tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51802531278858392032024-03-05T08:14:49.434+00:00Gilly & Sam's VSO in CambodiaA blog to share our experiences of volunteering with VSO in Cambodia.Sam Roberts (Ghostsigns)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388533305466789541noreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-58968032316247328232013-01-15T11:19:00.001+00:002013-01-15T11:19:31.307+00:00The Great Province Run<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>[Warning: Epic blog post coming up, put the kettle on, make a cuppa and get comfy before reading.]</i></div>
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Typical antics on Cambodia's roads. (NB. The one on the left is even wearing his helmet.)</div>
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Having crossed the border to Laos last week and getting our last (for the time being) exit stamps from Cambodia, we have spent two years, three months in the country. With <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2010/12/holiday.html" target="_blank">a generous helping of public holidays</a> and <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2012/09/something-i-wrote-for-vsos-blog.html" target="_blank">work-related travel</a> a frequent occurrence, it wasn't long before we hit on the idea of visiting all of Cambodia's 23 provinces and one city (Phnom Penh). Some of these are harder to reach than others, some are just dusty no-man's-lands and others became regular haunts due to their beauty or the presence of friends living there. As the mission progressed it was fraught with all manner of scheduling challenges and, especially at the end, the coercion of unsuspecting visitors and their itineraries. Here is a run down, in a vague order, of what has come to be known as <i>The Great Province Run</i>.</div>
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Phnom Penh (1)</h3>
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Technically Cambodia's only city and <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2010/09/cambodia-so-far.html" target="_blank">the landing point for both of us back in September 2010</a>. I hated it at first, the apparently lethal traffic, pollution and no sense of direction making me avoid it as much as possible. However, over time, I learned my way around and discovered what a great place Phnom Penh is, the food, the people and the evening atmosphere at <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2012/09/my-birthday-in-phnom-penh.html" target="_blank">the Olympic Stadium</a> as hundreds do their evening exercises. Towards the end I also discovered the joys of getting around by bicycle, something I swore I'd never do. (Sam)</div>
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The front of the Royal Palace at sunset, currently the centre of mourning for the recent passing of former King Sihanouk.</div>
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Posing beside the exterior wall of the Royal Palace on my birthday last year.</div>
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Kandal (2)</h3>
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Barely even counted as a province, due to its close proximity to Phnom Penh, Kandal is most famous for Cheung Ek or The Killing Fields as it is better known as. A gruesome and emotional place to visit, but necessary to learn and understand about the some of the many terrible deaths at the hands of the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979. (Gilly)</div>
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The memorial stupa at The Killing Fields.</div>
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Kampong Cham (3)</h3>
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<a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2010/09/sambodia.html" target="_blank">Kampong Cham</a> was our home for the first five weeks of being in Cambodia while we had language training, something I was dreading but grew to love quickly. We spent the mornings learning and the afternoons drinking tea and practising our new words. It was where we realised we had arrived with the best batch of volunteers and cemented strong friendships. By the end of our language training we were sick of living in a hotel and eager to get to our placements. As a result we didn't go back to Kampong Cham for over a year! (Gilly)</div>
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<a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2010/10/photos-from-kampong-cham.html" target="_blank">Visiting Wat Nakor</a> in Kampong Cham at our celebration of two years in Cambodia with our batch mates</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">The epic bike journey on Sam's second day in Cambodia, with Paul, Dave and Ingran.</span></div>
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Kratie (4)</h3>
What can we say about Kratie? <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2010/10/kratie-top-ten.html" target="_blank">We loved living there</a> and are fiercely defensive of everything about it. Most tourists don't even spend a full day in Kratie and are often overheard saying there is nothing to see there. However, we know different. <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/01/kratiessights-and-delights.html" target="_blank">Kratie is a beautiful province</a> right on the Mekong River. Seeing the Mekong every day for two years has been a privilege and inspired us to want to live somewhere near water in the future. Having so much time to spend together in our quiet little town has also been amazing and we will miss all the lovely people we met there. (Gilly)<br />
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Old colonial buildings near the market left over from the days of the French. </div>
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A storm approaching on <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/09/chhlong-and-back.html" target="_blank">the road to Chhlong</a> during the terrible floods of 2011.</div>
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Looking at Kratie town from the island on <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/12/christmas-kratie-style.html" target="_blank">Christmas Day 2011</a>.</div>
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Stung Treng (5)</h3>
Thanks to the presence of fellow batch buddy Ingran <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/08/road-trip-take-2.html" target="_blank">we took the road North to Stung Treng</a> very quickly. As with Kratie you need to dig a bit deeper to discover this province's gems, one of which is the stretch of river just South of the border with Laos. We did this by boat and kayak just last month and it was one of my personal Cambodian highlights. (Sam)<br />
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Paddling on the Mekong in life jacket, shirt and woolly gloves. It's the look!</div>
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Serene island beaches littering this wonderful piece of river.</div>
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Ratanakiri (6)</h3>
In the far North East is perhaps my favourite province, excluding Kratie, of course. <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2010/11/ratanakiri.html" target="_blank">The stunning lake won me over at first sight</a> and was one of the reasons we each visited three times. Those whose trips to Cambodia gravitate to the temples of Angkor on the other side really do miss out on the cool hills, waterfalls and amazing pizzas that Ratanakiri has to offer. They also miss out on the opportunity to be <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/11/i-think-ratanakiri-might-be-my-second.html" target="_blank">adopted into the Tampoon community</a>, as I was after discovering I shared a name with one of their leaders. (Sam)<br />
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Yeak Loam lake, fringed by jungle and <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/09/those-who-know-me-well-will-be-aware.html" target="_blank">crystal clear water for swimming</a> - paradise.</div>
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Mondulkiri (7)</h3>
Mondulkiri lies East of Kratie and despite being only about four hours away, it is notoriously difficult to get to, mainly due to the ridiculously overcrowded and loaded minibuses that take their own sweet time to travel on the extremely good road. Despite this <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/06/road-trip.html" target="_blank">I've been there three times</a>, though this is largely due to the fact Paul was living there rather than because I love it (though it is very nice, I found it much too cold on all three visits). Sam however, only visited once, and was lucky to tick it off when Ross came to visit in December. (Gilly)<br />
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Jumping around overlooking the Sea Forest.</div>
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Visits during the dry season can result in extreme red dust - always have a face mask handy, Cambodians do.</div>
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Kampong Thom (8)</h3>
The key word in the definition of <i>The Great Province Run</i> is 'visit'. It isn't sufficient to see a province out of a bus window or as a lunch stop on the way to somewhere else. Kampong Thom, as stated by our friend Dave who was based there, is commonly known as "the toilet stop for those travelling between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap". However, for us, a toilet stop wouldn't be enough and so we were lucky in December 2010 when the annual staff retreat for my workplace, CRDT, took a detour to visit some pre-Angkorian temples that are off the main tourist trail. It was our first encounter with these types of ruins, but not our last... (Sam)<br />
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The ruins of <span style="background-color: white; color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Sambor Prei Kuk.</span> (Yes, there is a toilet there too.)</div>
<h3>
Siem Reap (9)</h3>
Due to the temples of Angkor being spread around the vicinity of Siem Reap, it is the most visited place in Cambodia. <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/01/mountains-and-temples.html" target="_blank">We visited together at the beginning of our placement</a> and again near the end which allowed us to pick and choose our favourites without feeling 'templed out'. I also completed <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/11/jetsetting-round-cambodia.html" target="_blank">my 100km cycle around the main temples</a> after a year of being in country, the amazing sunrise and general views were worth the pain.. While Siem Reap is what Cambodia is best known for, it is actually very different from the Cambodia that we have come to know. (Gilly)<br />
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Having fun at Ban Melea</div>
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The crumbling temples and jungle effects of Ban Melea made this one a firm favourite for us both.</div>
<h3>
Kampong Som (10)</h3>
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(Gilly)</div>
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The Great Province Run has started to <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2012/05/on-holiday-with-sam-and-birdy.html" target="_blank">take its toll on Sam...</a></div>
<h3>
Kampot (11)</h3>
In the south sits Kampot, a popular place to visit and so <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/03/it-seems-like-quite-long-time-since-ive.html" target="_blank">I've been twice</a>, best known for its pepper though it also seems to produce salt. A great place to wile away the hours and admire the ramshakle bridge built and rebuilt by various people over the years. (Gilly)<br />
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Salt flats on the way to Kep</div>
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The afore-mentioned bridge.</div>
<h3>
Kep (12)</h3>
If we had been doing The Great Province Run in 2007 Kep wouldn't have featured as it only became separated from Kampot in December 2008. Also sitting on the coast it is best known for the derelict former seaside homes of the Phnom Penh elite which were abandoned and then ransacked following the Khmer Rouge revolution. <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/10/long-awaited-holiday.html" target="_blank">Our visit in September 2011</a> was at the height of the severe rains and we were lucky to be staying at the wonderful Veranda resort where hours pass in a state of severe relaxation. (Sam)<br />
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The provincial boundary indicating the official date of separation from Kampot in 2008.</div>
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One of the abandoned houses, eerie and intriguing all in one.</div>
<h3>
Takeo (13)</h3>
After our trip to Kampot and Kep <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/10/long-awaited-holiday.html" target="_blank">we stopped in Takeo</a> for the night on our way back to Phnom Penh. Due to the high waters we couldn't see the ruins that comprise the main tourist attraction but we did take a long walk around the town taking in the lotus-filled lake and their own version of the Independence Monument in Phnom Penh commemorating independence from French rule in 1953. (Sam)<br />
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Takeo, and the Independence Monument by night.</div>
<h3>
Svay Rieng (14) and Prey Veng (15)</h3>
Of Svay Rieng the Lonely Planet guidebook says "there is literally nothing to see here". Prey Veng doesn't fare much better and so neither of us even bothered to take out our cameras when we ticked these two off as a road trip on our trusty Honda Dream motorbike. One exception to the 'nothing to see' assessment is the Neak Loam river crossing in Prey Veng, famed for its appearance as a site of illegal American bombing at the start of the film The Killing Fields. We did see that and were impressed with the quality of the road in Svay Rieng which makes a fast beeline to the border with Vietnam. (Sam)<br />
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Koh Kong (16)</h3>
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In sharp contrast with provinces 14 and 15 (above), Koh Kong had lots to see and do and is in my top three favourite provinces. We spent quite a few relaxing days here visiting waterfalls, secluded islands and enjoying the different, but equally beautiful, scenery on offer thanks to the nearby Cardamon Mountains.(Gilly)</div>
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Swimming in the Tatai River - my second visit after <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2012/11/koh-kong-and-kayaking.html" target="_blank">coming here a few weeks earlier with Sarah and Will</a>.</div>
<h3>
Pailin (17)</h3>
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Pailin used to be part of Battambang and is another recently invented province. A bit tricky to get to from Kratie so we solved the problem by visiting it from Koh Kong as both provinces border Thailand. We popped over to Thailand from Koh Kong (a mere 6km from the town) and enjoyed the comfortable and short journeys to various other towns that eventually got us up to the border near Pailin. No problems with crossing the borders and in general a very smooth journey - the only hitch was on arriving in Pailin we got in a shared taxi which broke down four times before we even got halfway to Battambang. Annoyed by the hour and a half journey already taking over two hours we flagged down a passing minibus filled with monks and had a comfortable and quick ride to Battambang for just a few dollars extra. In keeping with the rules of <i>The Great Province Run</i>, we then moto-ed back to Pailin a few days later to visit a waterfall. (Gilly)</div>
