to the routine of gym classes, packed lunches, wine bars and weekend cafe catch ups.

When you're standing in the foreground of the Harbour Bridge absorbing the Opera House in lights on a clear, crisp winter night, you can't escape the beauty of this place. At the same time, its often these moments when I catch myself longing just a little bit for the chaos of Phnom Penh. Its hard to describe exactly what it is about that place - some things I don't miss, like the frustration of working in the face of interminable corruption, or that horrid April heat - but there was something else about life there, a kind of thrill you get from living on the edge of democracy and all the opportunities for reckless abandon that entails. I can't help but feel that it renders my apparently picture-perfect postcard Sydney life a little bit staid...

After all, there's nothing like nearly being run down by a Lexus as you weave your bike through the traffic to remind you every day that you're alive. No poor but smiling children playing half naked on your street corner to make you grateful for the simple apartment and few belongings that provide you with a comfortable 'home'. No feisty colleagues working tirelessly and bravely to support the rights of their fellow citizens as authorities brazenly commit violations of human rights, reminding you what it means to put in a day's 'hard' work...

I'm not going to lie and say most of the time I'm not outwardly enjoying this rather relaxed, easy pit-stop in this orderly and rather pretty place, Sydney. That doesn't mean that underneath the surface that a year in Cambodia hasn't changed me. You can't 'see' the resilience that builds up living alone as a single female in a developing country for a year. You also can't 'see' the appreciation and gratefulness that develops for all the assumptions we can make here from cushy Australia about rights and democracy and how they affect the opportunities we are presented with every day in life. Unfortunately for all my friends here in Aus, they also don't get to witness the daily amusement that was me trying to maintain a daily conversation with locals in broken Khmer.

I realise now that when you've lived in a place for over twenty five years (even if you're always coming and going), you've invested a lot of time in building up connections and roots that require a fair bit of work to maintain! There's parents (4 of them), grandparents, siblings, friends, mentors, ex-colleagues and other assorted people to meet up with, and a whole stack of associated responsibilities to be carried out across a rather large area. All these require schedules and planning and time-keeping to make sure that everything fits in. When you're used to living alone among a community of late 20-somethings with no families, mortgages or established networks in a small town with few rules, where people are generally up for anything, its hard to avoid being hit by the contrast.

Sydney, you're beautiful, that's for sure - but I can't help but long for the buzz of that rollercoaster through chaos, and most importantly, the friends who rode by my side. Cambodia, I miss you!

Reasons why its good to be home: The Beach in Winter...

2010-06-02T13:27:00.009+10:00

Reverse culture shock aside, one thing you can't deny about being back in Australia is that we do have a rather beautiful coastline.

The beach features as recurring theme in so many of my most vivid memories; whether it be driving to Bronte in a booster seat listening to the Beach Boy's Kokomo circa 1988, the fear of being taken out past the breakers in the arms of my uncle for the first time, or some slightly hazier memories involving beach bonfires, awkward teenagers and mixed drinks during high school summer holidays...there's no doubt the beach is inextricably linked with my experience of Australian 'youth', and all sorts of fond memories about what it means to be 'home'.

I know I'm not unique when I'm saying this - the beach is pretty seminal to the lifestyle of most Australians that live anywhere near the coast. Given we live on such a large island with a big desert in the middle, that includes pretty much most of the Australian population - but I still think we all like to claim certain beaches, or certain beachside rituals, as our own....

Hyam's Beach at Jervis Bay. Love it. Especially on a weekday morning outside school holidays, when its just you, the dolphins and if you're lucky, the whales.

Perhaps its unsurprising then, that the coast, and the beach, is really one of those things I long for when I'm living overseas. When the weather is hot, sticky and revolting like it was in Phnom Penh in April, no number of cold showers can come close to replicating the rush of refreshment you get from hurtling down the sand and plunging into the salt spray on a hot summer's day. The most luxe resort swimming pool is a poor substitute when the water temperature unavoidably reaches something more akin to a bath. Even the Cambodian 'seaside' was unable to tempt me at the end of our 'Tour de Kep' - despite the relief of reaching the coast after hours of slugging it out roadside on the bike, you still couldn't get me in that warm watered, mud-flatted 'beach' in pursuit of refreshment...I settled for the beer lao on land instead. Call me spoilt, but once you've had regular access to places like those pictured above and below, its no wonder my standards are high.

Summer aside, one of the things I love most about the beach is that the sensory wonderland of crashing waves, salty air and crunching sand is just as therapeutic in winter, even if the water is too cold for swimming. Sure I've only been back in Sydney for a couple of weeks, but when I got an invite last week to head up to 'escape' to Seal Rocks on the NSW North Coast last weekend for some cabin-time with friends at Treachery Beach, there was only one answer despite the horrible weather forecast: count me in!

Waves rolling in, surprisingly mild breeze blowing, sand to yourself...ahhhhh Australian coastline, I've missed you!

Like all good cabin/camping experiences, the open fire was the best place to be at night. Even better when you crash in on the one already painstakingly built by the three guys in the cabin next to us (hey, at least we offered them some of our marashmallows). Invite 10 of your new best friends from all over the campsite to join in, add some red wine, a lot of laughs and the fact that when the camp master tells you you're all being too loud and have to go bed, its only a ten metre walk, and voila! The recipe for a perfectly relaxed Saturday night (a world away from the hustle of expensive Sydney clubs!)

We were meant to wake up to some mild cyclone weather on Sunday morning. Instead we got this view from the campsite...not bad for the last days of autumn.

Sunday morning breakfast essentials + buttermilk pancakes = bliss. Jack Johnson soundtrack and hangover, optional extras :)

So I admit I was content to just leave the jeans on and wander along the beach...but some of the others did the proper Australian thing and got in a surf. That crazy weather front that was actually turning up much further south down the coast apparently cranked up the waves too...

Post sunday breakfast was time for exploring...You can stay in this lighthouse keeper's cottage these days - if I wasn't on a pre-masters budget I'd definitely be back here!

Brilliant blue skies of a kind not often witnessed in Phnom Penh...ahhhh yes, sometimes its good to be back in Australia.

Though of course you still need to be warned...Australia is a perilous place...

And after a relaxed breakfast, our lighthouse exploration mission and a (rather crappy) coffee, it was time to say goodbye Sealies and pile back in the Jeep to head back to Sydney in a state of post-beach bliss, with a few more memories and reminders accumulated of why (despite my tendency to keep running away) I still call this place 'home'.

ali's not in asia anymore

2010-05-15T17:55:00.007+10:00

Being 'home'...so what's that like?

Its hard to describe the array of emotions you go through re-entering the 'real' world after 'the Cambodian experience'. There are great things about being back in Sydney, don't get me wrong, but I can also say that reverse culture shock is real, and can lead to a general feeling of disgruntlement with everyday life.

Five days after landing, I still feel a bit like I'm in some kind of post-Cambodia-twilight-zone that renders me a bit useless at expressing myself fully in writing - so for the moment at least, here's a little montage of what it looks like to be home...

Autumn leaves, crisp blue skies, eucalyptus and the flight path...welcome home!

Espresso machine located within 15 metres of my bedroom. No further explanation needed.

Espresso machines that make coffee to perfectly complement your porridge and fresh figs on a cold morning. Sweet.

Hamburgers. Good ones with smoked mozzarella and real pickles and Australian mince. Win.

There are doggies. Cute ones that you can actually pat without fear of disease...

...but ones that still won't sit still for a photo!

There's Mum's baking cupboard(!) So I realise its borderline obsessive compulsive, but for someone who has been living in a kitchen comprising of a one shelf pantry and a couple of gas burners, the prospect of an oven and a fully stocked baking cupboard is slightly exciting. Awake the domestic goddess within!

So maybe it got a little burnt on the sides of the tin...but hey, I haven't baked properly in a year...

Then you take the cake to Nan's for afternoon tea and a Scrabble challenge. And win - for the first time that you can remember in 26 years! Cool.

And there's our baby grand Bluthner...oh piano, how I missed you. Its a bit stupid really, because since I quit lessons properly at 17, for the most part I treat this gorgeous piano with total disdain when I'm actually in Sydney. Take me away though, and I begin to yearn for it again. Must be something about all those years practising as a kid that make that feeling of finger pads tapping polished keys so therapeutic and calming.

The obvious question I'm getting from everyone is 'what are you doing here' and 'where to next?'? To give you the '25 words or less' answer, I'm working in Sydney doing some health research and policy stuff for the next three months, and then I'm off to do a Masters of Law in Global Health Law and International Institutions. A mouthful, right? Basically its a mix of my law, development and public health experience. Its a one year course starting in Georgetown Uni in Washington DC, with a second semester in the Graduate Institute in Geneva. Yes, I'm a little bit excited (and yes, its going to be a bit expensive...) Will I keep blogging? I doubt the pictures will be as interesting as they have been from Cambodia, but we'll just have to wait and see I guess...

Phnom Penh: Closing scenes from a beautiful journey

2010-05-13T08:47:00.003+10:00

In the last weeks I tried to take a bit of extra time to capture some imagery of everyday life in Phnom Penh. In no particular order (and without particularly detailed explanation...)

The blur of Phnom Penh moto traffic

Phnom Penh rooftops - everything looks a little bit calmer from above street level

The ubiquitous 'OK Condom' advertisements...(would you trust a condom brand that was called merely 'OK)

A slice of 'modern' Phnom Penh - the escalators inside Sorya Shopping Centre - favoured teenager hangout

Life on 'sh*t street' - the canal thing that runs alongside street 105. Its easy to be precious about these things when you're a foreigner with a delicate nose, but the thing that strikes you about this is just how life goes on here for the residents, who aren't phased by living next to/owning a noodle shop next to what is essentially an open sewer. That's the reality of poverty I guess.

This guy was all to keen to have his picture (and lovely set of teeth) captured on my afternoon walk home.

Garlic, chilli and fish sauce. PP essentials...

Fried frogs: favoured after school snack (if the lines for these outside the school are anything to go by)

Occupational Health and Safety, Cambodian style. Cut off jeans and flip flops optional.

A little girl actually having a drip administered just across the road from home. Not an uncommon site in PP. Apparently a drip cures everything (or at least it would seem that some kind of pharmaceutical company that pushes these things would have you believe)

Khmer cafe: congealed chicken blood slice with sprouts, anyone?

Ode to a little yellow apartment...

2010-05-12T22:54:00.003+10:00

If I was looking for a moment when it would finally sink in that I was actually leaving Cambodia, I guess moving out of my apartment would be an obvious one. Before moving to Cambodia, it was impossible to imagine what 'home' was going to look like. It was also something I constantly got questions from Australia about, and something that all my visitors were always keen to check out (and often pleasantly surprised to discover)...

What kind of conditions is she living in? Is she living with a dirt floor and a squat toilet? Well the answer is, hardly...

The Balcony table: scene of many after work 'debriefs' on life in Cambodia over a glass of wine (or two)...

The little yellow apartment was not really the lap of luxury, but it was functional, comfortable, and in the end, very much my 'home' - tied up inextricably with many fond memories of my Cambodian journey. Its little wonder then that I was a little bit emotional when it came time to leave it last week..

Some of our other household members, including 'Hulk' - the man of the house.

You might remember when I first came to PP, I lived with Anne-Claire, the gorgeous little Frenchie (on the left in the traditional Khmer get up) that I was introduced to by another Youth Ambassador when I first arrived as she was also new and looking for an apartment. Together we battled the frustrating, sweaty maze that is Phnom Penh for newbies in hot season, looking at so many horrible places that we didn't want to live. Eventually we found this plain little wonder with two bedrooms that both actually had windows to the outside world (surprisingly sometimes rare in the newer places), had a small kitchen that was actually more than just a fridge and had a balcony that actually seemed to catch a breeze. Sure, all the walls and the curtains were lemon coloured, but at least this gave the place a 'warm' feel.

In October, Anne-Claire's work sent her off to Bangkok to work in the Thai office. Unsure of when/if she'd be coming back, and facing a diary full of upcoming visitors and a pretty cheap rental bill, I decided to keep the spare room free and try living on my own for the first time. Surprisingly, this was something I grew to absolutely love...

The perpetual wall calendar, hand made by moi (you do what you can with what you can in a country that hardly specialises in home decorating chic)

As with any place where I'm going to be staying for some time, the first thing I did to the place was fit it out with a bunch of things to make it feel like like a ''home'. For me, that always includes photos (duh): of people, places and memories. In Cambodia, where I have to say the general decorating style left a little to be desired (aspirational Chinese kitsch, anyone?), it also meant working with whatever I could get my hands on cheaply decorate the place: magic eye pictures, illustrations from children's books and home made calendars and silk wall hangings. It took a few weekends of market shopping and sweat, but in the end I was really happy with how the place took shape.

The little lounge room: oh so yellow

...and the sign read: What is the first thing you do in a new place?

Kids books: answering all lifes big questions (and providing pretty pictures for the wall)

One of the best features of Cambodian home life for me was what I fondly referred to as my 'nest' chair. These circular rattan pieces are found in pretty much every NGO worker's place (and every stoner backpacker bar) in town: for good reason though, they're insanely comfortable! I remember picking this x-large one up on a Sunday afternoon for around $25 and calling Mr Riem to bring his tuk tuk to help me get it home. It was only *after* arriving home that he confessed I'd interrupted him during a party and he was actually quite drunk...at least we were already home safely! The nest chair became part of my morning ritual in Phnom Penh: rise at 5.35am, head to the gym, come home, shower, grab muesli and make coffee and then sit in the nest chair and consume while watching the Australia Network News...I'm really gonna miss that chair (but thankfully I onsold it to friends, so I know its gone to a good home)

Our guard dog, 'Lucky' - initially judged to be one of the most annoying animals ever!

In cambodia, its common for the landlords to live on the ground floor, with renters above. Lucky joined the family a couple of months after my arrival, and loved to dash out the gate at any given opportunity. This initially led to many amusing pre-dawn chase scenes with the foreign girl running after the Khmer speaking puppy calling in English. In the end though, we'd made peace...Lucky looked forward to my wake up (being the first in the building) to let him out, and in return he never barked when I came home in the late hours (or at least not at me - though he did seem to have an inbuilt scepticism towards any strange company I may have acquired during the night...ha!)

Out the front with Mei Mei and Lily, the landlord's adorable daughters (my apartment was the first floor up)

Some of the ladies who were always out the front of my place (basically because they lived under a tarpaulin across the street). The one on the left had sight in only one eye and sold me my phone credit. They were also a source of daily practice of broken Khmer.

One of the old guys that also lived in the tarpaulin/shack, having a nap. This was the reality of Cambodian life - me in my safe, quite comfortable little apartment on one side of the road, and these guys just on the footpath opposite.

