The King`s Birthday and Buddha day

A random picture to start with:

Frangipani, my favourite flower,beautiful to look at and smells gorgeous.

May is a very good month for public holidays! Last weekend lasted 5 days thanks to the King`s birthday and Visak Bochea Day (Buddha Day). Lots of the volunteers from Kratie are away on holiday so I thought it would be quiet but instead volunteers from other parts of Kratie came visiting and a good time was had by all.  Katie, Esther and Louise, who I came to Cambodia with, came to stay with me in my new house. Esther and Louise came from Siem Reap on Friday and after what sounded like a horrendous 10 hr journey arrived here just in time for drinks by the river.
We had a tour of the hospital on Saturday morning and then Katie arrived while we were sitting having a drink by the river. In the evening we went to Gilly and Sam`s for drinks. Can you see a bit of a theme here!
On Sunday we went to see the dolphins, then somewhere I had not been before Kampi rapids.

                                    

 I think `rapids` is a bit too strong a word but it is a very popular place for families especially on holidays. They can go and sit on wooden platforms built over the water and have a picnic and swim. It is a really nice place and I`m sure I will go again.

Yesterday I went for a final cycle ride round Koh Trong Island with Remi as he is going home to Holland this week. We took his landlord`s daughter with us. She was a beautiful girl but dressed as if it was the middle of winter: jeans, long sleeved t shirt, woollen hat, hooded fleece. I had on a short sleeved tshirt and cropped trousers as I was baking. The girl on the ferry had socks and gloves on as well as the items above! We asked her why she had so many clothes on and she said it was to protect her skin from the sun! Nothing to do with skin cancer though it was more to do with the Cambodians wish for light skin.Most of their toiletries contain a whitening agent including deodorant! She had a lovely light brown skin which many people in the UK spend a lot of money trying to achieve but she wanted to have skin like mine which as you know is pretty white. I have actually got a tan now but the white skin under my watch strap sends them into raptures. I have been called beautiful 3 times since I got here not for my face obviously but the colour of my skin!!

Not a pretty sight I know but I rest my case!

                                                     Today I cycled to Phnom Sambok (about 45 mins) with Quennie and Miwa. We left at 7 30 to avoid the worst of the sun but it was still pretty hot. Although it is my 3rd visit I had never seen monkeys here before.

Monkeys on the roof!

Quennie and I

So this must be Miwa

A monk`s worldly goods, his robes and the bowl he takes out to get rice(begging bowl),but I wouldn`t be surprised if he had a mobile phone somewhere from what I`ve seen!

On the way here I saw something I haven`t seen before  a calf actually "fall off the back of a lorry"! It seemed o.k. just mooed a couple of times and ambled off followed by the driver. The way animals are transported here is a whole blog of its own which I won`t be doing as its too depressing! We got home without any more excitementt and I fell into my hammock and was quickly asleep. We were then subjected to a storm of which I took a video but I`m still not sure it shows how hard it rains here!

Still loving my house and having left my bat at my old house I share this one with the biggest certainly the noisiest gecko I have seen here. I have managed to block it from my bedroom by the careful placement of a booklet about Phnom Penh but it still roams free in the house after dark which can startle me sometimes

My lodger

Tonight I went for a meal with Miwa and Quennie and Remi joined us for his last drink in Kratie! Back home now at 8 30 ready to watch day 5 hour 7 of 24 which I am addicted to.


I don`t think the video is working!