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Sporting his and her kramas and an interesting sock look...</div>
<h3>
Battambang (18)</h3>
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A very difficult province to reach from Kratie it was surprising that <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/11/signs-and-other-stuff.html" target="_blank">I managed to visit three times</a>, although two of these were dictated by <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2012/09/something-i-wrote-for-vsos-blog.html" target="_blank">work for VSO</a>. Battambang has all the creature comforts of places like Phnom Penh and Siem Reap while keeping the rural aspects of places like Kratie within easy reach. If I came back to live in Cambodia I might opt for life here and it's also the inspiration for <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/05/o-flower-of-battanbang.html" target="_blank">my favourite Cambodian song</a>. (Sam)</div>
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Fishing in action, it's actually a lot easier to get this photo than it looks.</div>
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All smiles before the bone-shaking ride on the bamboo train.</div>
<h3>
Banteay Meanchey (19)</h3>
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We did this province as an excursion on a hired motorbike from Battambang. We checked out one of Cambodia's many hilltop pagodas at Phnom Touch and had lunch in the capital, Sisophon. With more time we might have made it to some of the province's Angkorian ruins but sometimes The Great Province Run requires pragmatism as well as determination. (Sam)</div>
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Another provincial boundary sign showing the year 2004 when Banteay Meanchey was separated from Siem Reap.</div>
<h3>
Oddar Meanchey (20)</h3>
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Another relatively new province with not much going on, remote and hard to get to until the recent new road between one of the towns, Anglong Veng and Siem Reap. Bordering Thailand, it was one of the last strongholds of the Khmer Rouge into the early 1990s. We spent some time visiting Ta Mok's house, Brother Number 5 of the Khmer Rouge, a senior figure also known as 'the Butcher', which was filled with painted walls of Angkor Wat and maps of Cambodia. (Gilly)</div>
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Pol Pot's radio van left in Ta Mok's garden</div>
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Preah Vihear (21)</h3>
When we arrived in 2010 travel to the temple of Preah Vihear was prohibited by VSO due to the Cambodia-Thailand conflict on the border, centred on the temple itself. That has since eased and what a treat this place it. The temple isn't necessarily remarkable compared to it's Siem Reap cousins, but the views from its location at the top of a huge cliff were definitely worth the hair-raising drive and climb to get there. With just three provinces left the end was now in sight... (Sam)<br />
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In the background of this picture is the meeting of Cambodia, Thailand and Laos.</div>
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Pursat (22)</h3>
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I had visited Saahiel here on my way back from Battambang in 2011 and so, at this point, so close to the end, it was necessary to slow my own pace down to allow Gilly to catch up. We took the bus from Phnom Penh, made a tour of the 'ship island' in the middle of the river and had lunch before jumping back on the bus to go back towards Phnom Penh for the last two stops on the run. The ladies in the bus station thought it was quite funny that we got off the bus and immediately bought tickets out again for three hours later. (Sam)</div>
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The 'ship island' taken on my first visit in 2011.</div>
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Kampong Chhnang (23)</h3>
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As it's only two hours from Phnom Penh, we saved this province till near the end to combine with Kampong Speu. I'd been looking forward to Kampong Chhnang and wasn't disappointed. It reminded us of Kratie and had various nice activities to fill our afternoon and morning with. Sam also found some unexpectedly good hand-painted signs to add to <a href="http://kratie.ghostsigns.co.uk/" target="_blank">his collection</a>. Only one province left now and the excitement (and exhaustion) was building... (Gilly)</div>
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A unique way of displaying bananas.</div>
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A Vietnamese floating village on the Tonle Sap. </div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpjQ9MaCQZY&list=UUxkeWckIB4nkx_14QEOohPg&index=1" target="_blank">How cute is this guy</a>? Makes me want to be a vegetarian.</div>
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Kampong Speu (24)</h3>
Reaching province 24 with two days to spare before leaving Cambodia for good. We climbed the 509 steps to the top of Udong Mountain and were rewarded with the best views I've seen over Cambodia (with the exception of Preah Vihear). <i>The Great Province Run</i> is complete and we can truly say that in our two years and three months in Cambodia, we have gotten to know the country really well. It might even have inspired us to start <i>The Great British County Run</i> when we get home! (Gilly)<br />
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Phew, the home run was pretty frantic but I can now proudly say that I have visited every province in Cambodia. (At least until they siphon off another one like Kep or Pailin and we have to return to re-validate our badges of honour.) (Sam)<br />
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All smiles and feeling pretty proud of our achievement.at the top of Udong Mountain.</div>
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Looking towards Phnom Penh and surveying the extent of our travels.</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Sam Roberts (Ghostsigns)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388533305466789541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-24944666903901496162013-01-15T11:01:00.000+00:002013-01-15T11:20:09.713+00:00The Great Province Run<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>[Warning: Epic blog post coming up, put the kettle on, make a cuppa and get comfy before reading.]</i></div>
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Typical antics on Cambodia's roads. (NB. The one on the left is even wearing his helmet.)</div>
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Having crossed the border to Laos last week and getting our last (for the time being) exit stamps from Cambodia, we have spent two years, three months in the country. With <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2010/12/holiday.html" target="_blank">a generous helping of public holidays</a> and <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2012/09/something-i-wrote-for-vsos-blog.html" target="_blank">work-related travel</a> a frequent occurrence, it wasn't long before we hit on the idea of visiting all of Cambodia's 23 provinces and one city (Phnom Penh). Some of these are harder to reach than others, some are just dusty no-man's-lands and others became regular haunts due to their beauty or the presence of friends living there. As the mission progressed it was fraught with all manner of scheduling challenges and, especially at the end, the <span style="text-align: left;">coercion of unsuspecting visitors and their itineraries. Here is a run down, in a vague order, of what has come to be known as <i>The Great Province Run</i>.</span></div>
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Phnom Penh (1)</h4>
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Technically Cambodia's only city and <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2010/09/cambodia-so-far.html" target="_blank">the landing point for both of us back in September 2010</a>. I hated it at first, the apparently lethal traffic, pollution and no sense of direction making me avoid it as much as possible. However, over time, I learned my way around and discovered what a great place Phnom Penh is, the food, the people and the evening atmosphere at <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2012/09/my-birthday-in-phnom-penh.html" target="_blank">the Olympic Stadium</a> as hundreds do their evening exercises. Towards the end I also discovered the joys of getting around by bicycle, something I swore I'd never do. (Sam)</div>
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The front of the Royal Palace at sunset, currently the centre of mourning for the recent passing of former King Sihanouk.</div>
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Posing beside the exterior wall of the Royal Palace on my birthday last year.</div>
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Kandal (2)</h3>
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Barely even counted as a province, due to its close proximity to Phnom Penh, Kandal is most famous for Cheung Ek or The Killing Fields as it is better known as. A gruesome and emotional place to visit, but necessary to learn and understand about the some of the many terrible deaths at the hands of the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979. (Gilly)</div>
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The memorial stupa at The Killing Fields.</div>
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Kampong Cham (3)</h3>
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<a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2010/09/sambodia.html" target="_blank">Kampong Cham</a> was our home for the first five weeks of being in Cambodia while we had language training, something I was dreading but grew to love quickly. We spent the mornings learning and the afternoons drinking tea and practising our new words. It was where we realised we had arrived with the best batch of volunteers and cemented strong friendships. By the end of our language training we were sick of living in a hotel and eager to get to our placements. As a result we didn't go back to Kampong Cham for over a year! (Gilly)</div>
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<a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2010/10/photos-from-kampong-cham.html" target="_blank">Visiting Wat Nakor</a> in Kampong Cham at our celebration of two years in Cambodia with our batch mates</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">The epic bike journey on Sam's second day in Cambodia, with Paul, Dave and Ingran.</span></div>
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Kratie (4)</h3>
What can we say about Kratie? <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2010/10/kratie-top-ten.html" target="_blank">We loved living there</a> and are fiercely defensive of everything about it. Most tourists don't even spend a full day in Kratie and are often overheard saying there is nothing to see there. However, we know different. <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/01/kratiessights-and-delights.html" target="_blank">Kratie is a beautiful province</a> right on the Mekong River. Seeing the Mekong every day for two years has been a privilege and inspired us to want to live somewhere near water in the future. Having so much time to spend together in our quiet little town has also been amazing and we will miss all the lovely people we met there. (Gilly)<br />
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Old colonial buildings near the market left over from the days of the French. </div>
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A storm approaching on <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/09/chhlong-and-back.html" target="_blank">the road to Chhlong</a> during the terrible floods of 2011.</div>
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Looking at Kratie town from the island on <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/12/christmas-kratie-style.html" target="_blank">Christmas Day 2011</a>.</div>
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Stung Treng (5)</h3>
Thanks to the presence of fellow batch buddy Ingran <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/08/road-trip-take-2.html" target="_blank">we took the road North to Stung Treng</a> very quickly. As with Kratie you need to dig a bit deeper to discover this province's gems, one of which is the stretch of river just South of the border with Laos. We did this by boat and kayak just last month and it was one of my personal Cambodian highlights. (Sam)<br />
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Paddling on the Mekong in life jacket, shirt and woolly gloves. It's the look!</div>
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Serene island beaches littering this wonderful piece of river.</div>
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Ratanakiri (6)</h3>
In the far North East is perhaps my favourite province, excluding Kratie, of course. <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2010/11/ratanakiri.html" target="_blank">The stunning lake won me over at first sight</a> and was one of the reasons we each visited three times. Those whose trips to Cambodia gravitate to the temples of Angkor on the other side really do miss out on the cool hills, waterfalls and amazing pizzas that Ratanakiri has to offer. They also miss out on the opportunity to be <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/11/i-think-ratanakiri-might-be-my-second.html" target="_blank">adopted into the Tampoon community</a>, as I was after discovering I shared a name with one of their leaders. (Sam)<br />
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Yeak Loam lake, fringed by jungle and <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/09/those-who-know-me-well-will-be-aware.html" target="_blank">crystal clear water for swimming</a> - paradise.</div>
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Mondulkiri (7)</h3>
Mondulkiri lies East of Kratie and despite being only about four hours away, it is notoriously difficult to get to, mainly due to the ridiculously overcrowded and loaded minibuses that take their own sweet time to travel on the extremely good road. Despite this <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/06/road-trip.html" target="_blank">I've been there three times</a>, though this is largely due to the fact Paul was living there rather than because I love it (though it is very nice, I found it much too cold on all three visits). Sam however, only visited once, and was lucky to tick it off when Ross came to visit in December. (Gilly)<br />
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Jumping around overlooking the Sea Forest.</div>
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Visits during the dry season can result in extreme red dust - always have a face mask handy, Cambodians do.</div>
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Kampong Thom (8)</h3>