Monks doing their thing in my street...

So when it came time to leave I was a little bit sad to pull down all my decorations and pack everything up. Given I didn't really own that much here, it didn't actually take very long, but it did feel like it really was the 'beginning of the end' moving out of this place. So many memories tied up with this personal little haven from the outside craziness of Phnom Penh - Nights spent working on the computer while the monsoon banged on metal awnings outside, breakfasts with the stereo up loud and singalongs that warded off the pangs of homesickness. Many evenings after work on that balcony with close friends. Deep and meaningful conversations curled up in that nest chair...

Kitchen pinboard of love: family, friends and postcards from abroad

More than the physical set of belongings, the place will also forever be tied to my 'soundtrack' of Phnom Penh - the early morning wake up calls from the rooster next door, Lucky's barking, construction noise on sunday mornings, the cacophony of wedding and funeral prayers on distorted speakers... It was also the scene of many frustrating (but in hindsight) kind of funny Cambodian experiences, like coming home to find the landlord had simply hacked down your beautiful trees that screened the balcony from the street, or the day that a whole family moved onto the balcony just outside your bedroom window, complete with outdoor kitchen and fish sauce smells. Nothing you can do about that here though!

At the end of the day though, it was a 'home' and haven amid the chaos of Phnom Penh: not only for me, but also all those that passed through it - parents, guests, friends, and random couch surfers that I took in.

Ahhhhh, I'm gonna miss you little yellow apartment!

The new things you learn every day: Olympic Stadium

2010-05-06T17:23:00.007+10:00

Here's my best stab at giving you something educational about one of my favourite places in Phnom Penh before I leave this place next week. I'm talking about that glorious piece of concrete: Olympic Stadium...

If you've visited me here you might know that I used to have a penchant for getting up before dawn and sweating it up with the locals in the old gravel athletics track at 6am. That was, before I got the stress fracture and relegated myself to that boring elliptical trainer in the airconditioned comfort of the gym.

There aren't a lot of nice spaces to run in Phnom Penh, it must be said, and despite the fact you often have to jump the fence to gain entry to the track, this place was one of the more popular ones. There are certainly laughs to be had as a foreign girl sweating it up going for a run here as the local men try their best not to let you overtake them.

Given the obvious fact that Cambodia is hardly leading the global medal tally though, the obvious question was always how did the 'Olympic' part of this minimalist yet functional concrete jungle come about...

Some of the answers to these questions (though not all - as I've come to expect in the typical Khmer way) were provided to me last week when I joined an architecture tour of the stadium at the very civilised Sunday morning hour of 8am.

We learnt that the stadium is the work of Vann Molyvann, Cambodia's most famous architect. It began construction in 1963 and was finished about a year later. Apparently the 1963 South East Asian games were the original reason, but due to political problems in Cambodia these were held in Indonesia.

The 'Olympic' torch - still being put to good use!

The olympic swimming pool - too bad it stands within wafting distance of the 'black lake' that actually used to be part of the cooling system incorporated into the design (see below).

Aerobics: Khmer Style

In the end the stadium was first used for the GANEFO games. Haven't heard of them? Neither had I. Apparently it stood for Games of the New Emerging Forces and they were set up by Indonesia as a counter to the Olympic Games. It would seem however that the participants weren't that much of a 'force' after all, as they only lasted about 4 years.

The stadium also played a small part in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Unexpectedly, North Korea faced Australia in a qualifier. Because North Korea lacked dipomatic relations with most countries, finding a suitable venue for the match proved difficult, until Head of State Norodom Sihanouk, an ally of Kim Il-sung, said the matches could be held in Phnom Penh. The matches attracted 40,000 fans, with Sihounouk decreeing half would cheer for Australia, while the other half cheered the Koreans. The matches were held on 21 November 1965 and on 24 November 1965 with North Korea winning both (6–1 and 3–1). Because South Korea and all African teams had withdrawn in protests against FIFA, North Korea were thus directly qualified to the final tournament, where they reached the quarter-final [I am in debt to Wikipedia for this information]

Something else our lovely young guide didn't tell us during the tour (despite our questioning) was that during the Khmer Rouge period the stadium was apparently used as the site of executions by the Khmer Rouge of officials in the administration of Lon Nol. Our lovely guide just told us it was closed...I guess that's true in the 'official' way.

Another thing we learnt about the stadium design was that building it involved a lot of excavation from surrounding areas to create the stadium itself (which has a capacity of 50,000).

The resulting areas were then used to make deliberate ponds that would act as cooling mechanisms. All very smart design. Too bad some of the those ponds are now open sewers...yummo! (see below) Some of the others were filled in for new developments whose carparks now flood routinely - good one, Taiwanese developers!

These days the stadium is a popular hang out zone for Phnom Penh residents, who attend daily exercise sessions, as well as football games and other activities.

In May 2007, the Irish singer Ronan Keating performed in concert in the stadium's Indoor Arena, the first concert by a major international act (so sad I missed that...haha!)

Anyway, there you have it. The design is actually pretty ingenious when you poke around inside - the way it uses vents and direction and (previously clean moats) to create a simple but cool and functional space for big sporting events. They've got a pretty retro-cool venue, now Cambodia just need to get the rest of the act together to field a decent Olympic team :)

Oh - and if you're interested in the tours, check out Khmer Architecture tours for this ones and general cyclo tours of areas of Phnom Penh (which I've also done and highly recommend). They can be a little slow on the email response, so be patient (or call them).

Happy Khmer New Year Part 2: Escape to Ubud

2010-04-24T21:50:00.003+10:00

Part two of our 'Escape the sweat box of Phnom Penh' for Khmer New Year Holiday (Part one here) involved returning to mainland Bali and heading for the mountain town of Ubud, somewhere I haven't been for about 13 years. Needless to say, the place has changed a bit since then (fewer open sewers and rabid dogs for starters)...

I also think there's always a risk when you go back to somewhere you've traveled before, especially somewhere you went as a child. I guess you could liken it to a kind of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie effect' - something fantastical that gave you wonder as a child but ends up a distinct let down on adult replay. Thankfully I can report that Ubud did not fall into this category! Yes, there's been a bit of development since I was a tween, but the place still retains that villagey-arts-and-culture charming atmosphere and is just as green and beautiful as I remember.

One thing's for sure: the Balinese know how to do rice cultivation. Based on my (albeit still fairly ignorant) knowledge of agriculture in Cambodia, I believe most farmers average just one harvest a year, which means for the majority of the year the fields themselves look pretty dry and not-so-beautiful. In Bali, however, factors like climate, fertile soil (and no doubt some measure of skill/knowledge in cultivation) means up to three harvests (or two rotated with a third crop such as soya beans). No land is wasted, with these beautiful classic Balinese rice terraces at Tegallalang illustrating how even steep hillsides aren't wasted. The way they get the water to run efficiently from top down is an engineering art form in itself.

Sitting in a small cafe on the edge of this rice field drinking mango lassies - just as I did 13 years ago = awesome.

The other thing I harbour distinct childhood memories from in Ubud is the monkey forest. When I say 'memories', I really mean nightmares of having my much-coveted Hypercolour t-shirt (the best thing Santa brought in the xmas of 1996) ripped by a monkey that 'attacked' me hoping for peanuts. Thankfully our visit this time was less traumatic - but the monkeys are still fairly cheeky and the walk was punctuated by the screams of several unsuspecting tourist groups being pounced on by enterprising monkeys. Number one lesson: don't try to feed the monkeys!

Undoubtedly the most threatening monkey troupe in the forest...

One of the other things we did in Ubud was EAT. Oh yes, we ate... Pictured above is Babi Guling, a famous Balinese dish (remembering the Balinese are Hindu in a nation full of Muslim non-pork eaters) and involves a big slow cooked pig with all sorts of delicious herbs on it. Anthony Bourdain did a special report on it when he was doing his traveling/cooking show through here a few years ago, and since then tourists have been going gangbusters for what the Balinese have been eating a roadside stalls for years. I can't say I went for the intestine part, and I'm not a massive crackling person (if you are this would be heaven), but I can report the meat itself was delicious, especially washed down with a big bottle of Bintang. A balanced meal, no?

Aside from some great pork we also ate...

...some delicious duck. One of the dishes we ate you had to order 24 hours in advance so they could source the duck and then smoke it for you. I'm not a massive duck person, but it was bloody delicious.

And of course Bali isn't Bali without temples, offerings and the smell of incense wafting...

Along with the smell of clove kreteks cigarettes, this definitely triggered sensory memories from childhood travel again.

We only had a couple of days in Ubud, but it was enough to remind me of not only of the physical beauty of the place, but the kindness of the people, who were just as welcoming, generous and accommodating as I remember. Everything was just so easy to organise, no one tried to rip us off, our hotels were great, the service in restaurants fantastic and the weather (hot in the day, rainy in the afternoon but oh-so-cool at night) was a welcome relief from hot season in Phnom Penh. It was definitely hard to leave - but maybe the best thing I was reminded of about Bali is just how close it is to Australia...which gives me hope at least that there's some prospect I'll be back!

I told you life was dangerous here...

2010-04-24T17:33:00.001+10:00

From this week's Phnom Penh Post Crime Reporter:

Five-legged pig kills gardener
TUESDAY, 20 APRIL 2010 15:01 KHOUTH SOPHAKCHAKRYA

A PREY Veng province man who tried to chase a five-legged pig from his vegetable garden was killed on Thursday when the animal retaliated with lethal force, police said Monday.

Ton Tin, the police chief in Sithor Kandal district’s Phnau I commune, said the 13-year-old, 200-kilogram beast, which he said was notable for its “small fifth leg”, attacked 63-year-old Sean Sok, knocking him down with a blow to a kidney and then feasting on his stomach until he was dead.

“It is a very unusual case that I have never seen before,” he said.

“This is the year of the tiger, so why did the old man die from a pig bite?”

Monks and lay people from a local pagoda offered to kill the animal in retaliation, but the victim’s son, Sean Vireak, took matters into his own hands by inflicting a fatal electric shock on the swine.

“I killed it to avenge my father after the body of my father was cremated and his funeral concluded on Saturday,” Sean Vireak said, adding that the animal was an evil and notorious beast.

District police chief Yim Sok Math said he was not convinced by statements that the pig was inherently evil. “The villagers considered that the boar is an evil animal that threatens their village, but I think that it is a normal pig,” he said.

He added that he had ordered local villagers to bury the animal’s carcass near the same pagoda at which Sean Sok was cremated.

The Gili Islands: Go! There! Now! (but please don't ruin them)

2010-04-24T12:19:00.000+10:00

I actually contemplated not posting these pictures - just because Gili Trawangan is one of those fantastic places you occasionally come across traveling that is not only astoundingly gorgeous, but just at that perfect point of easy accessibility with enough home comforts, but not yet ruined by tourists...

...I say 'contemplated not posting', but let's face it - I'm too much of a holiday photographic show off - and the pictures are too pretty not to share. Plus of course I want all my friends to know about this great place with its friendly locals and amazing diving and cute little horse carts. Just promise me if you do go, that you'll maintain the integrity of the place and not turn it into another Ibiza or Hat Rin or something. Deal? Great! Moving on then...

Our trip to the Gili islands (three little blobs of paradise off the coast of Lombok, Indonesia), during the Khmer New Year break started with a boat trip from nearby Bali. Perhaps the dolphins were an omen of a good holiday to come...

Welcome to Indonesia! Maybe its the slightly jaded ex-pat in me speaking, but I do have to confess it was refreshing to be in a place where the tourism machine is just a *little* bit more well-oiled than in Cambodia. Sure, it might be a little bit more expensive, but sometimes the smoothness of the journey is worth it when you really just need to relaaaaax.

Self-explanatory.

Welcoming party.

This is the bit where things just got ridiculously beautiful. Sitting on this beach at lunch time on the first day of the holiday was really one of those 'I really am a lucky girl' moments. What I really liked about the beach outlook here as well (with Gili Air across the strait) was the landscape scene and the constantly changing bulbous cloud formations that formed as they hit the mountains of Lombok in the distance. Not your average plain horizon scene!

Sunset on the north end of the island (complemented with Bintang and tapas) wasn't too shabby either.

When we weren't diving (and the diving is great here, especially for beginners) we were doing things like this...

One of Gili's other 'charm factors' is that there's only little sand roads or a few footpaths with no motos or cars. The only transport options were bicycles (above)

and little horse-carts (below), that definitely rule the paths. Listen for the bells or be warned (particularly at night!)

The locals on Gili were also great. While the outer ring of the island definitely has the bulk of the (mostly small scale) bungalow operators and boutique resorts, the interior is still a series of ramshackle little paths between coconut trees with 'villages' (or a few houses here and there)

I found this guy one afternoon on a bike ride through the centre of the island. Everywhere we went people were genuinely super friendly to tourists and didn't mind the inquisitive foreigner asking for pictures. Many just wanted to show us a slice of their lives or talk to us about where we were from/going etc. Apparently the 'I am Australian but live in Cambodia' line is best avoided if you don't like to answer the inevitable series of follow-up questions.

Gili Trawangan. I'd get there and see it when the view is like this while you still can...

...but do remember to wear suncream.

[We took the Gili Cat to the island (highly recommended despite the price difference), and stayed in both Manta Bungalows (lovely and great for when you're diving) and Luce D'Alma (great for a one night splurge for us or a honeymoon if you're into that kind of thing - and totally deserving of its #1 Trip Advisor rating). Manta Dive were great for diving!]

There goes the neighbourhood...Part 2: The Egg Man Cometh

2010-04-06T22:31:00.006+10:00

Anyone who's ever stayed a night in Cambodia can probably tell you about the egg man. Actually, maybe they can't tell you about 'the egg man' per se, but they could certainly tell you about that annoying pre-recorded ditty of his in Khmer that you'll hear passing your office or home at least 10 times a day...even if they don't know what it means in translation.

Let me present to you: 'The Egg Man'

I can't claim these are great shots due to the low light and the shy egg man (who didn't seem to appreciate me stalking him on my bike) - nor can I claim that the interview was mine (thankyou Expat Advisory) - but I came across this Q & A on an expat forum online, and it does go some way to shedding light on that mysterious little cart and those repetitive distorted recordings.

Don't freak out yet - these aren't the ones with the actual embryos inside...

What is your name?

'Barang'.

What do they call this kind of egg?

'Pong Mouen Ang Psoum Kreung Piseh' [Grilled chicken egg with special ingredients.]

How long have you been selling eggs?

One year.

How much does one egg cost?

One is five hundred riel.

On a good day, how many eggs do you sell?

Four hundred to seven hundred.

Do you have an area where you work?

Khien Svay, and outside Olympic Market.

Do you rent or own the egg cart?

My uncle owns it.

There are many egg carts. How does the business work?

There are two types [of vendor]. Some own a cart and know how to do it themselves. Others do it for a company. They sell [eggs] and get a percentage of the profits.

Before selling eggs, did you have a different job?

I was studying in high school before this.

What is the usual age for egg sellers?

Usually over twenty.

Who cooks the eggs?

My uncle. This isn't the kind of egg with an embryo inside. The egg is broken and the insides [the yolk and white] are put in one bucket and mixed with special ingredients. [Including sugar, salt, and pepper.] Then the resulting mixture is put back in the shell, steamed for eight hours and then grilled.

Do some of the carts sell different kinds of eggs?

There are other kinds for sale. This kind of egg is the best. [The carts] usually sell this kind of egg.

Do foreigners ever buy the eggs?

Once two foreigners bought ten dollars worth of eggs to share with their friends, cyclo drivers and moto-taxis.

Do you think the loudspeaker is too loud?

If the volume is too loud, I can't hear people calling to buy the eggs.

What hours do you work?

I leave home at 8am and sell the eggs until I'm finished with them, sometimes 9pm to 10pm.

Will you continue with this job or do you have your eye on other work?

I'll continue, this is the only business I have. I'm doing this work in the place of my father, who is sick.

A foreigner commented in the newspaper that the egg carts are too loud. What is your opinion?

In the morning, if people are sleeping, the loudspeaker can affect them.

Do you play your speaker loud or soft?

In the early morning, I play it softly. Also at 12pm, 1pm when people are napping I also play it softly. From three pm onward I play it loudly.

How good has business been today?

Not so good. Only four hundred sold so far. Some people, they sell better than me. Six, seven hundred eggs per day

Do sellers have set territories?

No. We respect each other. If another vendor is ahead of us, we go slowly and give them space.

How do you decide your route?

I will sell around here [the amusement park near the Naga Casino] until people go home, then I will go to the riverfront area.

'Chicken eggs: delicious, nutritious and with 'special ingredient''...at just 500 riels (about 15 aussie cents) a piece.

I have to confess that in my nearly whole year here I haven't tried the eggs once. Today after I took the photo I bought a couple for nearby moto drivers who played the charm act. I actually don't think the taste would be that bad (basically egg mixed with salt, pepper and msg) but I've heard the preparation methods aren't very hygienic so I'll be leaving bacteria on the grill, thanks.

There goes the neighbourhood...Part 1: Bacon bits

2010-04-05T00:51:00.002+10:00

Coming home on the back of a moto from a friends place in the warm glow of a Saturday afternoon sunset, it hit me that maybe I'll only be around this place for a few more weeks. Its hard to fathom just how quickly the past year has gone by in some ways, yet in others when I reflect back on the girl I was when I arrived here and how I feel now, the journey feels pretty astonishing.

Coming to the tail end of an amazing year - watch out - potential for earnest self-reflection ahead...

So much of the day to day around this place is just 'normal' to me now. What was once strange, shocking or exotic is now just part of the background noise of life. Its only when you start to think about what lies ahead that you realise just how different things are likely to be once again, and maybe how much I might miss this crazy place...even if it can be weird, dirty and downright overwhelming some days.

In the spirit of recording the little bits of life that made 'Phnom Penh: the experience', I'm hoping to try and put the fresh photographic eyes back out there again over the time I've got left- to try and capture those little things that tell the story of day to day life here. So for starters, here's one little collection that captured something of Saturday afternoon on my street. This post comes with a 'probably not best to view at lunch' warning, so continue on at your own risk.

The sign on the outside gives a little indication of the future of the piglets within...

Usually this whole process happens under the cover of darkness at night. Often when I head to the gym at 5.45am you see the night's work being moto driven on racks, presumably off to market. Sometimes though, for whatever reason (it seems to be on holidays and special occasions on the Chinese calendar) there's an extra shift during the day. On those occasions you get this rack just hanging out in the street. Awesome.

The workers were only too keen to ham it up for the barang girl with the big lens. We discussed everything from where I lived, my marriage status, right down to their like of my nail polish colour choice. All those Khmer lessons paid off then!

Someone got a little bit carried away - he dropped it on the ground shortly after this photograph was taken. Given the others were already lying all over the ground anyway, I guess it didn't really matter that much.

Suitable abattoir worker attire...the things Khmers do in tight jeans never ceases to amaze me (treadmill work outs, construction jobs, school in 40 degree heat...)

This little piggy went to market...

I know it looks pretty full on, but realistically, the same thing is no doubt happening in big factories with (albeit cleaner) floors all over the world. Like many aspects of my experience in Cambodia generally, everything is just a little bit more 'raw' here. Its up to you how you cope with that!

I'm told at home we 'flame' them to get the hair off, but here they shave each piggy's back one by one. Can't have hairy crackling on those ribs now, can we?

In the scheme of things, this piggy was probably running free in some Cambodian village yesterday, so don't feel too sorry for him!

And just because we're not into wastage around here, a big bowl of intestinal goodness is prepared right alongside. Yum!

Next time I'll try to find something about my neighbourhood a little more tasteful (sorry!)

Tour de Kep

2010-03-17T01:51:00.000+11:00

What do you do when you've already been to Kep (probably the closest weekend getaway destination from PP) a couple of times? When you're sick of the bus trip, but don't feel like taking the soft option of the private cab?

The solution (clearly staring you in the face after a few beers) is to casually hatch a plan to ride a bicycle for 180km in the ever-sweltering 35 + degree Cambodian March heat.

Funny bike outfits. Well may you laugh...but I promise you'd be wishing you wore them too after half an hour on a hot, dusty road in the crazy heat on rental bikes (with your already sore behind)!

Royal D: Breakfast of Champions! Cambodia's answer to Gatorade (BYO bottled water). If you've got bad eyesight, the label reads "For those who lose energy such as hard workers, sportsmen, athletes, heavy sweating people as well as those who suffer dehydration and in hot climate". Just as well we brought 15 packets then!

FYI Royal D is also a favourite of hungover expats and tourists recovering from a Cambodian assault on their digestive systems.

No prizes for guessing what one of the best things about doing a ride like this during mango season is...

The face of someone not enjoying a mango. No...not enjoying it at all...

The mangoes were about 50 cents each, and were quite nearly the size of my head.

Local sugarcane juice sellers - not particularly impressed by our quest, but rather concerned at the way we were exposing our beautiful white skin to the harsh UV rays (soor sa-at -white, beautiful, k'mao, ot sa-at - black not beautiful - so much for my tan!)

After 80kms and a lot of sweating I did have to ask myself: Was I hallucinating? Had I reached some kind of enlightenment from pushing myself to the verges of delirium? A quick pinch-test revealed apparently not - it seems the restaurant owners just painted the answers to life's big questions on the walls of the local roadside restaurant for everyone's benefit...

Sunset, day one. By this point we'd put the bikes on some kind of moto trailer thing that we pulled over and hitched on. Call it cheating or whatever you want, but I dare you to go riding another 20km on a dusty gravel 'road' that's under construction in 40 degree heat. Doesn't sound so appealing? Didn't think so...

This woman and her husband also shared the ride. They were super-cute (except for the betel-nut induced loss of teeth)

Day two started with an ice-coffee break just after sunrise.

And avoidance of local breakfast options in favour of a few energy gel sachets.

These aren't the *actual* monks involved in the collision that ran my friend off the road, but some of their brothers were about 10 minutes earlier. Thankfully it was a slow speed crash and no one was hurt.

When the ride got a little boring, some of us decided to go in pursuit of cows. Smart move...

...or maybe not.

Thankfully a lot of the ride was on small roads like this - and not the 'National Highway' a.k.a. potholed, two lane 'road' frequented by buses/trucks/motos/cows/everything else driving wherever and however they want.

The finishing point! The hideous Kep crab sculpture. Time to run into the sea. Sadly, the warm, muddy water in front of us wasn't quite the satisfying refreshment we had dreamed about during the last 40km. Thankfully the Beer Laos chaser made up for that.

Kep sunsets. Worth riding ridiculous distances for. Best enjoyed with good friends and a passionfruit caprioska for $4. Finish with fresh crab dinner.

Of course on Sunday we didn't want to ride back again - so we pre-arranged a truck to carry us and the bikes back to Phnom Penh. As you can see, I'm now taking long drives in the back of trucks, complete with Krama headscarf...my transformation to real Khmer woman is nearly complete.

Compulsory flat tyre stop on the way home. Thankfully dealt with in about 10 minutes - though not before they scared us slightly by letting one guy get under the car while another tried to remove the tyre before the third had added the jack.

To be honest, one flat tyre is pretty extraordinary luck when you see the condition of the roads.

And a Sunday afternoon trip home extends into a Sunday night one. Who would have thought - only 8.5 total hours of riding time to get down, and 5.5hours of truck riding home. I'm not sure which one was more painful...

If you do want to ride from PP to Kep (around 200km all up) - my general advice would be to find someone who knows what they're doing. Thankfully we tagged along with such people. Its not just a matter of taking the main road (at least not if you want it to be enjoyable) and its best to find a good half way point to stop overnight. Bring plenty of high energy snacks, and be prepared to stop every half an hour at the sugar cane juice stands along the way. For more info you may want to check out Pepy Ride (an NGO that does great education work and runs responsible bike tours) and X-Plore Asia (where we got the bikes)

Someone's been in the Khmer princess dress up box again!

2010-03-12T02:38:00.003+11:00

I've posted about this before so I'm not going to go through the mechanics again.

What I will say is that if you're in Cambodia with a few hours to spare and about $9, this is quite a fun way to spend an afternoon...

...if you're a girl, that is. If you're a guy they just whack a jacket on you and hand you a sword, its not nearly as much fun dressing up.

Let the scary hair begin!

Lessons learnt from round two: be assertive. If you're not happy with the orangeness of the cakey, gross, foundation, say so early on! If you don't want the tangerine lipstick, say so. Of course it helps to say all of this in Khmer, but you can probably be equally effective in sign language if you're really persistent.

Exhibiting behaviour probably not appropriate for Khmer Royalty, but good fun nevertheless...

Oh what a hairpiece!

The serious business of being manipulated into proper Apsara position. Don't cross this guy, he takes his job VERY seriously.

I'm getting quite good at this regal posing/head tilted to the correct angle thing, don't you think?

Mishaps in photoshop whitening. Look at my legs - then check out the back one. That's my natural leg colour. Oops, Mr Photoshop, you missed a bit! We can't have a Khmer princess with a *tan* now surely...

Voila! The finished product. So life like, you'd nearly believe it was me!

When its all over, you get to go out to the supermarket and finish your weekend shopping looking something like this. The shop attendants love it. Apparently the drag queen look is in here...

If you're wondering where you can get this done, all you need to do is walk into one of the endless photoshops around town displaying large photos like the ones above. I've heard mixed things about prices and treatment though, so if you want to go where we headed, its a big double-fronted green place on Monivong as you head north, just after Central Market turn off and just before Thai Huot Supermarket.

One blink and a month goes by...

2010-03-11T23:52:00.009+11:00

I could let you in the finer details of some of the things I've been up to over the last month, but for the sake of not further aggravating already precarious levels of stress and anxiety I'll leave you with this...

Most people don't like having to think about their future at the best of times. Bear that in mind, then add some unexpected news from your funding supporters that a policy reshuffle means no expected extensions of volunteer allowances this year, and a quickly expiring contract with a feeling that you're just starting to grasp a culture and place. Combine with those ingredients a slight tinge of homesickness but a driving thirst for more international experience... then mix with a sense you need further qualifications to truly build the experience needed to gain positions where you can actually make a contribution in a place like this.

Into this already heady brew, throw painful and time-consuming matters such as updating CVs, drafting personal statements, coordinating transcripts, emailing references and working across time zones and without a decent printer and scanner to submit applications and you might begin to understand the recipe for disaster that has been most of my wakeful existence over the past few weeks.

And that's before you even get to the ever mounting pile of things that form my regular workload...oops!

Its somewhat of a blessing then, that amid all this future-stressing and uncertainty, the past month has also been filled with some lovely escapes and new experiences for this increasingly routine and habit-bound ex-pat.

Exhibit A: Sunday afternoon moto escape to the close-but-oh-so-local hangout of silk island...

Basically this involved setting off over the Japanese bridge to the other side of the Tonle Sap river then negotiating our way down some local streets using broken Khmer to find the ferry which crosses over the Mekong to some of the islands nearby. Load moto on ferry, pay 50 cents each, and away you go!

Ten minutes later it feels like you're in provincial Cambodia, complete with romancing cows

...and a flat tyre from crappy roads. Nothing a few minutes and fifty cents can't fix though!

While it was being repaired we went wandering and met these cool kids playing some kind of rope game.

This kid was cute but had suspiciously good English (often a sign that they're not going at school and are rather being used to work in the business of luring tourists!). "Do you want to come to my house?" was quickly followed by "do you want to buy this scarf", woven by the women working the looms. Too bad (or rather fortunate) that we didn't have any money on us.

I guess this is why they call it 'silk-island'

This kid told us that he was ten years old - clearly an appropriate age to drive your little sister around on the moto. I love Cambodia!

Cambodian modesty...apparently if you can afford the shiny new Honda Dream you're entitled to plaster it with stickers like this.

After the ubiquitous adds for fish sauce and mobile companies, perhaps one of the most common signs in Cambodia

Our exploration led us to a place where Cambodians like to hang out on the weekends. The sign read Koh Sdach 'Beach'. The Australian was not convinced.

By the time we found the place, it was already 5.35pm and we were told that the last ferry went back at 6.00pm. Back on the bike then I guess!

One compulsory pull-over-by-the-cops-for-unofficial-payment, one flat tyre, three wrong turns, a bunch of funny interactions in broken khmer, a cheap as chips delicious Chinese noodle dinner and a very sore saddle from a long ride later, this weekend is over. Sunday-itis bites hard!!!

Fantastic ways to wile away a weekend in Cambodia: Cardamoms edition

2010-02-11T17:50:00.005+11:00

Its been a while between blogs (yet again). What can I say? I've been busy at work, and when I haven't been in the office I've been busy getting up to this kind of stuff...

Which really makes it hard for me to maintain that moving to Asia to work for an NGO involved some kind of massive self-sacrifice on my part!

You probably haven't heard of them, but the Cardamoms are an area of wilderness around 5 1/2 hours on the bus from Phnom Penh in the province of Koh Kong (up towards the border with Thailand). Apparently Koh Kong town itself is not much chop, but I do know there are apparently some islands off the coast that are still nice ('like Thailand 20 years ago blah blah' if you get here quickly before they all get sold off for mega development).