The key word in the definition of <i>The Great Province Run</i> is 'visit'. It isn't sufficient to see a province out of a bus window or as a lunch stop on the way to somewhere else. Kampong Thom, as stated by our friend Dave who was based there, is commonly known as "the toilet stop for those travelling between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap". However, for us, a toilet stop wouldn't be enough and so we were lucky in December 2010 when the annual staff retreat for my workplace, CRDT, took a detour to visit some pre-Angkorian temples that are off the main tourist trail. It was our first encounter with these types of ruins, but not our last... (Sam)<br />
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The ruins of <span style="background-color: white; color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">Sambor Prei Kuk.</span> (Yes, there is a toilet there too.)</div>
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Siem Reap (9)</h3>
Due to the temples of Angkor being spread around the vicinity of Siem Reap, it is the most visited place in Cambodia. <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/01/mountains-and-temples.html" target="_blank">We visited together at the beginning of our placement</a> and again near the end which allowed us to pick and choose our favourites without feeling 'templed out'. I also completed <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/11/jetsetting-round-cambodia.html" target="_blank">my 100km cycle around the main temples</a> after a year of being in country, the amazing sunrise and general views were worth the pain.. While Siem Reap is what Cambodia is best known for, it is actually very different from the Cambodia that we have come to know. (Gilly)<br />
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Having fun at Ban Melea</div>
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The crumbling temples and jungle effects of Ban Melea made this one a firm favourite for us both.</div>
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Kampong Som (10)</h3>
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Kampong Som is more commonly known as Sihanoukville and is the popular beach party town of Cambodia. We visited in May, at the start of the rainy season and were hindered from doing many activities by the sudden downpours. We enjoyed some relaxing afternoons swimming and teaching my friend Birdy, who was visiting, how to play Uno. (Gilly)</div>
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Sun loungers at sunset in Sihanoukville courtesy of Birdy.</div>
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The Great Province Run has started to <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2012/05/on-holiday-with-sam-and-birdy.html" target="_blank">take its toll on Sam...</a></div>
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Kampot (11)</h3>
In the south sits Kampot, a popular place to visit and so <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/03/it-seems-like-quite-long-time-since-ive.html" target="_blank">I've been twice</a>, best known for its pepper though it also seems to produce salt. A great place to wile away the hours and admire the ramshakle bridge built and rebuilt by various people over the years. (Gilly)<br />
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Salt flats on the way to Kep</div>
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The afore-mentioned bridge.</div>
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Kep (12)</h3>
If we had been doing The Great Province Run in 2007 Kep wouldn't have featured as it only became separated from Kampot in December 2008. Also sitting on the coast it is best known for the derelict former seaside homes of the Phnom Penh elite which were abandoned and then ransacked following the Khmer Rouge revolution. <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/10/long-awaited-holiday.html" target="_blank">Our visit in September 2011</a> was at the height of the severe rains and we were lucky to be staying at the wonderful Veranda resort where hours pass in a state of severe relaxation. (Sam)<br />
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The provincial boundary indicating the official date of separation from Kampot in 2008.</div>
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One of the abandoned houses, eerie and intriguing all in one.</div>
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Takeo (13)</h3>
After our trip to Kampot and Kep <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/10/long-awaited-holiday.html" target="_blank">we stopped in Takeo</a> for the night on our way back to Phnom Penh. Due to the high waters we couldn't see the ruins that comprise the main tourist attraction but we did take a long walk around the town taking in the lotus-filled lake and their own version of the Independence Monument in Phnom Penh commemorating independence from French rule in 1953. (Sam)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiZVHqg_slWdeNhv8VjzXyx-8odayKq1G3DZAnr_ukUqROMH46bLklnLLmA5xNZGo3v62gVjh5f34UawPDPkD54QJOF34yNvaLENPPWTBE5ZP2S1w_-IcFlzOG3BP5IFYmKBC6EXstuQ/s1600/12b+T.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiZVHqg_slWdeNhv8VjzXyx-8odayKq1G3DZAnr_ukUqROMH46bLklnLLmA5xNZGo3v62gVjh5f34UawPDPkD54QJOF34yNvaLENPPWTBE5ZP2S1w_-IcFlzOG3BP5IFYmKBC6EXstuQ/s320/12b+T.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Takeo, and the Independence Monument by night.</div>
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Svay Rieng (14) and Prey Veng (15)</h3>
Of Svay Rieng the Lonely Planet guidebook says "there is literally nothing to see here". Prey Veng doesn't fare much better and so neither of us even bothered to take out our cameras when we ticked these two off as a road trip on our trusty Honda Dream motorbike. One exception to the 'nothing to see' assessment is the Neak Loam river crossing in Prey Veng, famed for its appearance as a site of illegal American bombing at the start of the film The Killing Fields. We did see that and were impressed with the quality of the road in Svay Rieng which makes a fast beeline to the border with Vietnam. (Sam)<br />
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Koh Kong (16)</h3>
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In sharp contrast with provinces 14 and 15 (above), Koh Kong had lots to see and do and is in my top three favourite provinces. We spent quite a few relaxing days here visiting waterfalls, secluded islands and enjoying the different, but equally beautiful, scenery on offer thanks to the nearby Cardamon Mountains.(Gilly)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_szuHCMmH3CJQIsgWrA2WjWwH6lgJtmtLGrX1hJ5Dh0bbCZQPe9mr51-5DC5HGXYz1ipjzZ6RIv4JmKwtv-3oGYHR0elRjpzZ0U5sPnX1ptbcmjbfmUw1vKNJY-ZbdMpNLBoMztVeWw/s1600/11a+KK.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_szuHCMmH3CJQIsgWrA2WjWwH6lgJtmtLGrX1hJ5Dh0bbCZQPe9mr51-5DC5HGXYz1ipjzZ6RIv4JmKwtv-3oGYHR0elRjpzZ0U5sPnX1ptbcmjbfmUw1vKNJY-ZbdMpNLBoMztVeWw/s320/11a+KK.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Swimming in the Tatai River - my second visit after <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2012/11/koh-kong-and-kayaking.html" target="_blank">coming here a few weeks earlier with Sarah and Will</a>.</div>
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Pailin (17)</h3>
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Pailin used to be part of Battambang and is another recently invented province. A bit tricky to get to from Kratie so we solved the problem by visiting it from Koh Kong as both provinces border Thailand. We popped over to Thailand from Koh Kong (a mere 6km from the town) and enjoyed the comfortable and short journeys to various other towns that eventually got us up to the border near Pailin. No problems with crossing the borders and in general a very smooth journey - the only hitch was on arriving in Pailin we got in a shared taxi which broke down four times before we even got halfway to Battambang. Annoyed by the hour and a half journey already taking over two hours we flagged down a passing minibus filled with monks and had a comfortable and quick ride to Battambang for just a few dollars extra. In keeping with the rules of <i>The Great Province Run</i>, we then moto-ed back to Pailin a few days later to visit a waterfall. (Gilly)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVgBG-zl4Nez-PYSNSWcQ3_8zRtN-8LXqoRK3JBEm294ceXY046qiXJU5X2FqSQp8JiUnn_0XRuE100OOz3tfxbS4OA-YkclMK2fAir-zwnLPJ5fcf2OPPBJk7E9IUhyfsweEzVhrTQ/s1600/18a+P.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbVgBG-zl4Nez-PYSNSWcQ3_8zRtN-8LXqoRK3JBEm294ceXY046qiXJU5X2FqSQp8JiUnn_0XRuE100OOz3tfxbS4OA-YkclMK2fAir-zwnLPJ5fcf2OPPBJk7E9IUhyfsweEzVhrTQ/s320/18a+P.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Sporting his and her kramas and an interesting sock look...</div>
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Battambang (18)</h3>
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A very difficult province to reach from Kratie it was surprising that <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/11/signs-and-other-stuff.html" target="_blank">I managed to visit three times</a>, although two of these were dictated by <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2012/09/something-i-wrote-for-vsos-blog.html" target="_blank">work for VSO</a>. Battambang has all the creature comforts of places like Phnom Penh and Siem Reap while keeping the rural aspects of places like Kratie within easy reach. If I came back to live in Cambodia I might opt for life here and it's also the inspiration for <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/05/o-flower-of-battanbang.html" target="_blank">my favourite Cambodian song</a>. (Sam)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwM7MTSVV_zQeVSEH2WZYTtJQ0clfrRqdm_My7vZ68TonEm8egxATry-FnEWqCzVi5vZHMB5KcLIhY6D2UWUGMDHvdlmjajUr_iyejlyjbfOvBVM9TkE3r8rghMUFERP_19FFUhh8Sw/s1600/17b+BTB.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwM7MTSVV_zQeVSEH2WZYTtJQ0clfrRqdm_My7vZ68TonEm8egxATry-FnEWqCzVi5vZHMB5KcLIhY6D2UWUGMDHvdlmjajUr_iyejlyjbfOvBVM9TkE3r8rghMUFERP_19FFUhh8Sw/s320/17b+BTB.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Fishing in action, it's actually a lot easier to get this photo than it looks.</div>
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All smiles before the bone-shaking ride on the bamboo train.</div>
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Banteay Meanchey (19)</h3>
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We did this province as an excursion on a hired motorbike from Battambang. We checked out one of Cambodia's many hilltop pagodas at Phnom Touch and had lunch in the capital, Sisophon. With more time we might have made it to some of the province's Angkorian ruins but sometimes The Great Province Run requires pragmatism as well as determination. (Sam)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh45yHaS4XCT7LgVX9p5iwKss7xklCwbSDFv0sUxf-Nnqehl3BoVDMFd7CoJdHdlGZfzpQsDPwlWAcxHpzkDt98s0_WzhAisdZaRzKmWxf3TocHHMGCr93uUa2DkPNwe6iLuDxnYWT4nQ/s1600/16a+BM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh45yHaS4XCT7LgVX9p5iwKss7xklCwbSDFv0sUxf-Nnqehl3BoVDMFd7CoJdHdlGZfzpQsDPwlWAcxHpzkDt98s0_WzhAisdZaRzKmWxf3TocHHMGCr93uUa2DkPNwe6iLuDxnYWT4nQ/s320/16a+BM.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Another provincial boundary sign showing the year 2004 when Banteay Meanchey was separated from Siem Reap.</div>
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Oddar Meanchey (20)</h3>
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Another relatively new province with not much going on, remote and hard to get to until the recent new road between one of the towns, Anglong Veng and Siem Reap. Bordering Thailand, it was one of the last strongholds of the Khmer Rouge into the early 1990s. We spent some time visiting Ta Mok's house, Brother Number 5 of the Khmer Rouge, a senior figure also known as 'the Butcher', which was filled with painted walls of Angkor Wat and maps of Cambodia. (Gilly)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnDKD9Z1Wr-nLJuNnrxD1skM8BEFQmUNTR8X1PwNhB_Yaauwp9w19qHjjhjrkrc7gVijgWjtCjQmP1vG4VQVqWjZY_AQDTfUjL60AQ0ZuugoMr4WYwgrlrojV6TvZA2H-63qskS05Ydg/s1600/15a+OM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnDKD9Z1Wr-nLJuNnrxD1skM8BEFQmUNTR8X1PwNhB_Yaauwp9w19qHjjhjrkrc7gVijgWjtCjQmP1vG4VQVqWjZY_AQDTfUjL60AQ0ZuugoMr4WYwgrlrojV6TvZA2H-63qskS05Ydg/s320/15a+OM.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pol Pot's radio van left in Ta Mok's garden</div>
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Preah Vihear (21)</h3>
When we arrived in 2010 travel to the temple of Preah Vihear was prohibited by VSO due to the Cambodia-Thailand conflict on the border, centred on the temple itself. That has since eased and what a treat this place it. The temple isn't necessarily remarkable compared to it's Siem Reap cousins, but the views from its location at the top of a huge cliff were definitely worth the hair-raising drive and climb to get there. With just three provinces left the end was now in sight... (Sam)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMszkY-pRcj3oKxRpgpvPFfdgnqNvjNG_aIj5bj8JobHvy0V-y-O6F4eSmjBD1vfYfLjIIMhTqQTlC-wiz2-zI__v00yaNwRAcwsHukUMzeDDxd9513Nltcc6s7vUDoQAEnheuLdZR2A/s1600/14a+PV.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMszkY-pRcj3oKxRpgpvPFfdgnqNvjNG_aIj5bj8JobHvy0V-y-O6F4eSmjBD1vfYfLjIIMhTqQTlC-wiz2-zI__v00yaNwRAcwsHukUMzeDDxd9513Nltcc6s7vUDoQAEnheuLdZR2A/s320/14a+PV.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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In the background of this picture is the meeting of Cambodia, Thailand and Laos.</div>
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Pursat (22)</h3>
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I had visited Saahiel here on my way back from Battambang in 2011 and so, at this point, so close to the end, it was necessary to slow my own pace down to allow Gilly to catch up. We took the bus from Phnom Penh, made a tour of the 'ship island' in the middle of the river and had lunch before jumping back on the bus to go back towards Phnom Penh for the last two stops on the run. The ladies in the bus station thought it was quite funny that we got off the bus and immediately bought tickets out again for three hours later. (Sam)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ0G26EEb43D6t4JjqHPoHGlzXah4YeECSATPeezRhyphenhyphen3Dd1tpkQQ21f6rtDZWD1vh4fjvIXrAJ4lSwJPlR7DXRYbHS73MxxlNQVF1gOvzfo7Ib_ub8NyIGECptCEHvUBte0RYYlxuEkQ/s1600/19a+Pursat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ0G26EEb43D6t4JjqHPoHGlzXah4YeECSATPeezRhyphenhyphen3Dd1tpkQQ21f6rtDZWD1vh4fjvIXrAJ4lSwJPlR7DXRYbHS73MxxlNQVF1gOvzfo7Ib_ub8NyIGECptCEHvUBte0RYYlxuEkQ/s320/19a+Pursat.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The 'ship island' taken on my first visit in 2011.</div>
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Kampong Chhnang (23)</h3>
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As it's only two hours from Phnom Penh, we saved this province till near the end to combine with Kampong Speu. I'd been looking forward to Kampong Chhnang and wasn't disappointed. It reminded us of Kratie and had various nice activities to fill our afternoon and morning with. Sam also found some unexpectedly good hand-painted signs to add to <a href="http://kratie.ghostsigns.co.uk/" target="_blank">his collection</a>. Only one province left now and the excitement (and exhaustion) was building... (Gilly)</div>
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A unique way of displaying bananas.</div>
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A Vietnamese floating village on the Tonle Sap. </div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpjQ9MaCQZY&list=UUxkeWckIB4nkx_14QEOohPg&index=1" target="_blank">How cute is this guy</a>? Makes me want to be a vegetarian.</div>
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Kampong Speu (24)</h3>