In the choose-your-own-ridiculously-cheap-adventure world of Cambodian getaways, we selected the rivers/waterfall/jungle variety courtesy of the Rainbow eco-lodge near Tatai. Based on recommendations received, I'd been trying to get here for ages but something has always come up. In fact I've cancelled so many times that I had to get Sarah to make the booking as I was afraid of the same happening again. Thankfully not!

Sadly we didn't see any of the purported monkeys/tigers/snakes/[insert other exotic dangerous animals] that apparently still exist in these parts on our trek. Most of our encounters with living creatures were only of the botanical kind. That is, aside from the leech that made his way up the back of my cargo pants and secured himself there unbeknownst until the end of the trek, eww!

Oh yes...all this can be yours for $30US per person including three meals a day...

Best thing about a place like this? Probably just the fact that being here, and taking time to be still away from the hectic noise and pace of Phnom Penh allows you appreciate things like...

Warm, clear waters that you can't help resist dragging your fingers in...

The reflection of big fat clouds forming across a blue sky...

Butterflies - so so many butterflies...

Sunday breakfast without construction noise (trust me if you live in Phnom Penh this is quite a treat!)

The thrill of sitting under a rushing waterfall. I probably had the same look on my face during my under-the-falls moment as the guy on the left. Thankfully there was no one there to capture mine on camera!

The joy of extracting the last sweetness from the (cheap as chips) mango seed...

That moment when you take a break from paddling and the only sound is that of the kayak gliding along the surface of the glassy waters...

And of course how could you forget...all your premium spirits at your usual, so-cheap-it-would-be-criminal-not-to-drink-them prices!

Ok, ok, ok...I guess you've probably heard enough! Anyway, I highly recommend it as a 'food-for-the-soul' getaway. The only trick is maintaining the resulting zen state as the bus makes its way back through the crazy streets of Phnom Penh late on a Sunday afternoon.

How not to exacerbate a hangover: Lessons in playing a good host in PP

2010-01-20T16:14:00.015+11:00

Sunrise exercise sessions...one of those hosting activities best done without a hangover but not as bad as what happened in the story below (credit to Judgey for the picture)

One of the main reasons I've been lax in updating this blog in the past month is that I've been playing host to what sometimes seems like an endless stream of visitors to Phnom Penh. You can tell things might be getting out of hand when the tuk-tuk drivers outside Romdeng start recognising you and asking if you're a professional guide and referring to your 'group'...

Playing hostess can be surprisingly physically and emotionally exhausting, but don't get me wrong - clearly I'm a sucker for this kind of thing - otherwise I wouldn't have signed up to host random couch surfers on top of the family and friends that I'm actually kind of obliged to take in.*

I can't really explain *why* I turned out like this - I'm inclined to blame my parents for their generous hospitality during my formative years - we met (and tolerated) a wide range of international friends/colleagues/kids of colleagues/friends of kids colleagues that passed through our spare room. Those visitors brought with them not only weird food products (Hagel from Holland was a def. childhood fave) but also strange underwear that I had to hang out with ours (thanks Japanese girl) and a wealth of anecdotes about life outside Sydney that excited me from a young age. Whatever it was, somewhere along the line I apparently developed an appreciation for the benefits of cultural exchange...either that, or I'm just a show off!

I'm sure you've all heard the 'I'm set up, come and visit me' call go out from friends overseas. Everyone throws it out there, and I did too (after all, its the polite thing to do). What I didn't expect (and I'm guessing what most people don't get) is such a large number of people actually showing up! Setting aside whether that's a reflection of my popularity or (more likely) the price of tickets from Aus to Asia, I've now had colleagues, exchange buddies, parents, friends, cousins and numerous couch surfers (of various levels of demanding-ness) come through and I've still got more family friends, aunties, uncles, step parents, and probably [insert your name here] coming!

Its all fun and games for the most part - but I did have a rather hilarious (in hindsight) example of how that juggling act can sometimes play out. Stirring briefly by chance on Saturday morning at 9.15am after collapsing in bed only a few hours earlier (all night happy hour at Equinox's 4th birthday party anyone?), I looked at the messages in my phone and realised that I'd agreed to meet my cousin and EIGHT of her uni friends for breakfast at a cafe in town at 9.30am. Awesome. Look presentable and hop on a moto, quickly!

It turned out that all fresh-faced uni students were great breakfast company, and keen to explore Phnom Penh. After the usual 'so what are you doing here', 'can you speak Khmer', 'how long are you going to be here' Q & A session, and one very strong coffee (thankyou Java cafe), I piled all 9 of them into a tuk tuk for a trip across town.

About two minutes into said trip I did the 'tuk tuk safety pep talk' which goes something like...'this isn't a dangerous town and Cambodians are for the most part generous and lovely but you guys are comparatively wealthy and there are opportunists out there who will take advantage of your carelessness so just put your bags under the seat or out of view'. Are we all clear? Good!

Fast forward five minutes and the next ride later (when we split into two) and I hear a scream come from the tuk tuk in front...the same kind of scream of shock I've heard before when witnessing bag snatching. Crap. Of course it happened to the sweetest and least experienced of the bunch too. Great. Although half of me wants to say 'I told you so'...the bigger part just feels like a failure of a guide and goes into damage control for both my victim guest and my beloved city of Phnom Penh.

Although you're never going to get the bag back in these situations, we headed straight to the police station, where soon after I found myself with a throbbing hangover and an audience of 9 (one in tears of shock) attempting to negotiate with a grinning Lieutenant in broken Khmer. Any chance of a insurance report? Its Saturday and the man with the stamp is away (of course). Thank god for local colleagues on speed dial, and ten minutes later we've agreed to come back tomorrow with a small donation and collect our report. Needless to say when I returned on Sunday it still wasn't ready, but at least I could pick it up first thing Monday morning after a reminder call (funny how the donation buys that kind of efficiency).

Thankfully, the victim of the crime was quickly back to good spirits and appreciative of my assistance... In fact, the biggest annoyance of having all this happen was that I made the mistake of handing the officer my business card during our initial interaction to prove I worked here and had some kind of understanding of how the system worked. I can only assume that some kind of sharing of those details on his part was responsible for the ten fold increase I got in strange calls from Khmer men looking to 'get to know me' on my mobile since then. If only you could pay an 'unofficial fee' to make that go away!

Thankfully, I can say that the rest of the weekend with my tour group went well. They enjoyed plenty of things without my supervision (there's only so many times I'd like to visit the genocide museum) and we managed to meet up for great drinks and (passable) live music on Saturday night, plus a big dinner on Sunday. They all swore that despite their rough start, they enjoyed Phnom Penh. Phew!

In summary, I learnt a few things from all of this...

Lesson # 1: If you're going to agree to meet 9 people in the morning, its best not to stay out until 5am drinking cocktails called 'Amnesia'.

Lesson # 2: Give your safety pep talk early in the piece. Repeat if necessary. Then still be prepared for the worst.

Lesson # 3: In the event that something does go wrong, find the most senior police officer you can (the one with the most walkie-talkies) and be prepared to use your best broken Khmer and a lot of smiling to make your point, and your willingness to negotiate, clear.

Lesson # 4: When that fails, make sure you've got a nice Khmer colleague on speed-dial

Lesson # 5: Factor in a 'priority processing fee' for the insurance report you require on any amounts you claim.

...and finally IN NO CIRCUMSTANCES give your business card with personal mobile to unknown men, even if they are Police Lieutenants :)

As a random aside, some other valuable hosting tips I've picked up lately in these parts are:

Market food, while often alluring, delicious and perfectly edible for those of us who have been here for a while, is usually not worth the risk in lost travel days experienced when it all goes awry and your guests end up not being able to move further than the 2 metre path between the ensuite and the bed...
You can never have too much toilet paper in stock in your apartment (see above)
Having a spare local mobile that you can leave with the food poisoning victim goes a long way to alleviating the guilt you feel as a host when you have to leave them sick and alone while you go about your essential errands.

*If you're a couch surfer reading this, please note I'm currently taking a breather on hosting but might be around for a coffee/drink...

The festive season and then some: a month in review

2010-01-19T23:57:00.000+11:00

In the absence of written explanation of what i've been up to outside working hours over Christmas and New Years, here's some pictures to give you a glimpse of what December looked like in Cambodia and Thailand (for expats in a somewhat indulgent festive season mood anyway, I confess). Apologies if you're on facebook and this is repetitive!

In early december, against my better sensibilities, I decided to run in the Angkor Wat 10km with a pre-existing injury. What should have been an easy distance and an amazing sunrise view of the Bayon temple turned into an excruciating few weeks on crutches without competent physio/sports doctor relief. Crutches in Cambodia = not fun. I've been resigned to the cross trainer ever since. That'll teach you to be so stubborn Ali!

When we weren't running Siem Reap, we were enjoying the upmarket (much more upmarket than PP) tourist scene in the tiny town.

Why aren't there cool wine bars like this in PP? (Answer, because a small expat community doesn't equal the profits of 2 million tourist visitors each year...)

Later in December, a bunch of us decided to shell out (thanks parents for the Christmas money) and have a pre-Christmas banquet for those who were heading overseas/home for the holidays. We proceeded to stuff ourselves full of sashimi and other treats at the Raffles all-you-can-eat buffet. Unfortunately my stomach wasn't so good with the lactose from all that cheese, but it was still worth the price tag for the beef tataki and the custom ordered crepe man (chocolate, strawberries and amaretto please).

There was a karaoke follow through. Standard.

Christmas day was spent at a friends' gorgeous house on the other side of the river. A little bit of a trek, but wellllll worth it for the serenity. I have to say we managed to put together quite a feast for a bunch of NGO volunteers...

Cambodian Christmas day - complete with token couch surfing bbq slaves :) Who needs all the relatives and the present angst when you've got this?

On boxing day I headed to Thailand with a motley crew of friends from different chapters of my life. First stop, Chatuchak markets for a much needed decent shopping hit! Don't know what I thought about the pet accessories section though!

Bags loaded, we then hopped down to Koh Tao for some island and diving time. As much as I hate returning to places I've already visited, I love the mix of diving and the general vibe of this place.

Some of nemos friends, found...

Part of the advanced diving course is the night dive. Pretty awesome under a near full moon, and not nearly as daunting as I expected. In fact, the phosphorescence in the water made it serenely beautiful. I want to do it again!

Just another long boat shot (I can hear you choking on that sandwich over lunch back in the office, ha!)

We spent New Year's Eve on Sairee Beach on Koh Tao. It certainly wasn't as crazy as the full moon party on Koh Phagnan nearby, but it was a great night. This pic is from sunset...the expensive camera (wisely) got put away after that...

By mid-afternoon on New Year's day we were ready to tackle what turned out to be a supremely relaxed transit to Bottle Beach, on the far north (quiet part) of Koh Phagnan. Thankfully by sunset we were on our remote beach sanctuary, well away from what was left of the full moon riff-raff!

That's it really. December. I know, I know, I'm a lucky girl... I promise there was (a little bit) of work in there too. That doesn't make for pretty photography though...

Its not beginning to look at all like Christmas (but it does look beautiful anyway)

2009-12-22T02:00:00.004+11:00

Last week brought a visit from my good friend and fellow pinstripe-prison escapee Rani (on her way home from a year in Italy doing a masters in food culture), which meant the usual PP antics and a lovely weekend on the Cambodian coast in Kep.

Ahhhhhh the serenity. Not a bad spot to be at 5.30pm on a Friday afternoon (if you can wangle the lunch early-mark and get yourself a taxi that doesn't break down for the three hour ride)...

As soon as we hopped out of the cab and put our bags down, we hopped on the free bicycles and pedaled with the local kids down the main road just in time to make sunset at the Sailing Club. The relief of breathing in the sea air and listening to the cows moo-ing on the side of the ride just a few hours after a hectic week in Phnom Penh should not be underestimated. Heaven!

Looking back on the sailing club at sunset.

Definite contender for favourite spot in Cambodia!

Its all about the seafood. Crab is the big ticket item, but if you're over the fiddling and mess, the shrimp and squid (pictured here) are also pretty special. My personal favourite amongst the crab shacks is Kim Ly - near the far left end if you're facing the sea). Can't say I've tried the others, but I was given this tip by others and haven't been disappointed yet!

Maybe a scene from 'Lost'...or maybe just Rabbit Island (the boat price has been jacked up to $20 return now, so try and clamber together some other day trippers to share the costs)

Our room at Verandah - you can see why they call it a lover's retreat (but its still nice to share with friends)...and will be even better if they ever finish that giant pool they were tinkering with on Sunday morning...

Sunsets at Verandah (more lovebirds on the left...)

As opposed to the blissful door-to-door taxi there, we decided to take the bus back (only $5 each instead of around $17). In hindsight, I would have paid the extra to retain my sanity! This happens every time I get a bus in Cambodia (bus-rider's regret) but seriously, must the bus stop EVERY 10 metres(!) Is it too much to ask that your village neighbours coordinate themselves to all hop on at one spot in the village? A 3 hour trip should really not take 5.5 hours (45 minutes of being late and the rest in additional stopping and starting along the way)!

Phnom Penh 101: Tourist Season Edition

2009-12-22T01:55:00.001+11:00

Its not hard to tell that its tourist season in Phnom Penh. Look no further than the steady trail of bewildered looking backpackers wandering down my street, Lonely Planet in hand. Ditto to the hoardes of loud, middle-aged couples attempting to bargain in Engrish in the clothes aisles of Russian Market. Tourist season also means an apparent increase in Couch Surfing requests (or maybe that's just got to do with me changing my profile picture online...sheesh people are a superficial bunch...)

Well anyway, in the spirit of tourist season, and given I've now been here 6+ months and had enough guests to feel semi-qualified to throw my 2 cents in on these matters, here are some of my top hints for playing tourist in Phnom Penh. I'm not pretending this is any kind of comprehensive guide [on that front I can't recommend travelfish.org highly enough - leave your guidebook at home and get yourselves over to their website for free nuanced/up-to-date/practical advice that you can download print out in a pretty pdf for a couple of bucks] - no, this is just a few ideas for ways that you may want to spend a bit of time here.

Art exhibitions and bars in abandoned colonial mansions...you never really know what this place might throw your way...

If you're a backpacker, do yourself a favour and stay away from the guesthouses up at the lakeside! Your out-of-date guidebook might suggest its a cool traveler enclave, but now that the lake has pretty much been reduced to a forlorn sandbank and the dubious drug dealer types outnumber the locals, you'd be well advised to stay somewhere else if you want to see any semblance of the 'real' Phnom Penh! There's still the riverfront and its offerings (if you can bear the incessant tuk-tuk hassling) or the more local but still close-to-everything offerings of the many new, reasonably priced guesthouses in the area bordered by O'Russey Market, Monivong Bvld, Siahnouk Blvd and Olympic Stadium. I personally stayed in Top Banana Guesthouse in BKK 1 (Golden street) and enjoyed it - but good luck getting into that prime real-estate these days! If you want to pay less than around $8, then don't complain when its not very nice.

The Pavilion...home of many an ex-pat's visiting parents (and significantly more than $8 a night - but still awesome value in the scheme of things)...

Phnom Penh's not really full of 'tourist-must-sees', but you really should check out the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, even if its not 'fun', if you want to get some kind of picture of the recent history that shaped this place and its people. Definitely do the museum over the 'Killing Fields', which in my view, can be skipped quite comfortably unless you've really got stacks of time on your hands.

Tuol Sleng - compulsory, if sobering, viewing.

Nights out - Phnom Penh's doesn't have the biggest population and the locals have a fondness for early nights, so while there are stacks of venues and nice bars, it takes some skill to find out where the party will be at on any given night. Check sites like Lady Penh or grab an English newspaper, or AsiaLife Magazine. Now that Pontoon appears to have disappeared, late late night crowds tend to be congregating around Riverhouse or Memphis around the riverfront. The first Friday of the month still brings the renowned 'elsewhere' parties at random venues around town (check out the papers) if you want to be able to brag to your friends that you went to a party at a train station, or a tv studio, or in a kite museum.

Chinese House during the Khmer 60s Rock n Rock party.

On any given night, you'll usually find ex-pats drinking cheap beer in bars around the corner of st 51/278. The elsewhere bar itself is quite a nice spot if you fancy a night time swim, cocktail in hand (but since the reno it still can't seem to get a crowd on an ordinary night).

elsewhere on weeknights...the concept of drinking a cocktail from a glass in a swimming pool is enough of a novelty for most western occupational-health-and-safety-conscious visitors to make it worth at least one drink, even if it sometimes seem to be lacking the crowds...

Snowies (aka Maxines) on the other side of the Japanese bridge (weekends only) and the Chinese House (far north on the riverfront) which is part art gallery/part bar, are two venues worth making the tuk-tuk ride for!

Inside Snowies...best enjoyed on Sunday afternoon with a breeze blowing on the Tonle Sap, a chair on the balcony and 'The Cure' playing in the background...

The Foreign Correspondent's Club doesn't have any foreign correspondents (although it does have pretty much *only* foreigners), but while the sunset drinks from there at happy hour are a total cliche, they're still pretty enjoyable! If you really want to do Colonial-style happy hour (but without a view) go and check out the Elephant Bar at Raffles Hotel Le Royal.

The view from out the back of the FCC.

If you're with a group, renting a boat at sunset from the riverfront (around $10-15 for the whole boat) is quite a fun way to check out sunset with friends. BYO snacks/alcohol and ipod.

Street food is generally not like in thailand (i.e. drool worthy). While I've got my favourites, I wouldn't necessarily recommend them for weak stomachs. A good resource on Cambodian food is Phnomenon (no longer updated but still good). If you're brave, you can try some cheap, street-style food in markets like Psar Tuol Tumpong (Russian market). Look for the enterprising, English-speaking noodle ladies at the busy stands for the safer options. Expect to pay around $1 for lunch and another $1 if you want an ice coffee/fruit shake.

Rice pancake with prawn and pork: $1. Surviving with your digestive system in tact, priceless!

On the Khmer food front, you can satisfy both your conscience and appetite at Romdeng, an ambient colonial villa where former street youth serve tasty modern Cambodian cuisine. They also provide the most palatable fried tarantulas in town – just be sure to dunk them in plenty of the lime and pepper sauce. Favourite Khmer dishes that westerners actually seem to like (as opposed to just having their photo taken with) are fish amok curry, pomelo and shrimp salad, pork mince with smokey eggplant, banana blossom salad and any kind of seafood with Kampot Pepper.

Everyone loves a tarantula, right?

Other good places to try Khmer cuisine are the Boat Noodle restaurants, or Khmer Surin (in BKK 1). If you want to sit on plastic chairs and eat BBQ meat with locals, Sovanna BBQ on Street 21, is one of the few places around that seems to get a good mix of both foreigners and locals. The menu can be a bit tricky. Just point at things other people have that look good - everything's pretty cheap.
Well if not, you can always try the amok curry...this is one I whipped up myself at the Frizz cooking course in town...
If you want to watch some local recreational activities, ride the escalators to the top of Sorya Mall (a favourite recreational pursuit of the locals in itself) to see Phnom Penh’s coolest youths work their best roller-skating moves. The view over Phnom Penh isn’t bad either.
This guy was doing pull ups on the 'Olympic torch' the other morning...my sporting sensibilities scream that it may be not be a 'safe' movement in terms of hyper-extension of the something-or-other...but the rest of me just thinks 'what a legend'...
But (and this won't surprise any of you that read my blog) I still maintain that the best place to hang out with locals is Olympic Stadium at sunrise or sunset – join with the masses of all ages to try all kinds of sports and after-sport snacks. For 2000 riel you can join in the aerobics (any attire goes), or simply take a seat on the stairs and enjoy the passing parade.

That's all I can think of right now on regular tourist front... perhaps in the next edition I can do an 'ex-brat's guide to living the luxe life in PP' - as that (unintentionally) seems to have been how I've spent my December!

Let's talk about sex (photos from a gender training afternoon)

2009-12-02T23:04:00.006+11:00

Been too busy enjoying Phnom Penh to sit down and write about it - so here's a brief 'photo essay' of something we got up to at work last week... Basically, we went out in the afternoon to train a group of about 20 women from a local mother's group. Women's empowerment is a big part of many aid programs around here, so even though its not up there strictly with our 'legal education' brief, its incorporated alongside many of our other programs. One 40 minute lesson on domestic violence, one half an hour lesson on pre-natal health - sounds simple enough, right?

The location for training. It took us a good 90 minutes to get out here, despite it being maybe only 10km from the centre. The main problem seemed to be that its at a relocation site (a place where the gov move people who are evicted from their lands) and they basically consist of rows and rows of tiny houses that look the same.

Well here's the room... Once we got to the new 'centre', I was somewhat surprised to find just a typical empty shopfront with a couple of fans (dangerously mounted through one powerpoint of course) to combat the 30 plus degree heat and not much else...

Slap a few rattan mats down and stick a few pieces of white paper on the wall and *tada*, classroom! Shame about the deafening sound of welding going on across the road, but what can you do!

Don't forget to factor in that when you're trying to train a mother's group you're probably going to get at least 20 or so breast feeding babies and kids rocking up (and running around, and crying, and doing all that stuff kids do) during the lesson. At one point this meant I was left (literally) holding the baby when one kid took a shining to me and her mum was busy doing group work. Flashback to the old babysitting days, no worries...but the sleeping toddler nuzzled into the shoulder of the Barang was apparently a source of amusement for many!

Cuteness personified perhaps, but not exactly conducive to good learning. Especially not when she peed on the floor right in front of the trainer...

I'm always pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm of participants, even when the learning conditions are horrible! Group work time here on categorising different types of domestic violence (physical, mental, financial, sexual). Interesting that they all selected mental/emotional abuse as the most damaging...

The second lesson was quite interesting and covered a lot of the myths vs facts about how a woman should be treated/conduct herself during pregnancy. Things about how much sleep she should get, foods to avoid etc, how much work she should be allowed to do - things most of us take as 'assumed' knowledge back home, but don't underestimate the power of 'old wives tales' around here!

At the end of our two lessons (and our one mandatory fruit break), we conducted an evaluation with participants, then piled back in the tuk tuk for the trip back to town in peak hour. Once back at the office, we have to write a report for donors on the lessons - probably one of the most annoying (albeit necessary) parts of non-profit work. When someone's giving money for you to do things, you need to show that you did them. Still, sometimes I just wish I could stop writing reports about what I'm doing, and actually get more of the 'doing' part done!

View from the tuk tuk on the way home.

School bus, Cambodian style...

Love this part - the road was so dodgy they all had to pile out and run ahead so that the tuk tuk could negotiate all the holes on an empty load.

[photo removed for now...]

P.S...ahem...the newest addition to our training equipment. One's apparently the 'local' version and one the 'foreigner'. I'll leave it up to you to decide which is which. It might seem pretty funny - but these props actually serve a serious part of condom training use. Maybe you think its a bit extreme to go and get these carved when we could just go degrassi-junior high style and use a banana or cucumber, right? Wrong! I was told that the reason we had to get these is because in the past there have actually been occasions where vegetables have been used and then participants have subsequently gone home and placed the condom on a vegetable, walked off and proceeded to have sex, believing they were protected. Ahhhh the joys of working in a cross-cultural development context!

Sorry, but you'll have to leave the monk outside...

2009-11-22T21:41:00.007+11:00

I had my first foray into Couch Surfing this week. For those of you that aren't down with these Gen-Y type concepts, Couch Surfing is an online community of over a million travelers that sign up to host others for free in the name of cultural exchange and all that jazz. If you've got a spare couch/room, you can host, or if you're traveling you can search by location for hosts nearby to score yourself not only a free place to crash but often a stack of local insight.

Before you freak out (hi Mum!), the whole thing has a series lot of safety/reference measures built in and I've only ever heard good reports. Finding myself with a newly empty room, more spare time than I've probably ever had in Sydney and an insight into this place that I figured might be of use to others, I cautiously signed up to the 'maybe has room' option last week.

Two days and several sets of directions later, I stood on my balcony on Saturday afternoon watching a lost-looking tuk tuk doing laps of my street. Surely...no...that couldn't be her. Even from my restricted birdseye angle I can see the flash of orange robes...but hang on, there's definitely a backpacker there too. On a third lap I figured I may as well wave. An enthusiastic response was received. Yes, it was her. Just when you think you've seen it all...A 30 year old, salt-of-the-earth Finnish woman, let's call her Kristina, piles out of a tuk tuk out the front of my house...with a monk in tow...

I turn to my friend and fellow Saturday-arvo-balcony-drinks partner with a giggle and a look of disbelief. Ummm...what exactly is the appropriate response here? I'm not professing to be an expert on proper monk behaviour, but given you're not even meant to be eating at the same table as a woman, I'm pretty sure rocking up at some female ex-pat's apartment with another random female foreigner you just met in the provinces and expecting to score a free room is not really up there with model monk conduct!

Random monks, just doing what monks are meant to be doing...

So there I am at the gate, smiling and trying to welcome this sweet-looking, if maybe slightly naive Scandinavian while simultaneously pulling not-so-subtle facial expressions that scream 'what's with the monk?' . Meanwhile, this orange-robed, shaved-headed Cambodian male stands behind her sheepishly, studying an SMS. Presumably this is who she was referring to when she said 'after I'm done with my guide from the Royal Palace'. That's cool then. Maybe he helped her find my address and now he'll say goodbye and hop back in the tuk tuk back to the pagoda. But, no. He's still standing there, clasping one of those cheap conference-style bags they all tote around here filled with a few bits of paper or whatever it is they carry...after all, they're not meant to have many material possessions, right? A few (extremely long) seconds pass and the tuk tuk drives off. Kristina isn't exactly forthcoming with answers. I open the gate to let her in and he steps forward.

Now, I know they're meant to be respected and revered and everything, but you're not really giving me a choice here...so I mutter "Umm...I'm sorry, but I just don't think its appropriate for you to come inside my apartment"

He puts his head up and mumbles 'is there just one room?' and I'm forced to apologise awkwardly...yes there's just one bed and sorry, I wasn't expecting you, and I don't think its appropriate, I just wouldn't feel comfortable...(while on the inside thinking to myself - hang on a second, shouldn't you be staying at the pagoda...and...gees this is audacious!) Silence. Head down again. Crap. I offended the monk. Oh well, I'm sticking to my guns on this one... back to the Finn - how about you come upstairs? She turns back to him and gives a kind of 'sorry, I did my best' look and I usher her inside the locked gate.

Once inside, I hand her a glass of water and a look of 'please explain'? She goes on to tell the story of how she met him out in the provincial town of Stung Treng and he was doing some kind of language exchange he needed her assistance with. I know that these kinds of things do take place in the grounds of the pagoda...but I don't think they usually extend to sharing a taxi together all the way to Phnom Penh (no doubt at your expense)...or buying you a SIM card so you can arrange a meeting point... Once they arrived, I guess the guided tour of the Palace was a nice touch (though I never got to ask about his guiding ability). When this was done, and it was time to bunker down for the night, apparently he took it upon himself to come too. What exactly Kristina was thinking when she allowed a monk to accompany her to a stranger's spare room, perhaps I'll never know...but I do think she was at least a little relieved that I'd done the breaking-up on her behalf because clearly he'd backed her into quite a corner. Wonderful - a free bed at an ex-pats apartment in Central Phnom Penh...but not really appropriate behaviour for a monk!

One thing I did learn early on in my SE Asian travels though, is that many monks aren't those old, wise, clean-living omnipotent men you envisage from reading new age Buddhism-tinged self-help books you picked up back in the Balmain. Rather, being a monk (for many of the younger generation at least, much to the chagrin of some older monks) is somewhat of a rite of passage, or period of atonement, for many young Buddhist men, who join up to live the monk's life for a few years, sometimes to access an education they may otherwise not have been able to afford, for example. The majority will leave later when they get tired of the restrictive lifestyle, or fall in love, or want to go on a gin-fueled bender or other such things. In the meantime, that doesn't mean they're not still young men with the usual young-male drives and tendencies. Its not that uncommon in Cambodia to see another 'Monks Behaving Badly' newspaper headline.

Its perhaps just as well then that at least most travelers have read that little cultural warning that even in the most commercial guidebooks include - that females in particular shouldn't get too close to monks...maybe that's safest for everyone!

Strange introductions aside, the rest of my first Couch Surfing experience was quite enjoyable. In exchange for my spare room and a tour of Russian markets on Sunday, Kristina (who'd been working as a chef in some kind of new-age 'wellness' retreat in northern Finland) turned a bunch of fresh market veggies into a delicious vegetarian meal. She also gave me my first tarot reading...which was and entertaining way to spend a Sunday evening if nothing else!

With more Couch Surfing requests in my inbox, stay tuned for more 'this could only happen to me in Cambodia' moments to come...

Back in the thick of it...

2009-11-18T17:28:00.010+11:00

What a whirlwind of a week! The end of last week brought 'The Wedding' - which was of course the chief purpose of my visit to Sydney, aside from just chilling out at beautiful beachside locations all over the place. The wedding itself was absolutely gorgeous; a perfect setting, great weather, fun guests and a joyous couple.

From this...

On Sunday afternoon I had to excuse myself from a follow up BBQ at our place (complete with Kangaroo on the barbie and a couple of home-made pavlovas for the British guests and those of us who live in Cambodia) to hop straight back on the plane. I can't say I enjoyed the commute - door-to-door it took 22 hours once you factored in three different flights, a sleepless night in a tiny AirAsia non-reclining seat, a couple of airport transits and finally the hot, dusty tuk tuk ride through the traffic back to my apartment in central Phnom Penh.