Reaching province 24 with two days to spare before leaving Cambodia for good. We climbed the 509 steps to the top of Udong Mountain and were rewarded with the best views I've seen over Cambodia (with the exception of Preah Vihear). <i>The Great Province Run</i> is complete and we can truly say that in our two years and three months in Cambodia, we have gotten to know the country really well. It might even have inspired us to start <i>The Great British County Run</i> when we get home! (Gilly)<br />
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Phew, the home run was pretty frantic but I can now proudly say that I have visited every province in Cambodia. (At least until they siphon off another one like Kep or Pailin and we have to return to re-validate our badges of honour.) (Sam)<br />
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All smiles and feeling pretty proud of our achievement.at the top of Udong Mountain.</div>
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Looking towards Phnom Penh and surveying the extent of our travels.</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Sam Roberts (Ghostsigns)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388533305466789541noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-78733597899972404012012-11-13T03:52:00.001+00:002012-11-13T13:56:34.283+00:00Koh Kong and Kayaking<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Gsc5SM1S9f4FUrsHHHilRXtQtQ8t-yphQ2pBurSEAR1yZT3OYfnRiZKasUiCftb8XjFV_8bgMIkbV3k7y_CBc4-ZncHUq-PF0R1-czym65gP3zTt8hG1Tsbw3ulcb26gZvFjiJVm808/s1600/SAM_0105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>This week Sarah and Will arrived for their two week Cambodian holiday which was wicked. I met them at Phnom Penh airport and then we headed to Koh Kong in the South-west of Cambodia, a totally new province for me. </div>
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Despite them being a little bit jet lagged, we managed to fit in quite a lot in our 2 and a half days in Koh Kong.<br />
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Koh Kong has both rivers and the sea so our activities tended to revolve around those.</div>
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On the first day we visited the beautiful Tatai Waterfall...</div>
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...where you can also go swimming.</div>
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On the second day we took a boat trip to Koh Kong island which is a protected area and very beautiful and secluded.<br />
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We swam and snorkeled and generally enjoyed our beautiful surroundings</div>
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The guide and boat driver cooked us a delicious lunch of BBQ-ed chicken and vegetables. It was a great trip apart from the fact that I got bitten by numerous sand flies and have been incredibly itchy ever since. </div>
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On the way back to town, we glimpsed a dolphin in the distance as we went up a river to visit the mangrove forest.<br />
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Views of the mangrove forest from the watch tower</div>
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The mangrove forest as we walked through it</div>
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From Koh Kong we headed back to Phnom Penh for a day and then onto Kratie. Luckily for us, Suzanne has just moved to Kratie and opened <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SoryaKayakingAdventures" target="_blank">Sorya Kayaking Tours</a> so we were able to take advantage of the launch of her business on the Friday afternoon along with Gordon and Claire, VSO volunteers in Phnom Penh who were also visiting Kratie this weekend.<br />
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Getting our briefing from Suzanne before we set off</div>
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On the way to the starting point</div>
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Ready for action </div>
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Me and Sam (fully covered up from the sun in true Cambodian fashion) attempting to coordinate our strokes (this was after about 5 minutes on the water and I was already tired - god knows how my brother managed to do this for <a href="http://kayakrivergambia.com/" target="_blank">10 days</a>)</div>
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Coline and Greg looking cool and composed in their kayak</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Sarah and Will with Coline and Greg in the background going in opposite directions. I think it's safe to say that none of us really knew what we were doing!</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Claire and Gordon sailing off into the sunset</div>
<br />
We all had a great time and would definitely recommend it to other visitors to Kratie.<br />
<br />
We've had action-packed days with lots of swimming, walking, and kayaking which have left me realising that I'm really not that fit! Sadly Sarah and Will have set off yesterday on their own to visit Siem Reap and I am left with the daunting task of adding the final touches to my dissertation and handing it in. Freedom here I come, just in time to make the most of our holiday in Cambodia in December and our big trip starting in January. <br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Gillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12803591989986303215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-40286851793893409542012-11-04T05:02:00.000+00:002012-11-04T05:02:31.555+00:00Now published: Hand-Painted Signs of Kratie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.ghostsigns.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Hand-Painted-Signs-of-Kratie-620-300x300.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hand-Painted Signs of Kratie</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Ladies & Gentlemen,<br />
<br />
I present to you what many are tipping for this year's surprise Christmas best seller, my first book, <a href="http://kratie.ghostsigns.co.uk/" target="_blank"><b>Hand-Painted Signs of Kratie</b></a>. It is now available to <a href="http://kratie.ghostsigns.co.uk/buy/" target="_blank"><b>buy in printed and eBook formats</b></a> (suitable for iPad, Kindle, Nook and most other eReading devices and applications). There is also a free preview available in various digital formats.<br />
<br />
The book is a celebration of the art and craft of Cambodia's hand-painted advertising, 138 colour pages crammed with photos of everything from flying pigs to retro hairstyles and hand grenades.<br />
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="198" src="http://www.ghostsigns.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Retro-hairstyles-in-Hand-Painted-Signs-of-Kratie.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><i>Spread from the Beauty Salons & Barbers chapter</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
These images are accompanied by the unique story of the signs and the people who paint them, alongside my own observations on what they tell us about Cambodia.</div>
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="200" src="http://www.ghostsigns.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Introduction-from-Hand-Painted-Signs-of-Kratie.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><i>Opening spread from the Introduction</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Even in this book's short life many of these hand-crafted creations have fallen by the wayside and, day by day, the content of the book becomes increasingly rare.</div>
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="http://www.ghostsigns.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Hand-Painted-Signs-of-Kratie-on-iBooks.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><i>Hand-Painted Signs of Kratie on iPad</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I hope you will join me in this celebration of Cambodia's hand-painted advertising and please <a href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Fkratie.ghostsigns.co.uk%2Fbuy%2F&title=Buy%20Hand-Painted%20Signs%20of%20Kratie%20%7C%20Hand-Painted%20Signs%20of%20Kratie&description=Details%20of%20how%20to%20buy%20copies%20of%20Hand-Painted%20Signs%20of%20Kratie%20by%20Sam%20Roberts%2C%20a%20celebration%20of%20the%20art%20and%20craft%20of%20Cambodia%27s%20hand%20painted%20signs." target="_blank"><b>share with friends</b></a>, but not those who you plan to give it to as a gift...<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://kratie.ghostsigns.co.uk/buy/" target="_blank"><b>Buy the book</b></a></li>
<li><a href="http://eepurl.com/oFGi5" target="_blank"><b>Join the mailing list</b></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/HandPaintedSignsOfKratie" target="_blank"><b>Connect on Facebook</b></a></li>
<li><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/HandPaintedSignsOfKratie" target="_blank"><b>Follow the blog</b></a></li>
</ul>
More sample spreads from the printed book and screen shots from the eBook:</div>
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="198" src="http://www.ghostsigns.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Contents-of-Hand-Painted-Signs-of-Kratie.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><i>Contents page from Hand-Painted Signs of Kratie</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="198" src="http://www.ghostsigns.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Khmer-Script-in-Hand-Painted-Signs-of-Kratie.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><i>Spread from the Khmer Script chapter</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="200" src="http://www.ghostsigns.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Motorbikes-in-Hand-Painted-Signs-of-Kratie.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><i>Various motorbikes on hand-painted signs in Kratie</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="http://www.ghostsigns.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Hand-Painted-Signs-of-Kratie-on-iBooks-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><i>Introduction page from eBook on iPad</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Sam Roberts (Ghostsigns)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388533305466789541noreply@blogger.com0Road No. 5, Kratie, Cambodia12.487867270643601 106.0190963745117212.4568602706436 105.97961437451171 12.518874270643602 106.05857837451173tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-6407651095171081562012-11-02T14:13:00.000+00:002012-11-02T14:22:18.755+00:00Education Today article<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
VSO recently asked me to write an article about my placement in Cambodia for the magazine Education Today that they frequently contribute to. Here it is:<br />
<br />
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<br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Teacher Gilly Clifford, 32, from London, reflects on her two year VSO placement in Cambodia:</b></span><br /><br />
“As I approach the last month of my two year VSO placement working as a teaching and learning adviser in the small town of Kratie in North-East Cambodia, I have mixed feelings about leaving. On the one hand I’m excited about the future and ready to use what I’ve learnt from my time in Cambodia for new challenges; but I know I will also miss the town and the people I have come to love.<br /><br />
Cambodia is still considered a post-conflict country long after the civil war ended in the 1990s. The war destroyed Cambodia’s education system and thousands of people, including 75% of teachers, 96% of university students and 67% of all primary and secondary school pupils, lost their lives during the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975-1979 (VSO 2008).<br /><br />
This has had consequences for rebuilding the education system, the economy and society. Culturally, people are less inclined to question things or deviate from the norm. The education system relies on rote learning in which the teacher talks and the children listen but they don’t necessarily fully understand the subject matter. There are high drop-out and repetition rates, particularly in grade one (Rao, Pearson, Constas and Pearson 2007). In 2009, the percentage of female children repeating grades across primary school was 10% and 12% for male children (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).<br /><br />
I am based at the Provincial Office of Education in Kratie town and I travel across two districts in the province to help implement the Ministry of Education’s Child Friendly School Policy. Although this policy was introduced in 2002, there is little evidence in schools of the interactive approach it recommends. Over the last two years, I have focused on five target schools, working with the grade 1-3 teachers and school directors to help them implement this method of teaching through workshops, lesson observations and discussions.<br /><br />
My biggest success has been to develop a DVD project in which groups of teachers watch Ministry of Education produced films on literacy or maths and we discuss different learning methods. This helps the teachers to reflect on their own teaching as well as see what works so they can make improvements. After five months of doing the project, I began peer observations of each teacher and encouraged them to put these ideas into practice. The difference was striking; teachers became more confident, more responsive to the children’s individual needs and willing to try out group activities. Since then they use real objects to introduce new topics, visual aids like puppets and try out different classroom layouts, making the lessons more fun and encouraging discussions and critical thinking. <br /><br />
Working in Cambodia has not been without its challenges. I have definitely gained skills in negotiating, improvising and flexibility to navigate the complicated, hierarchical and bureaucratic educational system. Despite this, it is very motivational when I see teachers use my suggestions and pass these ideas on to others. I have loved my five minute commute to work cycling alongside the mighty Mekong River, buying fresh vegetables and fruit from the market and bumping into people I know every day. I can now speak a new language and ride a motorbike, two things I never thought I would be able to do. I would definitely recommend the experience to others; volunteers develop so much both professionally and personally and most importantly, are able to share their skills too.”<br /><br />
Rao, N., Pearson, E., Constas, M.A., & Pearson, V. (2007). Evaluation of community preschool and home based early childhood programs in Cambodia. UNICEF: Cambodia.<br /><br />UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) (2012) UIS Statistics in Brief – Education Profile: Cambodia 2010. Online. Available at <a href="http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=121&IF_Language=eng&BR_Country=4060&BR_Region=40515">http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=121&IF_Language=eng&BR_Country=4060&BR_Region=40515</a> [Accessed 4 August 2012]<br /><br />VSO (2008) Teaching Matters. A policy report on the motivation and moral of teachers in Cambodia. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And here is a link to the actual <a href="http://content.yudu.com/A1zh47/EducationOct2012/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.education-today.co.uk%2F" target="_blank">online article</a> (it takes a minute to load) and I'm on page 7.</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Gillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12803591989986303215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-92080873183579942062012-10-30T12:50:00.002+00:002012-10-30T12:50:44.931+00:00End of the rains, end of my placement<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The rainy season has finally come to an end so we no longer need to travel around like this....<br />
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And with the end of the rains, comes the re-opening of the schools for the new academic year. Sadly I only had a few weeks with the schools before I finished my placement</div>
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My last school opening ceremony with two of the Korean volunteers</div>
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As of last Friday, I am now an accompanying partner, having officially finished my two years with VSO. It suddenly seems to have gone incredibly fast and I'm feeling pretty sad about leaving Cambodia. My last few weeks at work were mainly spent visiting the schools and tying up a few loose ends.<br />
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In July, we did a story competition with the target schools to highlight gender issues faced by many of the children in the province when accessing school. As the schools closed early in July due to the hand and mouth disease which affected children, I didn't get a chance to hand out the prizes to the winners until this month.<br />
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The winning students (grades 2-6) of the gender story competition from Toulmonorom School. Each winner received a small prize and a copy of the collection of stories in a colour booklet.</div>
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The children loved seeing their stories in print</div>
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I visited one of my target schools on the island opposite the town to say goodbye and was greeted by this rather muddy road.</div>
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After dragging our bikes through the mud and ending up with shoes like this, we arrived at the school to find it closed due to the <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2012/10/pchum-ben-in-preak-prasab.html" target="_blank">Phcum Ben</a> festival. We then had to go all the way back along same muddy road. It was not one of my better last days!<br />
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I modeled an English lesson for one of the teachers who had attended the Primary English for Cambodia training supported by VSO. It was a grade 4 class (about 9 years old) and they were unbelievably lovely. As always it has made me super excited about being back in the classroom properly next year. <br />
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The children practiced their new words using actions in groups</div>
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One of my last trips to a school loaded down with resources. I'm so Cambodian nowadays that I can ride my moto with extra things at the front and back!</div>
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Despite seeing the river every morning when we go skipping, I felt like we hadn't spent enough time next to our beautiful Mekong River. Last week we went for a walk and caught this lovely sunset which will always be the one of the things I remember most about Kratie. </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Gillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12803591989986303215noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-5989534327133438532012-10-15T15:00:00.000+01:002012-10-16T13:40:38.061+01:00Pchum Ben in Preak Prasab<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Cambodia is noisy at the best of times but the recent funeral in the house behind our bedroom was a rude awakening like no other. A speaker stack with monks' chanting kicking off at 4am even managed to top <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2010/11/ice-man-cometh.html">the 'ice man' from our first house</a>. When someone dies here there are initially three days of mourning (and noise) followed by ceremonies to mark the death after seven days and 100 days.</div>
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(Turn up volume for full experience.)</div>
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Gilly was not happy last weekend when the funeral coincided with building works on both sides of the house (sampled above) as she tried to edit her dissertation. Adding to this was even more chanting from Kratie's pagodas in light of Pchum Ben (more on this later.).</div>
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We've had a building site on one side for some time but then a new one kicked off on the other side. In this case their main objective seemed to be using scaffolding to lift the house up for the insertion of a new ground floor, see below.</div>
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It wasn't just people dying. The welfare of the critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphin that lives in the Mekong about 15km North of town is carefully monitored by WWF. Their research into why the dolphins are dying is made challenging by a lack of dead specimens to examine. Over the last five months there has been a Spanish dolphin expert training the team in necropsy (an autopsy but performed on a different species than your own) and last week a fully grown adult (160kg!) was found and brought to the office for examination. This is obviously tragic for a species that numbers less than 80 but a small silver lining is that some data will become available and future discoveries can be professionally investigated to help find ways to halt their decline.<br />
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Fittingly, this weekend has marked the end of Cambodia's Pchum Ben holiday. This is 15 days, otherwise known as 'ancestor days', that signify the spirits of dead family members returning to earth. It was all a bit of a mystery to us so we were quick to accept an invitation from our surrogate family (a.k.a. our landlady) to go to her village (Preak Prasab) on the other side of the Mekong to mark the final day. (We did have <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2010/10/little-update.html">a brief brush with the event early on</a> in our placement but weren't close enough to really understand it.)<br />
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First it was onto the ferry for the 15 minute journey to the 'West Bank', somewhere that, until today, we hadn't been in two years living here.<br />
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This guy has a portable key cutting business on the back of his moto. I was pleasantly surprised to find that his tin of metal was a brand close to my heart...<br />
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A lot of Pchum Ben revolves around food, just like Christmas back home. First up was breakfast which included coconut curry, salty fried pork, fried vegetables, bread and, of course, the obligatory rice.<br />
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Next the ladies had to change into their finery, the top is her own, the sash was on loan from our landlady. For men it's just the same clothes as any other day of the week ('tomeda' in Khmer, which means normal). I'm carrying a plate of fruit which will be offered up at the pagoda later. Out of shot is a stack of tiffin tins in Gilly's hand full of more food for offering.<br />
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Other than food, money plays a big role at Pchum Ben, as it does in most Cambodian ceremonies. The event seems to double as a bit of a fundraiser for the pagoda and this 'money tree' was one of a number of opportunities to part with some cash.<br />
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Here's a small selection of the food offerings originating in tiffin tins like the ones that Gilly was carrying. In return for our generosity we were blessed by the pagoda's monks over loudspeaker.<br />
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We also got to make a wish when we lit our incense. There were lots of wishes being made and a smoky atmosphere resulted.<br />
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The final part of the official ceremony at the pagoda was lining up to give the monks rice and money. This is part of the offering of food to the ancestors, many of whom can be hungry when they come back to earth. First, this woman comes around with a pan of water so that you can clean your serving spoon before the monks' arrival. Happiness at work is a wonderful thing!<br />
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Here are the monks walking slowly down the line to allow their bowls to be filled with rice and their plates covered with cash. Each monk has a young helper following him to scoop up the cash every now and then and deposit it into a large bag. There was also a team of men diligently emptying the rice bowls every so often to make space for the next round of spoonfuls along the line.<br />
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It was a bit of a bum rush to get your rice and money into the right places but a lot of fun all the same. Here's Gilly using her reach to good effect and, to the left, our landlady's daughter Navy doing her best to compete.<br />
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This was the end result of a few deposits from the rice collectors. It looks like the monks in this pagoda, and our collective ancestors, will be having a feast for days.<br />
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After all that formality is was time for a 'darlaing' (casual walk) and a photo shoot with Navy in the pagoda's gardens.<br />
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Death was the order of the day again on the way home where we stumbled upon the later stages of a cow being butchered. On the floor is its skin, the main meat has been taken away and all that's left are the various innards. I'm guessing the big thing is the four stomachs but these guys know best...<br />
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We finished off the morning before lunch with a 'family' photo, our landlord and landlady are in the back row.</div>
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On the drive back to Kratie Town our landlady informed us that there had been another significant death in Cambodia. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/15/king-norodom-sihanouk" target="_blank">Former King Sihanouk had passed away at the age of 89</a>. Here he is singing <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/05/o-flower-of-battanbang.html">my favourite Khmer song 'Flower of Battambang'</a>.</div>
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It feels like today we've really understood something of Cambodian culture in contrast to our last brush with Pchum Ben as newcomers in 2010. We won't miss the noise it brings though. There is a pleasant stillness in the night as we tidy up this blog post and get ready for bed.</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Sam Roberts (Ghostsigns)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388533305466789541noreply@blogger.com0308, Cambodia12.417465634881657 106.0187530517578112.386453134881657 105.97927105175781 12.448478134881656 106.05823505175782tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-83871257148033031552012-10-06T11:46:00.001+01:002012-10-06T11:46:50.141+01:00Two year celebration<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The other weekend, we packed our bags and headed off to the nearby province of Kampong Cham to meet up with our fellow September 2010 group to celebrate two years in Cambodia (and yet another bank holiday weekend). There are nine of us left, although only seven could make it. It was a great weekend filled with nostalgia and lots of catching up as the others traveled from various parts of the country. <br />
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The first night was spent in style at the lovely Smile restaurant which supports the local community to learn cooking and other restaurant management skills</div>
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The next day we hired bikes in an attempt to re-live the interesting bike ride from our month spent in Kampong Cham learning Khmer this time two years ago. You can read about that adventurous trip <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2010/09/cambodia-so-far.html" target="_blank">here</a> but this time there were no mishaps. </div>
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Wat Nakor which is thought to be as old as the Temples of Angkor in Siem Reap and was also very beautiful.</div>
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The inside is particularly stunning with a mix of old and new.</div>
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Sam wanted his picture next to this humungous pig but she didn't want to oblige and kept running away.</div>
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The whole gang - 2010-2012 survivors! </div>
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Two years has gone so incredibly fast and now I find myself in my last month of work. There are so many things I will miss about living and working here but there are also so many things to look forward to in the next stage of our lives. As part of our weekend, we all sat in Kath's air-conditioned room drinking gin and tonics (it was like being at Uni again) and reflected on our time here. We had to share two things we will miss and one thing we won't miss at all! Here they are:<br />
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Sam: Will miss: time with me (awwww) and regular daylight hours (i.e. no SAD). Won't miss: mosquitoes and everything that goes with them (DEET, nets, bites etc) <br />
Gilly: Will miss: outdoor living and knowing all the people in the market, on our street, and in Kratie generally! Won't miss: not being able to say what I really think for fear of offending people who are higher up than me (aka EVERYBODY!)<br />
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Here's to our last three months! </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Gillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12803591989986303215noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-74512490610569886922012-09-17T11:42:00.002+01:002012-09-17T11:43:32.802+01:00Five minutes with...Sam Roberts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clipboard Crew</td></tr>
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These blog posts are a bit like buses - after only three in July and August combined it's three in less than a week this month. I promise a more fully blown exploration of what I do in my work soon but, in the meantime, you can gain some insight from <a href="http://www.vsointernational.org/story/37737/five-minutes-with%E2%80%A6-sam-roberts-marketing-and-management-adviser" target="_blank">this <i>'day in the life'</i> piece</a>. It was 'commissioned' by VSO to encourage others to volunteer with them. I hope it at least partially meets this objective.<br />