Talk about a change of scenery! From civilised afternoon drinks in our lush garden in inner-western Sydney, I found myself back in an airport where the electricity kept cutting out, experiencing that sensation of sweat dripping down your back within two minutes of stepping outside, and taking in the whiff of 'the black lake' (i.e. the open sewer around the corner from home) as the tuk tuk made its way through the crazy traffic home.

...to this, a little bit of a shock (this is the black lake on a nice day)

Flicking between countries again once again brought home all those reminders of the differences between the two. Things like...

I just left a place where I look like everyone else, and where I can move about in public either going unnoticed, or, if I choose, communicating in subtle ways with strangers through things like eye contact and body language that I know will be commonly understood (oh the joys of being able to flick an innocent but cheeky look to a stranger on the train)...

...to come back to a place where I'm in the minority again, an obvious 'outsider', even in the relatively foreigner flooded Phnom Penh. That means you're constantly stared at (out of curiosity more than rudeness) wherever you go.

I just left a place where I could freely walk around wearing jewellery, nice handbags, use a wallet, walk on the streets with my ipod in - just like everyone else in the CBD. Its not about 'flaunting' wealth, its just the things nearly all of us would wear every day without thinking. I could also carry my digital SLR around without thinking twice, and leave it on a table at the wedding unattended and things like that...

...to come back to a place where I don't wear anything other than locally bought NGO-chic jewellery, don't carry a handbag or wallet, would never walk on the streets with an ipod, and have to guard or conceal my camera (or just not take it out) all the time. Constant awareness of security is one thing you live with here. Even if for the most part the city is not 'dangerous' - if you're careless the opportunists will take advantage of any slip ups!

Security...I have to say it felt like a luxury not to have to really worry about it in Sydney these past two weeks (just after several reports of armed hold ups of foreigners at night in PP)

I just left a place where even when its 29 degrees outside, the air is clean and fresh and at night I could still sleep under the comfort of my favorite blanket...

...to come back to the always humid PP (even in this 'cool' season), where you feel the sweat almost immediately on stepping out the door in the morning and sleeping is rarely even under a sheet, and always with a fan.

I just left a place where I'm fluent in the language, can speak to whoever I want, whenever I want. Good friends, work colleagues, boys, strangers, people who ring your number by accident, those pests who come to the door of the house...I know what to say to them, and how to adjust my language and tone and all that jazz appropriately. I can also listen to any radio station or read every sign, every newspaper, every document in front of me...

to come back to a place where I'm fortunate that many locals have a better grasp of my language than I have of theirs, but still a place where I can't actually hold more than a basic conversation with most people I meet. That includes people on the street, in the shops I need to visit, people I might need help from with something. For example, yesterday morning my cleaner, Pha, rocked up to the house, which was already clean and I couldn't even properly communicate with her that she didn't need to clean it again without calling someone to do the translation. Don't even get me started on the writing - I haven't even attempted to grasp the Khmer script, which means there are zillions of things around me every day that I'm oblivious too, just because I can't read. Even when the signs might be in Engrish, they often don't make sense either!

Oh the benefits of being able to read signs...like this amusing one in Gerringong on the NSW South Coast

I just left a place where people can afford to (and are actually in a way expected to) spend thousands and thousands of dollars on a beautiful wedding with amazing food, free flowing drinks, nice flowers, in a beautiful building on a pristine part of the harbour with yachts racing in the background...

Ahhhh, oysters....

...to a place where there are people across the road from me living under a tarpaulin, many people are hungry, there are beggars at the traffic lights, and the average yearly earnings of even a reasonably paid local probably wouldn't cover the cost of the wedding cake.

People in Phnom Penh actually buy, and eat, Cambodian shellfish that grow in the waters of this lake...a little different to the oysters above, no?

On the one hand that might be kind of difficult for an individual to be exposed to, but on the other hand its also nice to feel at least some sense of belonging in both places. While I love Sydney, and especially towards the end was feeling just how lucky I was to be born in such a place, surrounded by such beauty, wealth and opportunity, I also now have a connection with Phnom Penh and its own charms. It might not always be easy, but there's a sense of satisfaction from knowing that I can survive here!

I was also pleasantly surprised to have the landlord's kids rush out enthusiastically to greet me on my return, and for her to smile and comment on both my tan (which unfortunately by local standards isn't very attractive) and my haircut, and for me to understand this, and be able to respond in Khmer! My workmates also informed me, in their typical upfront and direct Khmer way, that I was more beautiful now than when I left. That's what the magic of a haircut, a good change of clothes and a bit of time relaxing in Aus will do for you I guess. Then again, maybe it was just because I made the rookie error of actually wearing make up to work in Phnom Penh again. Perhaps if they'd made their assessment 1/2 an hour later (by which time it had undoubtedly slid off my face again) they wouldn't have been so full of flattery!

It was also nice to come home and purchase a week's worth of grocery essentials for $20 US, although not so nice to try and cook a stir fry only to have the gas bottle run out 30 seconds in! With no microwave and no oven, the only cooking option was to beg for use of the neighbour's facilities. It was also not so enjoyable to find out at 5.30am that someone in the neighbourhood evidently has a new rooster, but I made the most of it and took myself back to the stadium with friends for a morning run. I did get a kick out of once again surrounded by all the aerobics enthusiasts at sunrise and the giggling Cambodian men, who always seem to be amused by a foreign female slogging it out.

Back to morning exercise times!

The time at home was wonderful...but for now at least its back in the thick of it for the second half of 'The Year of Living Dangerously' project :)

Playing tourist in your own home-town

2009-11-13T09:15:00.003+11:00

Given how many pictures I take of Cambodia, its only fair I do my bit for the promotion of Sydney as well. I have to say, if Sydney keeps putting on perfect beach days like yesterday, I might *accidentally* have to miss my plane back to Phnom Penh on Sunday night.

I'll let the pretty pictures speak for themselves - but they do make me realise that I was rather lucky to be born in such a place. I just have to bear in mind when I'm walking along beach cliffs in the sunshine, diving into Bronte sea pool or eating lunch with friends in the Botanic Gardens that if I was actually living here I'd be far more likely to be sitting in an internal office in the CBD rather than being out there enjoying it!

The best thing about water this clear is that you can see the shark a good ten seconds before it attacks...(just doing my bit to perpetuate rumours that Australia is all about deadly animals :))

Getting all arty at the Sculptures by the Sea - that time every year when a bunch of Australians who otherwise don't care about art, but do like the beach, come out to look at sculptures on the walkway between Tamarama and Bondi Beaches.

Apparently this one had some swimwear on it at some point for modesty, but that was long gone by the day I turned up

The sea pool at Bronte - home to many fond childhood summer memories...

No 'enhance colour' buttons were harmed in the editing of this photo...it was really like this yesterday in Sydney, I promise!

Lunch spot in the Botanic Gardens - I really should have gone down here more when I was working in Martin Place...

Some buildings you may be familiar with...

And I even had to drop by my old university, which also brought back some fond memories of sitting around doing that 'student-thing' i.e. opening some books on the grass but really just chatting/drinking coffee...that was, until I saw that there were exams on at the moment, the thought of sitting in Maclaurin Hall freaking out about Corporations Law killed the fond memories pretty quick.

That's not Cambodia!

2009-11-11T16:27:00.007+11:00

I realise that a couple of days spent in a place like this is hardly indicative of what 'Sydney life' was like for me, but it is amazing what a few days of sun, salt and sea breeze can do for the soul, and it does remind me why I love Australia (despite my apparent tendency to keep leaving its shores) and why I guess one day, I'll inevitably end up back here for good.

Hyam's beach in Jervis Bay. Whale and dolphin playground...

...and on a perfect weekday morning outside peak season (just us and a couple of German backpackers), this pristine place has to be up there with my favourite spots anywhere in the world - even better that its only a couple of hours from Sydney.

Proof that years of babysitting pays off...the beach house I'm lucky enough to have access to for a fraction its worth after many nights babysitting the owner's kids

And the view from the front deck...not too shabby!

Whale time! Spotted these guys from the deck during breakfast today. I don't really have a good enough zoom, but you get the idea. I think the little humpback at the front is the calf. They commonly migrate up the Australian coast at this time of year.

Patrick doing his best to reinforce the stereotype that my Cambodian friends seem to have that all Aussie boys are blond, tanned, surfer types.

I was also lucky enough to score a belated birthday mexican meal of my choice, complete with over-priced coronas (thank you little brother!)

A 'thong' collection of the Australian variety...(flip flops for the rest of you)

Is it a postcard...or a real beach? Werri Beach near Gerringong on a perfect morning. Stopping here for a swim on the way home, and having your breath taken away by the temperature of the water on that first dive...awesome!

Beach house time was also a chance for a sibling reunion...complete with my compulsory traditional thrashing in a game of monopoly. Just what I needed to remind me why I still call Australia 'home' (pardon the cliche!)

[For the full album click here]

Same same but different

2009-11-07T09:40:00.004+11:00

I promised before I'd write a few notes on my thoughts about the differences between Australia and Cambodia...the kinds of small things that only really hit you when you've just gone from one to the other, the things you take for granted, that kind of stuff.

Well, I've kind of been too busy doing catch ups to really do justice to this topic, but for what its worth, here a few things off the top of my head that have come to mind... (please bear in mind the point score is tongue-in-cheek...I love both places...promise!)

Fruit: Sydney's bananas are bigger but have wayyyy less taste than Cambodian ones. Plus in cambodia you can get about 10 different types of banana starting for around 50 cents a bunch. I'll grant you that Australian mangoes are probably bigger and tastier (but much more expensive). I also saw a mangosteen for $2.50 at a fancy grocer in Surry Hills. I pay around 75 cents for a kilo of the same in Phnom Penh. Point score: Cambodia=+1, Australia=0
Traffic: Its definitely nice to have an element of predictability and order, and the general sense of safety that comes with it (Australia=+1), but it kind of sucks having to wait at red lights all the time in Australia. Sneaking a cheeky right hand turn, or just plain crossing a major intersection against the lights has become one of my naughtier-but-perfectly-acceptable-by-local-standards habits in Phnom Penh (Cambodia= +1 point).
Coffee: I know you can get good stuff in some of the cafes of PP, but the general standard, and ability to order whatever milk/size/variety you want in Australia wins hands down. In fact, from my travels in Europe and South America (purported home of the coffee bean) I have to say, Sydney coffee still wins in my book. Australia +1 point.
Transport: Sure, its nice to have a train, but I miss my $3 tuk tuk ride home at night and the door to door service of motodops in Phnom Penh. I've also been missing living in a place that's small enough to ride my bike to most places. (Cambodia +1 point).
Water: One obvious point to Australia for having drinkable tap water. They say the tap water in PP is drinkable, if you like the strong taste of chlorine. I don't know if I believe them though, maybe it is clean when it leaves the plant, but who's vouching for the condition of the pipes it goes through before it reaches your lips...(Australia +1 point). Australia does, however, suffer from drought, which means water usage restrictions (Cambodia +1 point). It is nice to have good water pressure on the hot tap in the shower, and actually, just to have a hot tap at all in the kitchen here in Aus (Australia +1 point).
Eating out: Sydney does have an amazing range of food available, but gees its expensive! I'll never complain about having to shell out $6 for a wood-fired pizza in Phnom Penh again, or the $11 all you can eat sushi. I know you really have to factor in the difference in Sydney wages vs Cambodian volunteer allowance, but still, these things are a relatively affordable 'treat' once in a while in Phnom Penh, and amazingly you can pretty much find any cuisine you want if you look hard enough. Plus, you can eat good food at the market for around $1 if you want to scrimp. (Cambodia +1 point.)
Wine & Cheese: Considering the Cambodians call Prahok (fermented fish paste) 'Cambodian cheese', and more often drink rice wine than NZ Sav Blanc, there isn't really a contest for me here...Maybe its not really a fair one, but still....Australia +1 point. But really, who needs wine when you can get a $3 cocktail in most bars in Phnom Penh...similar will cost upwards of $14 in Sydney (Cambodia +1 point)
Cheeeeese - the one on the right there was a triple cream brie they were selling at my local farmer's market in Sydney. I wasn't game to test out that much lactose after a few months relatively dairy free in Cambodia...
Parks: One of the nicest things about being home that I hadn't really thought about before arriving was simply the nice array of outdoor spaces Sydney has. I was particularly impressed with an old industrial area in Balmain that I visited with dad that had been converted into gorgeous parklands on the harbour complete with environmentally friendly facilities and modern sculpture. PP does have a couple of (very well used) public parks, but you're still not allowed to actually go on the grass. Plus, I think it will be a long time before you'll find a council opting to turn valuable land into a park in Phnom Penh - that's one of the more unfortunate aspects of 'development' - that every available space must be earmarked for something big, brash and 'modern'....Australia +1.

The new park in Ballast Point, Balmain. Awesome views, great sculptures, bbq areas...all on the habour (note the famous bridge in the background).

The list could go on, but really, being home has just reminded me that there are things I love about both places. I love the freedom and spontaneity of Phnom Penh, the sense that anything and everything is possible there (both good and bad), but its hard to compete with the natural beauty of Sydney's harbour setting and all its comforts, at least for a holiday (when you're not slaving away and selling your soul to the corporation to earn enough to enjoy the place). Plus, you can't really put a value on family and friends (and pets), can you?

Pet therapy...unconditional love from relatively clean domestic animals...one of the nice things about being at home :)

Drinkable tap water and other Australian novelties...

2009-11-01T18:09:00.003+11:00

I'm currently in Aus for a family wedding. AirAsia tested my patience again on the way back, but at the end of the day I guess you can't fault their prices!

Lots of catch ups to do, but if I get the chance I will have to write something about what its like to have two weeks at home in the middle of this crazy year- cool, but also kinda weird...

Faces that make long hot working days worthwhile...

2009-10-27T02:22:00.005+11:00

Grabbed this pic today on a site visit to Boeung Kok Lake area in Phnom Penh with a bunch of international and national housing rights activists. I'll let the smiles speak for themselves.

Capacity building 101: Friends with benefits and how to cook a steak

2009-10-26T16:25:00.004+11:00

According to my program's website, this is what I'm meant to be doing in Cambodia:

Program volunteers work with local counterparts to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development results in the communities in which they work through skills and knowledge exchange, institutional strengthening and capacity building.

Translation (in plain english): Ali is going to work with her local colleagues to help them pick up knowledge and skills that they can use after she's gone.

Let's cook steak...