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PS. Gilly is a bit annoyed that I seem to be claiming more credit for preparing lunch and other domestic tasks than I deserve. To redress this I can confirm that she is currently busy making dinner while I am writing this blog...</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Sam Roberts (Ghostsigns)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388533305466789541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-51041602438004457812012-09-15T00:57:00.002+01:002012-09-15T01:04:37.005+01:00My birthday in Phnom Penh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keep reading for videos of more diving board action...</td></tr>
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So I've now landed firmly in my mid-30s (34!) so it seemed fitting to celebrate in style. Here in Cambodia that means leaving our sleepy little town of Kratie and heading for the lights and smoke of Phnom Penh.<br />
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However, before we left I was given an amazing surprise birthday present by Gilly, a set of four original hand-painted signs from Kratie waiting for me on my return from a few days in the countryside. You can read a bit <a href="http://kratie.ghostsigns.co.uk/collecting-hand-painted-signs-from-kratie/" target="_blank">more about Gilly's exploits in acquiring these on the 'Hand-Painted Signs of Kratie' blog</a>.<br />
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The first thing we did on arrival in Phnom Penh was to head to Jars of Clay for the first round of the weekend's cake intake. Here I am tucking into a rich chocolate number with some whipped cream.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Olivia Wynne</td></tr>
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Round two came as a surprise after a lovely meal at a restaurant called the Boat House. As this was officially the day before my birthday I was forgiving of them adding the wrong date to the text on the cake. Note the dripping ectoplasm running down the side of this one which was enjoyed by all the friends we had gathered together to celebrate.<br />
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After dinner we decanted into the regular VSO drinking den and, at midnight, Wes (see above and below) treated me to shots of whisky. (Somehow Mean also slipped into the photo, cunningly hiding under our armpits.)<br />
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That one seemed to hurt me more than Wes.<br />
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It was literally "bottom's up" for the second round and, after the pain of the first one, it's all smiles again on my face.<br />
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As well as my hand-painted signs from Gilly I got a new t-shirt from John In New Zealand. It is for his Thai kick-boxing club in Wellington and it was taken on a tour of Phnom Penh for it's Cambodian debut. Here I am wearing it beside <a href="http://kratie.ghostsigns.co.uk/guard-dogs-and-film-stars/" target="_blank">one of Phnom Penh's own hand-painted signs which I wrote about a couple of weeks ago</a>.<br />
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The guard dog sign was spotted by Gilly on the road to Blooms, a posh cake shop that hosted round three of the indulgence. I doubled up on chocolate, one with hazelnut that was particularly delicious.<br />
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Here are our cake colleagues for the morning, including Leandra (left) and Dorinda (middle) who also share my birthday week. Olivia (second from left) had selected the venue and it was smiles all round, followed by sustained silence as everyone savoured every mouthful.<br />
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Gilly convinced me that I wouldn't get sunburned if we walked from the cake shop to our lunch venue. She was right, although I did spend most of the time dashing from one piece of shade to another. Here we are posing outside one of the external walls of the Royal Palace.<br />
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A shandy in hand to take the edge of the previous night's whisky. Continuing the hand-painted signs theme of the weekend we had lunch in Bojangles. This place on the riverfront sells replica signs to support rural signpainters. You can <a href="http://kratie.ghostsigns.co.uk/replica-hand-painted-signs-at-bojangles-in-phnom-penh/" target="_blank">see some examples of these here</a>.<br />
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Perhaps the biggest treat of the day was the discovery, after two years in Cambodia, of Phnom Penh's Olympic Stadium and pool. It's a proper 50m pool and looked lovely in the bright sunshine that graced my birthday.<br />
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The real bonus for me was the diving pool which I'd learned about the night before. I was so excited to see it was for real and it brought back memories of my diving classes in 2006 and also my rock jumping escapades from many holidays in <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghostsigns/338554443/in/set-72157594454020323" target="_blank">the Gorges d'Heric in France</a>. So it was on with the trunks and in to the pool for some competitive jumping action with the locals, as captured in this short video...(View <a href="http://youtu.be/Pbft_AWG6m4" target="_blank">full screen on Youtube</a>.)<br />
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Pbft_AWG6m4/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Pbft_AWG6m4?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Pbft_AWG6m4?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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Sadly the real scoreboard (below) was out of action so I had to rely on Gilly, Laura, Claire and Gordon to give unbiased opinions on my efforts.<br />
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Opposite the pool is the main stadium which, as the sun starts to set, becomes a heaving (and noisy) hotbed of activity. Lots of Phnom Penh residents congregate for their daily exercise which in many cases consists of a sort of synchronised aerobics. The only way to explain this properly is through the medium of film. Treat yourself...<br />
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As night falls here we are relaxing after an fantastic day with friends by the pool. Ken (right) wasn't content with just a swim and also did a few laps of the stadium running track. Gordon (left) was responsible for the BBC-esque commentary of my diving efforts from the first video.<br />
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After all the excitement of the day it was time to end it with a delicious steak. Here's Gilly brimming with anticipation at hers, covered in blue cheese sauce and accompanied by a glass of red wine.<br />
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All in all I must say one of, if not <i>the</i>, best birthdays ever. Thank you to everyone who made it so good from start to finish.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Sam Roberts (Ghostsigns)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388533305466789541noreply@blogger.com2Phnom Penh, Cambodia11.558831 104.91744511.5277175 104.877963 11.5899445 104.95692700000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-54244073733304651082012-09-13T13:15:00.000+01:002012-09-13T13:15:06.400+01:00Something I wrote for VSO's blog<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0R_RGkbcdDTnFhYIa0vlkJt2DibCiXjIFhuGWUFLb2itGySTI7HMtWcPIg5fmOZM804wKljdjZ1jN9u75IbaUTLIlV9__322fPZQuc4137CLCor2MO5Tu6_kkuwI0Tc3vj1oAtZLtA/s1600/MMW4P+Asian+Learning+Meeting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0R_RGkbcdDTnFhYIa0vlkJt2DibCiXjIFhuGWUFLb2itGySTI7HMtWcPIg5fmOZM804wKljdjZ1jN9u75IbaUTLIlV9__322fPZQuc4137CLCor2MO5Tu6_kkuwI0Tc3vj1oAtZLtA/s320/MMW4P+Asian+Learning+Meeting.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I've had <a href="http://blogs.vso.org.uk/index.php/2012/09/13/sharing-market-development-experiences-in-asia/" target="_blank">a piece published on the main VSO blog about a workshop I attended back in June</a>. Keen readers will notice that I'm not in the photo attached. I had left an hour early to make the bus back to Kratie via Phnom Penh. Before I left I had helped with a session at the workshop talking about the experience of <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/11/cambodian-rural-development-tours.html">my work with CRDT on tourism</a>. More to follow on this in a forthcoming blog post about what on earth I actually do all day here...<br />
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Read my piece <a href="http://blogs.vso.org.uk/index.php/2012/09/13/sharing-market-development-experiences-in-asia/" target="_blank">on the VSO blog here</a>.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Sam Roberts (Ghostsigns)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388533305466789541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-1435851540508550792012-08-04T00:17:00.001+01:002012-08-04T00:17:25.347+01:00Sample pages from 'Hand Painted Signs of Kratie' book<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<img border="0" height="198" src="http://www.ghostsigns.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Kratie-Motos.jpg" width="400" />
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<br />
News of my progress against one of <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2012/01/happy-new-year.html">this year's New Year resolutions</a>, including <a href="http://www.ghostsigns.co.uk/2012/08/sample-pages-from-hand-painted-signs-of-kratie-book.html" target="_blank">this sample page from my forthcoming book 'Hand Painted Signs of Kratie', available on the Ghostsigns blog</a>.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Sam Roberts (Ghostsigns)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388533305466789541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-36599805350727113642012-07-15T11:55:00.001+01:002012-07-15T11:55:10.551+01:00Child Friendly Schools and another TV appearence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I now have less than three months to go before I finish my
placement which makes me feel sad but also excited about the prospects
for the future (that start with four months of travelling to five countries
I've never been to before!). Technically this should be my busiest time
as I now have experience and relationships with the schools but sadly
that will not be the case as the schools close at the end of July for
the long summer holidays. They will open again in October, about three weeks
before I finish. There will also be a big holiday in the middle of
October so that will slow things down as well. It is a frustrating
feeling but things always crop up and there is a lot to do in terms of
handover for the volunteer that will replace me.<br />
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<i>A grade 2 lesson: this little boy did no work the whole lesson but stared at me constantly!</i></div>
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As a
result of the imminent holidays and the start of the rainy season, the
last few months have been filled with many ups and downs. People say
that about the life of a volunteer but you don't really fully understand
it till you get here. The highs and lows are pretty extreme compared
to life back home. Since January I've been doing a project with four of my
schools which focuses on child-friendly teaching methods. The project
requires a certain amount of self reflection which does not come easily
to Cambodians so sometimes it has been a struggle. A little bit of rain
means the teachers don't show up to workshops that have been planned for weeks and that makes it hard to stay motivated. <br />
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<i>Teachers from grades 1-3 discussing child-friendly teaching methods</i></div>
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<i> And watching example lessons on DVD.....</i></div>
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<i> The teachers then discuss what child-friendly methods they saw in the lessons and how they could adapt these for their own lessons</i></div>
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As
part of the project, we recently started doing peer observations. It
was great to see how much effort the teachers put into planning their lessons and
how different the lessons were from when I first watched them nearly
two years ago. Many of the activities we had discussed during the
project could be seen but used in different contexts. When discussing
the lessons the teachers were much more confident and able to focus on
the learning taking place, not just whether the picture of the King was
on the right wall or not. Some of the teachers even talked about how they
were ensuring the children were being made to 'think', not just copy off
the board. All this reflection, discussion, sharing and exchanging
ideas has hopefully helped the 23 teachers and school directors that
have been working on the Project see how easy it is to make teaching more active and child centred, even with few resources. <br />
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<i>Watching a Grade 2 lesson</i></div>
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<i>The lessons on the DVD show classrooms with the tables laid out in groups of six so some of the teachers have started experimenting with group layouts for their classrooms.</i></div>
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Last week I was invited by an education NGO called NEP to attend their
launch of a report about teacher motivation and to talk about my
experiences of working with teachers in Cambodia. They also asked me to
invite a teacher I work with who could share her experience.
The launch went well and my short presentation seemed reasonably well
received. The only minor hiccup of the day was that there had been some
kind of misunderstanding between my translator and the teacher who
attended with me as she had no idea she was meant to give a
presentation! This caused a bit of drama when her name was called over
the loudspeaker to come up and speak in front of 100 people and she kept shaking her head. It all
worked out in the end though and the launch was reported on three TV
channels and three newspapers. Yes, that's right, I made the national
TV again!! My presentation isn't in it but you can see me at minutes:
1.08, 1.24 and 5.35. The launch was in Kmai and English so we're wearing headphones for the translation, in case you were wondering.</div>
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</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Gillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12803591989986303215noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-85591213330764564402012-07-01T03:53:00.000+01:002012-07-01T03:53:06.184+01:00We made the Phnom Penh Post<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Following <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2012/06/take-2-our-appearance-on-national-tv.html">our appearance on national TV</a> we have now appeared in the lifestyle supplement of one of Cambodia's two English language newspapers, <a href="http://www.phnompenhpost.com/" target="_blank">the Phnom Penh Post</a>. I didn't actually get interviewed so please hold fire with any piss taking about the quotes in the article. I was a bit sweaty but I think that the 'wet t-shirt' description is taking things a bit far, sounds like some kind of spring break debauchery was taking place when we were just planting some trees!<br />
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(Click image below for full size. Online article available <a href="http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012062256977/7-Days/ministry-eyes-family-tree-tourism.html" target="_blank">here</a>.)