If you read my official position description as a Legal Officer in our Community Empowerment and Legal Awareness program here in Phnom Penh, you'll find a list of areas I'm 'officially' doing this in - 'monitoring and evaluation' of our legal trainings, writing donor reports (the bane of the non-profit worker's life), drafting new curriculum and things like that.

What the description doesn't tell you though, is that there's a whole lot of much more amusing cultural exchange going on day to day - unofficial 'capacity building' that I find myself engaged in- that is far more amusing and...ah...no doubt also contributing to the development of Cambodia on a number of important levels.

Case in point:

Local Program Manager: Ali, you know the one thing you taught me that I will never, ever forget? (Said in excited tone with cheeky grin)

Me: What would that be?

Local Program Manager: The meaning of the term 'friends with benefits'...sooo good (followed by high-pitched sweet Khmer giggle), just like when Nat taught me about the meaning of 'horny'.

I'm sure the program would love to know they are supporting this kind of skills exchange! Kind of like the time one of my lovely, quietly spoken young male colleagues asked me, with a completely straight face, 'Ali, you know how the woman has the period, but the man also has a kind of period, you know, the white one...what is that called in English?'

While its pretty easy to dismiss these things as a curiosity, or just a good laugh, I can actually (kinda) argue that these discussions are important on some level. Given I've had some exposure here to gender and domestic violence training in rural communities, I can attest that there's definitely a lot to be said for having open dialogue on sex, gender and gender roles etc here. Well may you laugh that someone hasn't heard of a term like 'friend with benefits' - but don't take for granted that here, the concept of two unmarried people having a kind of (at least ostensibly) equal and respectful non-committal, but sexual relationship is foreign/strange for a reason - skim beneath the surface of what that really means and you may find a whole can of worms in ideas about 'men being like gold and women like white linen (easily sullied)', prostitution, trafficking, domestic violence...all of which are pervasive here.

Answering these type of things you sometimes get that nervous feeling that I imagine parents must get when their parents are approaching that 'birds and the bees talk' age. It can be awkward, but I'm sure (just as in that case) honesty is the best policy!

Many of the most amusing exchanges are simply brought about because of confusion with translation between English and Khmer, bringing the kinds of conversations like the one I had Tuesday.

Sweet, timid female intern: Ali, can you explain to me the meaning of 'rape'? (or at least what sounded to me like 'rape')

[Sensitive description given.]

Sweet, timid female intern: Oh no, I meant 'rap' (or at least what sounded to me like 'rap')

[Description complete with Kanye West demo played on laptop for group benefit.]

Sweet, timid female intern: Oh no, not that, here look...(I read document she is translating and see the phrase 'community rep'

Me: Ohhhhhhh, that's a short version of 'representative'...ok.

When you think about the similarities between the sound and spelling of 'rape','rap' and 'rep' (especially when said with an accent) its easy to see how these things can happen. Pretty hilarious nevertheless...and sure does make you aware that you need to be careful when you're drafting documents which are going to be translated.

Its not all just about language and sex talk though - I've been involved in lots of other nice little exchanges that have reminded me here that 'intercultural exchange' is more than just another overlong compound term of dubious use. For example:

I've been taught how to bathe properly in a river while wearing a sarong and a ladle (harder than it looks).
I've perfected the side-saddle ride while skirt-clad on the moto (dangle legs on left side away from the burning exhaust and tuck handbag between driver and yourself)
Last night I helped teach a colleague (at her request) how to make steak, 'foreigner' style, with pepper sauce and mash. I also shared some french-style nougat from Australia and chai tea for dessert...something that had never been tasted by my dining companions before (and were very well received).

Given the inherent frustrations of trying to work as a lawyer in a country with no functioning rule-of-law, its often these little things that have made my day here. In the end, even if it feels like I don't go home having reformed the Cambodian legal system, at least I'll be able to smile with the knowledge that I've got some colleagues who know about 'friends with benefits' and can cook a steak.

Bowling, bumpers and 1960s Khmer rock (oh, and a whole lot of teasing/hairspray)

2009-10-25T04:01:00.003+11:00

So for the past week there's been a pretty cool event going on in one of our favourite bars in Phnom Penh - a Khmer film festival featuring some very rare remaining copies of films from 1960s Cambodia, which, by all accounts, was a pretty rocking place after the French left and before the Khmer Rouge came and destroyed anything they saw as a threat to their ideologies, including anything vaguely 'cultural'. (You can actually read ABC coverage of the event here)

I'm not sure who this guy was (guessing he's in the youth arts collective that were behind this whole project) but the outfit, and the dance moves in particular, were awesome!

The culmination of this festival was a bit 1960's Khmer Rock n' Roll party, complete with live band playing music from the period itself, and a bunch of super cool Cambodian locals dancing up a storm in the gallery section of an old Chinese House on the riverfront.

Not my best photography but you get the idea...inside the Chinese House.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves but I have to say it was a heap of fun to really make a night of the event. We started early by getting $5 hair and make up jobs (when its that cheap to play dress-ups, it would be criminal not to go all out) and hitting the local bowling alley and bumper car joint, much to the amusement of the locals.

Who needs bowling shoes when you've got $1 platforms sourced from the Japanese thrift store (you do realise when you put your clothes in those 'charity' recycling bins at home that half of them end up being bought by NGO volunteers in shops here, right?)

Bumper car madness. Thankfully there was enough hairspray involved in the $5 'do to avoid any significant impact damage.

Given none of us really drive here - this was a bit of an outlet for all our Phnom Penh road rage, complete with 1990s gangsta soundtrack. I have to say I never really saw the purpose of seatbelts on the ones at home, but given all the bruises I've got on my knees from being thrown around here, I'd say that yes, probably they are a wise thing.

It was then time for a massive Chinese seafood feast at a place where (thankfully) we weren't the most merry table in the restaurant...no, that honour went to the Chinese guys breaking chopsticks on each other's heads across the room.

Gotta love a country where you can BYO hard liquor to a restaurant and just plonk it on the lazy susan without the waitress batting an eyelid...

Tuk tuk shenanigans...

When we finally made it to the party, the place was in full swing. I can't say I've ever really danced to 1960s Khmer pop music, but it was a hell of a lot of fun, and really one of those 'there's no way I'd be doing something like this in Sydney' moments!

Just for the hell of it: A year's worth of pretty sunsets

2009-10-22T12:54:00.005+11:00

Everything's been a bit of a mess here lately, and I haven't really had the time (or desire) to record that mess in writing on the blog. So for now, I'm just going to tide over the long break between insightful posts with some pretty pictures. There have been some amazing sunsets in Phnom Penh lately - something about the range of cloud formations you get here (and maybe the way the light comes through the pollution, ha!) - unfortunately I haven't had my camera on me for most of them.

Picking these I did get thinking about how fortunate I am to have seen so much natural beauty in the past 12 months - I mean, if I think about the year prior to that, I doubt I saw many sunsets at all (especially not from the internal offices), let alone having the time to sit there and appreciate them. Nor did they come with palm tree silhouettes or cheap cocktails...

See if you can guess where they were taken from the clues below (many have already appeared at one point or another on the blog, so its not *that* hard)...and I'll post a list at the end.

1. Palm trees and fishing boats. Clearly Asia...but where?

2. Easy peasy...the pier is a dead giveaway

3. Another recent one - the best pepper in the world comes from here!

4. Cambodian island with cows on the beach and delicious crab pulled right from these waters as you order

5. This was our 'bath' during one of my provincial trainings

6. Happy hour at one of Phnom Penh's most cliched (but still nice) drinking spots...

7. Not Cambodia, but somewhere along the Mekong with a bunch of palm-fringed islets, some nice waterfalls, and quite a few Scandinavian backpackers...

8. When you take the drunk tubing backpackers out of the picture, and ignore the Friends bars, this place looks pretty serene...

9. After two days of crowded slow-boating down the Mekong, disembarking at this charming colonial town was quite a reprieve

10. Not Asia...somewhere on the coast of Australia (this and the next one were taken about ten minutes apart)

This place may look deserted, but that's just because I pushed in front of all the nudist sunbakers and the 4wd picnickers to get this shot.

11. A few hours north of where the two above were taken you'll find this Aboriginal 'resort' where you can camp on the edge of one of the most beautiful beaches ever, backed by red cliffs.

And a couple not strictly from the past 12 months...just because they're pretty and a little bit different to the scenery in Australia or Asia!

12. No prizes for guessing where this one is from...

13. Sunrise, or sunset? The sun never really comes up when you're this far north in January anyway. Dog sledding in Kiruna (this one actually was on the BBC travel website for a while in 2007/8 but I couldn't find it there now)

Koh Tao, Thailand (awesome diving spot)
The sailing club, Kep, Cambodia
Kampot River, near the old bridge, Cambodia
Rabbit Island off the coast of Kep, Cambodia
Chomkah Bey near Kep, Cambodia
The Foreign Correspondent's Club, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
4000 Islands, Southern Laos
Vang Vieng, Laos
Luang Prabang, Laos
Cable Beach, Western Australia
Cape Leveque, Western Australia
Rio De Janiero, Brazil
Kiruna, Near the ice hotel, Lappland, Sweden

Just one of those days...

2009-10-17T17:44:00.006+11:00

Yesterday afternoon I had one of those 'throw your arms up and give in' moments in Cambodia. All you can really do in these situations is laugh of the absurdity of the situation, otherwise this place can get you down.

I was headed home from work and decided to stop off at a small Australian imports place along the open sewer street that does wine tasting on a Friday afternoon (such an ex-brat thing to do). Parked my bike out the front of the tiny shop about 1 metre from the double glass doors and headed in for two minutes to pick up some treats for a Friday night. Here's where I made the rookie error - I left a $2 packet of on-the-turn mince donated to me by an intern at work who'd over-shopped, and my $3 bent, fake Wayfarers with loose screws in the specially designed concealed basket bag of the bike...which I stupidly left unzipped.

Fast forward five minutes and I exit the shop, goodies in hand, and of course find mince and sunnies have disappeared. Look up and see a bunch of construction workers sitting across the street around a makeshift table next to their steamroller drinking rice wine and giggling in that high pitched giggle that Khmer men all seem to cultivate. Gutted!

Have to hand it to them though, they must have taken it out in full view of the shop full of wine-tasting Barangs, cheeky! Considering I'd probably just purchased a bottle of wine that was worth several days wages for them, I guess you can't really be that precious - after all, I did leave it there for the taking. I don't think I know of any dishes involving minced beef here though (Khmers not really into spag bolognese) so I hope they have fun with it, and eat it before it goes off. Next time I see a construction worker sporting a pair of Wayfarers I'll also have a good laugh.

Perhaps more devastating was coming home to find that the landlord had chopped down all the lush foliage that completely screened our apartment's balcony from the craziness and noise of the street. No more balcony haven for us - but the exposed razor wire is a nice replacement....not! :( Just as well I bought that wine and cheese to ease the pain...

Maybe if I copied the security consciousness of the locals (like above - actually there were two lower padlocks as well that are cropped out of this shot) then I wouldn't have had my stuff nicked from underneath my nose. Ah well!

Cambodia, Rated 'PG' (Parental Guidance Recommended)

2009-10-07T18:06:00.007+11:00

On Friday night I got to dash from work out to the airport with my (current) favourite tuk-tuk driver, Mr Song, to pick up Mum and Simon (step-dad) at the airport - my first visitors from Sydney to Phnom Penh! It was a race against time and the impending monsoonal rain, but I did find 30 seconds to scramble together a nice 'Mum and Si' sign and push my way into position between the tour operators and locals at the arrival hall just in time. The monsoonal downpour even held off until we were well on our tuk-tuk trip to town. Awesome!

Heart-melting Cambodian sunsets...this is from the Sailing Club at Kep (perhaps a shame that it was shared with the parents, but hey, they brought goodies from Australia and picked up the tab for the cocktails so who am I to complain :))

Of course I'm too old for tears and all that jazz (maybe) but it was fantastic to see them for the first time in 6 months, and there was all that usual 'you look just the same'/'you look well' kind of talk that usually accompanies such meetings...not that I seriously expected Cambodia to change my appearance, but I guess its good to hear some kind of reinforcement that despite the constant battle against heat and grime, and my seriously bad dark roots in need of some hairdressing TLC, apparently I'm still vaguely recognisable!

Parents...relaxing (now that's a rare sight to behold!) You'll have to excuse my over-use of the Sailing Club pier for photos...perhaps my new favourite place in Cambodia...

Given they're still here for a few more days, and hence within disciplining or at least 'disappointing looks' distance, I won't say too much, other than that they seem to be enjoying themselves and have been handling the sometimes-craziness very well - of course ably guided/shielded by their broken-Khmer speaking guide of a daughter!

Road tripping, Cambodian style (don't worry, I got the parents a private taxi)...

We had a lovely weekend on the coast where we apparently dodged the Super-Typhoon and have been over-eating/drinking too much and generally relaxing as you always do on holidays. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...and sit back and wait for more 'I'm thinking of coming to visit' emails to roll in...ha! AirAsia current crazy sale prices to Aus, anyone?

Cambodian countryside - just a little bit green at this time of year.

After some initial hesitance ('will there be any shade', 'will the boat capsize', 'where is the typhoon now'), I even got them on the boat out to Rabbit Island - although I spared them the $5 soggy-mattress-on-the-floor bungalows and got them back to the comfort of land for dinner.

Kampot brought a chance to put the parents in an albeit-upmarket version of a traditional Khmer house... I only remembered this place has no hot water when I heard Mum's little squeal on hopping in the shower...oops! They loved the serenity of the river (and the wine and cheese plate though)

And now, we're back in Phnom Penh with all its madness. I have to say, I'm grateful to some of my more-experienced friends whose advice for dealing with parental arrivals in the Penh was simply 'put them in the Pavilion (hotel), turn the air-con on and *never* let them get on a moto'. When you see the rooms you can see why-this place is a little oasis in the city...

Doing it tough in Phnom Penh

Props to them for passing the token 'eating tarantula' ordeal - even though Simon in particular carried on like a 5 year old being forced to eat vegetables in the lead up.

Show-offs!

Bridges Across Borders (work) on the front page...

2009-10-01T19:50:00.009+10:00

I know I've been a lazy blogger...you'll just have to forgive and bear with me. The Parents are arriving this afternoon in Phnom Penh so hopefully I'll have something insightful to say after our adventures together...

For the time being you can check out this article that appeared on the front page this week in the Phnom Penh Post about one of our major projects at the moment.

[Oh, and given some of the other emails I've been receiving this week I should also add that yes, there has been some terrible weather in Cambodia and unfortunatley a number of fatalities, but they're not in Phnom Penh and everything here is fine! Not sure what the weather will be like on the coast this weekend though - wish us luck!]