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</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Sam Roberts (Ghostsigns)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388533305466789541noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-6398348960614233812012-06-21T01:35:00.000+01:002012-06-21T01:35:33.819+01:00Translating the hand painted signs of Kratie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltkCAs8gI9fOi6NWDCi8td7-TfZ7dLpjaldrOuBT97x0A1HelyGeCtsbD9YlKwgUudw_2na9tSwfJu0wkZNpRVTkabyy9iuKmbNu9REdLVPvTzjkMnWYCTbwHF3dX9-JSpO5xLQPwrQ/s320/Flying-Pigs.jpg" width="320" />
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This is one of a handful of <a href="http://www.ghostsigns.co.uk/2012/06/what-signs-say-in-cambodia-a-selection-from-kratie.html" target="_blank">signs I've had translated and profiled on my other blog</a>.
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Sam Roberts (Ghostsigns)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388533305466789541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-9279576637272095082012-06-05T12:19:00.002+01:002012-06-05T12:19:48.339+01:00Take 2: Our Appearance on National TV<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Following <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2012/05/local-celebrities.html">this post by Gilly</a> our moment has finally come. <a href="http://youtu.be/ZjLPbK6hhaI" target="_blank">This four minute trailer</a> extolling the virtues of Kratie province is currently being broadcast on all of Cambodia's main national TV stations. In fact, we knew it had been completed last week when one of Gilly's colleagues came into her office to say she'd seen Gilly on TV the night before.<br />
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The song was specially commissioned for the film and runs through many of the province's tourist attractions. For those who can read Khmer there are synchronised text lyrics for your karaoke pleasure.<br />
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I think it's fair to say that we are the stars of the film as we seem to appear more than anyone else. This may be because we responded best to the director's shouts of <i>"happy, happy everyone!"</i>. I can't decide on which scene I like best, what's your vote?</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Sam Roberts (Ghostsigns)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388533305466789541noreply@blogger.com2Kratie, Cambodia12.488202470788021 106.0009002685546912.457196970788022 105.96141826855468 12.51920797078802 106.04038226855469tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-48119661492871520112012-05-25T03:58:00.000+01:002012-05-25T03:58:12.108+01:00Kayak the River Gambia: Challenge Completed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In March 2007, our friend Shadie died in a car crash in The Gambia. A charity has been set up in his name and in 2009 I took part in a 10km run to raise money for it. This year, my brother, Grant and Shadie's brother, Kamil took the fundraising to a whole new level. They set themselves the challenge of kayaking down the River Gambia. <br />
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On the 7th of April, after 9.5 days of travelling (56 hours 55 minutes of paddle time) they completed the 300 mile journey down the River from the border with Sengal down to Banjul, Gambia's capital. They met some hippos and a few crocodiles along the way (nothing they couldn't handle, though it depends who you talk to!) and raised a wopping 20, 570 pounds for Shadie's charity - <a href="http://shadiefarage.com/">ShadieFarage.com</a>. We are unbelievably proud of them and this massive achievement. <br />
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<i>Arriving into Banjul (I'm not sure why Grant isn't smiling...)</i></div>
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<i>Their fan club cheering them in</i></div>
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<i>Grant, at the finish line enjoying a hard earned and refreshingly cold Julbrew beer</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>You can read more about their adventure <a href="http://www.kayakrivergambia.com/">here </a>and donate to the charity <a href="http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=KayakRiverGambia">here</a></b></span></div>
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Gillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12803591989986303215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-45339133116240469792012-05-24T01:49:00.000+01:002012-05-24T01:52:24.312+01:00Local Celebrities<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On Tuesday, Sam's boss came into his office and asked 'Sam, do you want to be a filmstar?' Sam considered the question and decided yes, then called me to ask the same thing. It turns out the Ministry of Tourism needed some foreigners to be in a promotional video of Kratie, something that should help with the work Sam is doing with <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/11/cambodian-rural-development-tours.html">CRDTours</a> in this area. I was extremely excited. We set off at 9.30am all ready for action and really should have known better. The first hour was spent waiting by the ferry boat for the crew to arrive and all the family members that would be accompanying us on the trip. And the whole day which we had anticipated would take an hour, ended up taking 6!<br />
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We finally set off at 10.30am in what was now pretty unbearably hot weather. There was a lot of sweating going on which will most definitely show up on camara but at least it will look authentic. Come to Cambodia, it's really really hot!!<br />
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First we had to walk up to the information office and ask about tours on the island. We were shown a map and then put onto a horse cart that would take us round the island. We had to do about four takes of this before we realised what was expected of us.<br />
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<i>All the island locals watching our acting skills </i></div>
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We then did some moving shots with the filmcrew on the back of a moto riding along side the horsecart. This went on for a long time and involved us eating at least two 'kralan' (sticky rice) each while looking very happy about how delicious it was.<br />
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<i>This is just before we ate all the sticky rice I'm clutching</i>. </div>
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<i>All the family and friends being taken to the homestay house for lunch </i></div>
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Some poor, unsuspecting real tourists had joined us by this point and we all had lunch together at a homestay which was very good. After lunch was an enforced rest on the beds which had been laid out in the homestay. Sam actually got a short nap, consistent with his behaviour on <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2012/05/on-holiday-with-sam-and-birdy.html">holiday last week</a>, and it was all filmed.<br />
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We then set off on our bikes to plant a tree to support eco-tourism.<br />
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I found this very exciting as it is the third tree that I've planted (only the second time it's been filmed though).<br />
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Here is a photo and a clip of me planting a tree in Tower Hamlets with my Year 1 class.</div>
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And here I am in Namibia planting a friendship tree as part of our visit</div>
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<i>and now my Cambodian tree</i></div>
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<i>Sam's tree gets two thumbs up</i></div>
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<i>Guarding our trees </i></div>
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<i>Eco Tourism! Cambodia, Kingdom of Wonder!</i></div>
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<i>(we had to do about six takes for this bit as shouting in unison is harder than you think)</i><br />
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It was an unexpectedly fun day and yet another great experience for us to remember our time in Cambodia. The video is supposed to take around 2 weeks to make and then will be aired on all the Cambodian channels. We're going to receive a DVD so will be posting that up as soon as we get it!<i> </i></div>
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</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Gillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12803591989986303215noreply@blogger.com2Koh Trong Island, Kratie, Cambodia12.493565614022874 105.9971237182617212.462560114022875 105.95764171826171 12.524571114022873 106.03660571826173tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-1612945525729170832012-05-23T08:45:00.000+01:002012-05-23T09:41:28.898+01:00The big trip back home<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Me and Sam have been on a bit of a journey this last month visiting England for the first time together. It was also my first time home in 18 months and I have to say there is no feeling like it. I cried when I arrived at Heathrow; I think the excitement and anticipation was too much for me. I wanted to do a big blog post all about how amazing it was to sample all the delights that London has to offer. This mainly revolved around <b>food, friends and family</b>. However, I'm finding it hard to suitably sum up all that happened in the 4 weeks that we were away. So, instead here some pictures of the highlights. <br />
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<i>Here I am enjoying some cakes at a three course cream tea treat! I'm slightly ashamed to say that I put on a whole stone in those four weeks (that's about 6 kgs). Impressive, I know. </i></div>
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<i>Being wined and dined with my family in London</i></div>
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<i>Totally worth the crazy journey to Jamaica to spend time with my sister and nieces</i></div>
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<i>I got to meet this little cutie for the first time</i></div>
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<i>On the beach in Gambia</i></div>
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<i>Celebrating being in Gambia together</i></div>
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<i>Me and Sam showing off our brave sides</i></div>
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<i>Sam is looking decidedly more relaxed than me considering he squeals like a baby when he sees a spider!</i></div>
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<i>Though I think my brother and Dad win the prize for still looking cool in your </i></div>
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<i>shades while holding a snake </i>....</div>
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<i>Sarkis's wedding....the reason we went to Gambia</i></div>
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<i>All dressed up for the wedding</i><br />
<i> </i><br />
<i>We even made some time to visit the VSO office in Gambia where Sam admired </i><br />
<i>their hand-painted sign</i><i>!</i></div>
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</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Gillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12803591989986303215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-35403777250661985472012-05-17T04:44:00.000+01:002012-05-17T04:45:05.008+01:00On holiday with Sam and Birdy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I think the pictures speak for themselves!</b></span></div>
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Gillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12803591989986303215noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-63664787382279493082012-03-27T10:33:00.000+01:002012-03-27T10:33:15.443+01:00The Phnom Penh Cyclo Driver, a film by Lin Ravy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When CRDT opened <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/11/cambodian-rural-development-tours.html">their new tour operator service</a> last year they were very lucky to recruit Mr Lin Ravy to the team. I was on the interview panel and remembered him using a film he'd made as an example for his answer to one of the questions. After some basic training as part of his learning for <a href="http://crdtours.org/">CRDTours</a> he has now uploaded this to YouTube. I hope you enjoy the result, I think it is an excellent and touching film.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Sam Roberts (Ghostsigns)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388533305466789541noreply@blogger.com1Phnom Penh, Cambodia11.558831 104.91744511.4343785 104.7595165 11.6832835 105.0753735tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-36580578456437717362012-03-04T02:21:00.002+00:002012-03-04T02:35:45.665+00:00Health and Fitness (includes Sam's video skipping guide)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Before we left England both of us were in pretty good shape. We used to cycle around 30 minutes to and from work (obviously part time in my case) with Gilly also swimming and me burning calories on the squash court.</div>
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Here our 'commute' is under three minutes and Gilly was out of action for a long time after <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2011/01/little-bit-broken.html">breaking her fingers</a> while running on Kratie's less than even road surfaces. I didn't have any excuse for my laziness.</div>
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But this has all changed as.2012 (unconnected to any of <a href="http://www.ourvso.com/2012/01/happy-new-year.html">our resolutions</a>) has ushered in a new regime which is already having an impact. It consists of two key components which, in February, were complemented by a booze free month, which I only broke twice.</div>
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<b>Reducing our intake of carbohydrates</b></div>
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I'd been suggesting this for a while (inspired by <a href="http://www.dietdoctor.com/" target="_blank">this guy</a> and <a href="http://youtu.be/FSeSTq-N4U4" target="_blank">this lecture</a> in particular) but Gilly only signed up after her brother confirmed it was a good idea. We are trying to only have one 'carb' intake per day which is quite tricky in a country where rice and noodles are the foundation of every meal. We're eating a lot more meat, eggs, fruit and salad as a result. I buy the meat from the market, ideally before 6am as it is displayed in the open air and you wouldn't go near it too much later. I'm pretty sure the pork I got the other day was <i>'slaughter fresh'</i> as the meat was unusually warm when I cut it up for mincing at home...</div>
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<b>Skipping five days per week</b></div>
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You can see some videos below of me demonstrating what this means. Gilly is great at using the internet to <a href="http://youtu.be/fY0lZTWlBAg" target="_blank">research new routines</a> and keep us pushing ourselves each week. One of these is a 40 seconds on, 20 seconds off routine and I managed 121 skips in one round which is an average of three per second, still some way of <a href="http://youtu.be/1fVj6USlnsA" target="_blank">this kind of speed</a> though. We're really enjoying it and so do our neighbours...</div>
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Skipping intro, including the 'double under'. (You can buy the skipping rope featured in these videos, highly recommended, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001VG2XPW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=ghostsigns-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B001VG2XPW" target="_blank">here</a>.)</div>
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Skipping reprise.</div>
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</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Sam Roberts (Ghostsigns)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388533305466789541noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-88988901581659766702012-02-26T12:47:00.000+00:002012-02-26T12:51:03.931+00:00Sam in Bangladesh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's all been a bit quiet on the blogging front so here's a little insight into my study tour to Bangladesh last month to make up for it. <a href="http://soniafraserca.fatcow.com/?p=626" target="_blank">Scott has provided a good summary of the study component on his blog</a>, and I won't bore you with the avalanche of hand painted signs that I found, unless that interests you, in which case visit <a href="http://www.ghostsigns.co.uk/2012/02/hand-painted-bangladesh.html" target="_blank">the ghostsigns blog</a>. Instead I'll just try to capture some of the things that caught my eye when I wasn't trying to photograph painted advertising out of the windows of moving vehicles.<br />
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It started like all journeys with a 5.30am minibus from Kratie. I got lucky and had a seat and a half to myself which I put to good use to make up for the unreasonable waking hour. My colleague Samedy captured this pose which those who know me will be more than familiar with.<br />
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While we were there I was aware of a cold snap back in the UK. At least people there could prepare and the overall drop in temperature wasn't as extreme. Here we are one morning when we woke up to sub ten degree temperatures which, after not much below 30 degrees in Cambodia, felt positively Arctic. Adding to this was a complete lack of suitable clothing, hence the towel on the head. (And the dog seemed intent on attacking the only protection I had for my feet!)<br />
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Even the cows had access to better clothing than we did, many that we saw had these sacking jackets to keep them warm.<br />
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Cows were everywhere we went, Bangladesh has a big dairy industry as opposed to Cambodia where lactose intolerance makes it a non starter. This was a vaccination centre and it was a very lively and noisy with cows and their owners weaving in and out of the thin trees in the wood.<br />
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One of the villages we visited was inhabited by an indigenous minority who welcomed us with a traditional dance and some music.<br />
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In Cambodia most houses are made of wood. In Bangladesh they use a lot of mud for construction. Here you can see one being built and the future layout of the rooms within it.<br />
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Some of the houses had these lovely decorative features. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghostsigns/collections/72157629109861281/" target="_blank">Painted decorations were everywhere</a> and I was amazed at the skills of the people who produce them.<br />
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Here you can see the mud fashioned into a simple stove, and one with a big pot of Dahl bubbling away.<br />
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If that was life in the rural areas then Dhaka was an altogether different beast. It is noisy, dirty and chaotic but it felt incredibly alive with never a dull moment.