Govt’s land policy failing most vulnerable: report

MONDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER 2009 15:04 SEBASTIAN STRAGIO AND MEAS SOKCHEA

Photo by: Sovan Philong

Chab Bunleang, 49, who lives along rail lines in the north of Phnom Penh in a home she said she has owned for two decades, belongs to one of 23 households facing eviction. Three families have agreed to government compensation since last week.

VULNERABLE communities are still being subjected to land-tenure insecurity and forced displacement despite a seven-year, multimillion-dollar effort to reform the land sector, according to a report to be released today.

The report, produced by a coalition of local and international housing rights groups, says the donor-funded US$38.4 million Land Management and Administration Project (LMAP) has failed the country’s poor by “entrenching inequality”, signalling a potentially dark future for land rights in Cambodia.

LMAP was established in 2002 with funding from international donors including the World Bank with a goal of establishing an “efficient and transparent land administration system” within five years.

The 81-page report acknowledges that the project has notched up some significant achievements, including issuing legal titles for more than 1 million pieces of land nationwide, but it argues that sporadic successes have been overshadowed by an increase in forced evictions and the project’s failure to protect those most vulnerable to exploitation.

“Despite significant successes in some areas, LMAP is not improving tenure security for segments of Cambodian society that are most vulnerable to displacement,” the report states.

“Vulnerable groups that have legitimate claims to land are routinely and arbitrarily denied access to land-titling and dispute-resolution mechanisms, which undermines the project’s aim of reducing poverty and promoting social stability.”

A key defect identified by the report is the fact that LMAP’s land-titling system has excluded areas that are “likely to be disputed” or of “unclear status”, cutting tens of thousands of families off from access to land titles under the Kingdom’s 2001 Land Law.

The area around Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak lake, where more than 4,000 families have been unable to apply for land titles because the lake lies in a “development zone”, is cited as a key example. It also expresses concerns for the protection of indigenous land rights and argues that LMAP’s land-dispute resolution mechanism has failed to create a “fairly accessible, efficient and impartial” means of resolving conflicts.

“If the system continues to exclude vulnerable groups, the benefits of the programme will be overshadowed by the harms,” said David Pred, country director of international rights group Bridges Across Borders, which contributed to the report.

“The experience of LMAP has demonstrated that many of the intended benefits of titling do not materialise in the absence of the rule of law and functioning dispute-resolution mechanisms to protect people’s rights.”

Yeng Virak, executive director of the Community Legal Education Centre, said LMAP’s land-registration drive had made significant achievements, but that the project is restricted by the “rigidity” of its design and implementation.

Particularly, he said, the fact that LMAP’s land-titling programme is not carried out in at-risk areas means that many strong legal claims – including those from Phnom Penh’s

Boeung Kak, Group 78 and Dey Krahorm areas – had not been rewarded with land titles.

“[The] existing legal instruments are sufficient,” he said. “Their possession rights should be recognised and respected.”

Land Management Minister Im Chhun Lim could not be reached for comment Sunday, but Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mann Chhoeun rejected the contents of the report, saying dispute-resolution mechanisms at district and provincial levels had been successfully enforced by governors.

“Both bodies have helped balance the work so that it is better and … responds to the people’s need more effectively. This is [an example of]
good governance,” he told the Post.

Rights groups on Sunday expressed fears the successor programmes to LMAP – the Land Administration Sub-Sector Programme and Land Management Sub-Sector Programme – will do little to improve the situation.

“We hope to see both development partners and the government do a better job of fulfilling their responsibilities under the successor programmes,” said Natalie Bugalski, a legal officer from the Centre of Housing Rights and Evictions, which also contributed to the report.
Pred said the success of future programmes relied on more than the good intentions of one or two stakeholders.

“The most serious problems that we document in the report are beyond the capacity of LMAP and the Ministry of Land to address, and require better interministerial cooperation and political will that has so far been sorely lacking,” he said.

The lazy tourist's guide to Kampot

2009-09-21T18:29:00.007+10:00

Last weekend was the climax of the Pchum Ben festival in Cambodia, a two week period during which Cambodians partake in various ceremonies mostly centred around the local Wat (temple) honouring their deceased relatives. Many people head back to the provinces, so Phnom Penh is also unusually quiet - by Thursday last week even the neighbourhood dogs seemed not to be howling away all night, a welcome relief after a few sleepless nights being crook early in the week.

[As an aside, this time I was actually sick enough to go to the doctor for a few blood tests to rule out dengue fever - and do you know how much that 20 minute visit cost me? $153 US!! Pity the average Cambodian in this town and the health care that's available to them... I can't say I was particularly impressed with the doctor either...but at least he told me it was something bacterial rather than dengue before sending me on my way to endure a couple of horrible days sweating out a fever in the foetal position on my bed].

Thankfully by Friday morning last week I was feeling well enough to hop on the bus for our planned long weekend away to the scenic town of Kampot, a sleepy little riverside place 175km south of Phnom Penh (which in true Cambodian style takes around 5 hours on a dodgy road - 6, if you factor in the almost inevitable bus breakdown).

Kampot residents...just doing their thing at a 'Kampot' pace

So what did we do in Kampot? Well we wandered...wandered around the old laneways with their abandoned looking but charming shop fronts...wandered along the riverside...wandered into cafes...and bars....and had loooong breakfasts and looooong lunches in some of the chic little eating establishments set up ex-pats (apparently there are 200 living here). Its a funny little place - half the shop fronts seem abandoned and rather decrepit - but on the plus side they haven't been knocked down and replaced with the oft ugly face of 'modern' Khmer architecture.

We also took motos out to Les Manguiers...a 'resort' of types that consists of many traditional bungalow style wooden houses on the river a little outside of town that is particularly popular with Phnom Penh ex-pat families. You can see why - if you were a kid this place would be a kind of wonderland, and there were certainly many rugrats around. Thankfully we found our own riverside drinking platform sans fighting tweens...

Watch out for the pace of life around here...

What's left of Bokor casino - enter at your own risk

We were also fortunate to actually be able to visit the nearby Bokor National Park on a weekend when it was open. Bokor is a kind of worn-down, jungle-covered mountain rising from the west side of the river. It used to be home to a French community back in the day...and there are some seriously spooky old ruins of hotels/churches and a massive casino atop the hill to remind you of this. The Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese spent a fair bit of time fighting up here, so now they're just shells with the odd bullethole, although apparently the place will be redeveloped in due course (if you're anything like me, when you see the plans you'll hope that this is one of those many Cambodian projects that doesn't seem to end up going anywhere)

View from the roof of the casino...playing amongst the clouds

Aside from the ruins, we also checked out a pretty impressive waterfall in the park (which I never caught the name of...oops)

And stopped by a pagoda in full dress for Pchum Ben...

But really, Kampot is just all about taking in the river and the sunsets. Seriously relaxing...and a breath of fresh air to touristy places like Siahnoukville. The locals actually just want to say 'hello' here and NOT sell you anything, which is always a welcome change.

Of course our bus broke down on the way back to town, but it was fixed relatively quickly and we were able to return to PP relaxed and refreshed for another week!

If you're in Kampot I can recommend Epic Arts cafe for awesome baked goods and home made yoghurt and muesli (better still, they support the disabled), Jasmine for yummy dinners, What's Hot in Kampot for delicious cheese platters and wine and Les Manguiers for an afternoon hang out spot. We stayed in Moliden, a new place on the river which was pretty good (though I wish it made better use of a verandah) but Rikitikitavi looked pretty sweet too.

If you want to see more pics of Kampot and Bokor you can do so here

Good Morning Cambodia!

2009-09-14T11:34:00.006+10:00

Another Monday morning rolls past in Phnom Penh and I figure now is as good a time as any to post a few snaps of my daily commute here - a little different to a crowded journey on a cityrail train and a shoulder-barging walk up a crowded Martin Place in the CBD of Sydney!

Its very easy for the ten minute door-to-door cycle through chaos to become 'normal', so it was nice today to hop on the bike with the camera slung around the neck and take a few snaps that reflect some of the small routines of daily life in Cambodia. Excuse the photographic merit (or otherwise) - as most of these were done with one hand on the brakes and one eye on approaching 4wds...

The 'guard-dog'. Think his name is Lucky, but he answers better to 'puppy'. Has been known to dash out the gate when you're not looking, requiring embarrassing run by the foreigner down the street to try and catch little dog by calling in English before he runs out on the main road.

Half-awake commuter outside home in slightly ill-fitting helmet (definitely better than nothing)... If you're not quite awake when you first get on the bike, you will be after the first near-miss by Lexus which usually occurs in the first 100 metres of cycling.

Something to bring a smile on a grumpy Monday - the barber's kid on the corner...cute!

Girls from the local (and highly acclaimed) cook-it-on-your-table Soup restaurant prepare for the day's trade ahead while a moto driver delivers soup greens

Crossing Siahnouk boulevard...requires wishing on your lucky stars twice a day, every day.

Local Bakery (with typical pajama-clad customer)

Fellow commuters: the balloon man and the completely-overloaded-moto-man

This sign for nappies at the corner store gives me a chuckle every day...'poo-poo pocket' - seriously...sometimes I really wonder who these companies pay to provide translations (because they're being ripped off!)

Obligatory wedding tent - no matter what day it is, it seems there's always one blocking a street somewhere near home.

Popular local breakfast joint. By 10am or so this will just be back to a regular street corner, but in the morning its always packed out with tuk tuk and moto drivers slurping on (what I assume are) the best noodles in the neighbourhood.

Hand-made shoe shops...'beautiful shoes' can be made to measure for about $14 bucks in a couple of days.

A recent and interesting development in town...I'm assuming this is massage by men - for men....

I didn't pass any genocidal history museums on my way to work in Sydney- but one of the things that strikes you about this place is just how there is this memorial to something so horrific right in the centre of town, but that life must go on around it (the grounds are even used as a parking lot at night). As an aside, if you're interested, a friend just referred me to this excellent Time Magazine photo essay on the Khmer Rouge with some amazing pictures of Phnom Penh back in the day.

Impromptu barber's shop.

(Somewhat) affectionately referred to by our friends as 'the black river' this is Phnom Penh's favourite open sewer - running the length of town and letting off a pretty filthy stench - when it rains there are even rapids on this baby. My boss tells me a real estate agent once tried to show him a house on this street and passed it off as 'water-frontage'...I don't really believe that story, but its still kinda amusing...

Just your typical everyday example of fantastic occupational health and safety practices - tree surgery with no harness next to large wires.

I call this place the 'pimp-your-moto' shop.

So there you have it - a nice ten minute door to door cycle ride - despite the crazy traffic and stinking hot and/or pouring rain weather - its really quite a fun way to get to work. The short trip also means a lot more usable time in the day (for exercise, cooking, socialising etc), which is a real bonus and something I think I'll find hard to give up in the future now that I know what it can be like!

Sunday's Score: Cambodia 1, Ali 0

2009-09-08T17:11:00.006+10:00

Nice bungalow...shame about the monsoon

Some days Cambodia just takes it out of you...

I don't want to be a whinger here, and I'm not denying that I've had some pretty crap days back in Sydney. Still, I guess its easier to be resilient when you're in the mother country with your nice, clean, orderly city full of people behaving in ways that are sensical to your Australian way of seeing the world.

Meanwhile, over here you may just have a weekend where you try and escape the chaos of the city only to find yourself stuck in a constant monsoon on the coast passing time in bars full of the most revolting and blatant sex tourism, taking long hot bus rides on horrible roads with kids being sick next to you (as compulsory karaoke plays through the sound system full blast). If you're really unlucky you may also witness the horrible aftermath of one of accidents that are all-to-common on Cambodian roads - no reliable ambulance to take you to a nice, clean hospital here... Then when you finally arrive back in the chaos of the 'bus stop' i.e. corner of the market in full swing, there's the relentless haranguing of awaiting tuk-tuk drivers to look forward to. Fantastic!

Suffice to say I was relieved to get back into the relative calm of my little apartment on Sunday night.

I guess the only real way to look at it is that Cambodia may defeat you some days - but every day is ripe for a re-match, and hopefully I'm well ahead on the cumulative score :)

Khmer princesses for a day!

2009-09-03T00:00:00.005+10:00

Forgive me for not being in much of a 'writing mood' this week - but who needs writing when you've got a picture like this which says a thousand words anyway...

That's actually me and my flat mate on the floor of our lounge room (ok so maybe not our lounge room, but that *is* us I promise, and not a couple of drag queens). Welcome to the world of Apsara photography!

Firstly, I should say that its not my intention to disrespect the traditions of my Khmer friends this is something that, judging purely on the number of shops offering it about town, is fairly popular with Cambodians -- having your portrait taken in the traditional garb like this. I have to say though, that Cambodians generally look a lot better than us with this type/amount of make-up!

With a couple of my flatties' friends visiting from France, we thought it might be time to give this a try for ourselves - so on a slow Sunday morning we piled in a tuk-tuk down Monivong Boulevard and selected a place that, for $15 bucks each offered us around 2 hours worth of make up and dressing up and three poses/sets of photos.

The pictures really speak for themselves - but basically step one involves the slathering of your skin in cheap make up (think grimy old sponges and re-used fake eyelashes). Its a miracle really that one week later I haven't suffered conjunctivitis or some other gross fungal infection...

The second step involves creating a ridiculous hairstyle...in my case this involved liberal use of hairspray and excessive use of a teasing comb. The only real question was just how high they could go...(I did however use my limited Khmer to refuse the addition of a brown poodle-style hair extension on the rear)...

Step three involves squeezing the big foreigner into a small traditional dress (though despite our ample rears, they still added some kind of 'padding' effect using old towels...only in Cambodia!) and then piling on the jewellery. In my case, this involved the addition of a bizarre, but awesome, 'Phoenix' thing on my shoulder...just what you always wanted!

After about 90 minutes in the dressing room, it was up to the 'studio' where they carefully positioned us in all kinds of 'natural' poses (apparently the head angles and hand positions are quite important)...

Immediately afterwards you get the joy of trying to 'undo' all this hard work - no easy feat. I think I washed my face about 4 times before going to the gym that afternoon, but I was still wiping off the residue with my sweat towel on the treadmill....yuck! The teasing alone took about half a bottle of conditioner to come close to returning my hair to its natural state. The ladies in the supermarket on the way home still told me I looked 'beautiful' though - classic!

Fast forward to a few days later you get to come back and collect the airbrushed, whitened, Angkor-Wat background-added outcome of all this...

Wowsers....

It was very sweet when many of my colleagues really thought I looked 'beautiful' in these shots - I can't say that I share this position, but I guess its a matter of cultural taste...

I can at least say that it was a fun way to spend a Sunday arvo, and our visitors got a pretty hilarious souvenir of their time in Phnom Penh to take away!