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There aren't a lot of tourist attractions in Dhaka and tourism certainly isn't a big industry in Bangladesh. However there is plenty to see if you take some time to walk around and look. For example we found this Disney-esque building which is apparently someone's house.<br />
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Another 'sight' was the speed of this donor kebab, one interpretation of fast food no doubt. It must be said at this point that the food was amazing. So many spices and a reminder of buffets on Brick Lane back home. It's also a treat to get mutton/goat which is very rare and/or expensive in Cambodia.<br />
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In keeping with my cataloguing of some of Cambodia's best brands, I also snapped some treats in Bangladesh. Here are four of the best.<br />
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The mosquitoes were huge so I was really grateful to have a box of black fighters on my side.<br />
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In Cambodia the Lexus is a status symbol, in Bangladesh it's just a cheesy vegetable biscuit.<br />
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Out with those party pooper potato crackers and in with the 'fun' ones.<br />
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One can only guess at what the 'boost' might consist of...</div>
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At first glance this appeared to be an ominous place to get your dinner in...<br />
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...but it was just an illusion.<br />
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I grew increasingly tired as the tour went on. Lots of travelling and concentrating in the many meetings we had every day took its toll and I was apparently falling asleep in this meeting, quite near the end of the tour. Samedy again captured the moment, I've no recollection of this being taken. I look like I'm going to kill someone! That said, I learned a lot and there are many things that I want to apply to the remainder of my time working with VSO and CRDT.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Sam Roberts (Ghostsigns)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388533305466789541noreply@blogger.com4Bangladesh23.684994 90.35633119.965131 85.30261999999999 27.404857 95.410042tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-76772050567492576332012-01-27T09:24:00.006+00:002012-01-27T09:48:24.689+00:00Sparkles and PuppetsTwo weeks ago Kratie had its Provincial Education Congress Meeting which lasted for two days. It's very ceremonial so everyone wears traditional dress and there are lots of speeches (during one I even got a shout out!) and some medal giving at the end. I didn't get a medal though :-(<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPf8dhyphenhyphentrJ4LoIVZBGcw7-GEdkxaC4KXYSVhtCnNVmZI_lBUaY7mOq2AqllUqy8J53wgI0HebBr7VXUxv7DgIIylyVtcoRKcWtgrUuflk78SfFjIxIAGanLpKgqgIbOsWBvx_mrzmku38/s1600/DSC03525.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPf8dhyphenhyphentrJ4LoIVZBGcw7-GEdkxaC4KXYSVhtCnNVmZI_lBUaY7mOq2AqllUqy8J53wgI0HebBr7VXUxv7DgIIylyVtcoRKcWtgrUuflk78SfFjIxIAGanLpKgqgIbOsWBvx_mrzmku38/s400/DSC03525.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702241429043636450" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Here's my outfit - very sparkly</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjbOQi9RaZtL4EekCcGjagFNwCBRcTYPUl0FwVE4d29NpfPhTH5oNSA8X6gaN21-559jDGjqsTABO2gJrJJa3aLX42-S5b1eiDBQ5AHFzBb1KcRsIeaaOVfPKbdGSgh66inXaF4IfYniA/s1600/SAM_0125.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjbOQi9RaZtL4EekCcGjagFNwCBRcTYPUl0FwVE4d29NpfPhTH5oNSA8X6gaN21-559jDGjqsTABO2gJrJJa3aLX42-S5b1eiDBQ5AHFzBb1KcRsIeaaOVfPKbdGSgh66inXaF4IfYniA/s400/SAM_0125.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702241436027487938" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">This is Sokchea, who works in my office, getting her medal. The man with her is the deputy governor of Kratie Province who I was teaching English to a few months ago. During his speech he pointed to me and said "There's Gilly. She's my teacher"! </span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-nhQqfGq5l1UbrbtfV0QJ3kVfvbt10NI83DabdMFzygg7_C9avONoYS2cpQBTJE_V7knyvcCfpb5hTfwME7BZvcjdd6AiMxR85xwDqv_7P-JUAa8PJ6Gz8wQanoxC27TfV61NQeuNvI/s1600/SAM_0126.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-nhQqfGq5l1UbrbtfV0QJ3kVfvbt10NI83DabdMFzygg7_C9avONoYS2cpQBTJE_V7knyvcCfpb5hTfwME7BZvcjdd6AiMxR85xwDqv_7P-JUAa8PJ6Gz8wQanoxC27TfV61NQeuNvI/s400/SAM_0126.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702241442432141346" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">My boss also got a medal.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhukjOtceRVdezRn-Y5n91uD3L6NTtFcerAeCzpAn-SIwLTRtds1CZL7qr9vHvYV_xN4p_TXyA_f5ZTA7jgC4GmQPmM2kK90Qks9JlP1sf6XDBOv8Fnc7qULGRr2_kTjMcHV4sAtHjw2Mw/s1600/SAM_0158.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhukjOtceRVdezRn-Y5n91uD3L6NTtFcerAeCzpAn-SIwLTRtds1CZL7qr9vHvYV_xN4p_TXyA_f5ZTA7jgC4GmQPmM2kK90Qks9JlP1sf6XDBOv8Fnc7qULGRr2_kTjMcHV4sAtHjw2Mw/s400/SAM_0158.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702241938265850658" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">This week I did a workshop about using puppets for the grade 1 teachers in Kratie town.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTCAe6KaRbFHxTG1S6bT0CwETO2g-t2gU2M2S-WBXPvIaPZGj2P6wTWylsPY056O2jQwu6nnWDuKtSbWXBzK3lsZO30PxtZyamVnXvWY_0j8i7QWroAnuFLyiKMFpre4Ghl0MoKaQzXcc/s1600/SAM_0161.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTCAe6KaRbFHxTG1S6bT0CwETO2g-t2gU2M2S-WBXPvIaPZGj2P6wTWylsPY056O2jQwu6nnWDuKtSbWXBzK3lsZO30PxtZyamVnXvWY_0j8i7QWroAnuFLyiKMFpre4Ghl0MoKaQzXcc/s400/SAM_0161.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702241940081133714" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">One of the teachers I work with sharing her experience of using the puppet</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitQtSseg0_WaPG1-0RH7pgmDYzm5rGiqNDQIocUMo6I8zYjGC9nzlm9O-lz9WzBxZrw4QYBPYW7t-FNXs3GekWGEUSS5sCHd-WnnDuuQ6nOpTKUnVnW_Z8IX6qNcyUt0d-gkEBMa-kSug/s1600/SAM_0169.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitQtSseg0_WaPG1-0RH7pgmDYzm5rGiqNDQIocUMo6I8zYjGC9nzlm9O-lz9WzBxZrw4QYBPYW7t-FNXs3GekWGEUSS5sCHd-WnnDuuQ6nOpTKUnVnW_Z8IX6qNcyUt0d-gkEBMa-kSug/s400/SAM_0169.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702241943915048450" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Generally the teachers seemed pretty happy to have a go. The rabbit puppet was particularly popular</span>.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXgo9nnMG6x0Jj6S9ckIeeqzGZU-oWfnld12HEjqSiKfBe3yjjxt6HSn3KUMZHP90rE71SINDIB9Y2HTBJUJTzy61zdezMfD0L18EdHRS4MxpTxO5fouxgTbxsNg75BJFIyl2EfrYiKg0/s1600/SAM_0153.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXgo9nnMG6x0Jj6S9ckIeeqzGZU-oWfnld12HEjqSiKfBe3yjjxt6HSn3KUMZHP90rE71SINDIB9Y2HTBJUJTzy61zdezMfD0L18EdHRS4MxpTxO5fouxgTbxsNg75BJFIyl2EfrYiKg0/s400/SAM_0153.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702241929931261474" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">I also observed some lessons where the teachers are trying out some new reading resources and group activities.</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivoknvjFwyhzys-Ea7hyphenhyphenQ-yNgZMI9H_wPwVmnFZhrsJHE9YNjkB0NPCmbAEwWEj20t8qtgSeINGQsHlob097zKdmB0_iVaOftpl6NH6DjbFgVpq9Td36lYRuwunvub-xvVnoDT4VXpQEU/s1600/SAM_0149.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivoknvjFwyhzys-Ea7hyphenhyphenQ-yNgZMI9H_wPwVmnFZhrsJHE9YNjkB0NPCmbAEwWEj20t8qtgSeINGQsHlob097zKdmB0_iVaOftpl6NH6DjbFgVpq9Td36lYRuwunvub-xvVnoDT4VXpQEU/s400/SAM_0149.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702241927034465250" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Grade 2 children enjoying their story</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">I even got to model a lesson this week for grade 1 which was extremely exciting though it did remind me how much I miss teaching (as well as that I can still do it, phew...)</span><br /><br />And last but not least, a beautiful Kratie sunset. I'm about to go and enjoy a beer and watch another one by the river!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NStnjj2cGG5V4uXXnGOUH0jBptvgdTsrlLAwlYTT5G_31905mRM72LhyphenhyphenUFBmzryCRv31yAZ9Gf8cRAS_EPt9vxphN4r1fLM0kl0ka0oeoOQ5ho_eWBSXztRK9-5ArOay-YhBoAPWQVE/s1600/SAM_0173.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NStnjj2cGG5V4uXXnGOUH0jBptvgdTsrlLAwlYTT5G_31905mRM72LhyphenhyphenUFBmzryCRv31yAZ9Gf8cRAS_EPt9vxphN4r1fLM0kl0ka0oeoOQ5ho_eWBSXztRK9-5ArOay-YhBoAPWQVE/s400/SAM_0173.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702242054752869554" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Gillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12803591989986303215noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5180253127885839203.post-4335542266245126822012-01-19T02:23:00.000+00:002012-01-19T02:23:02.163+00:00Learning Khmer Through Hip HopA colleague passed me this which I thought was fun, a UK Hip Hop artist who has relocated to Phnom Penh running through some of the key phrases of note in the Khmer language. [Warning: Some viewers may find some of the language a little bit colourful.]<br />
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And, from the same guy, a tribute to Phnom Penh...<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><b><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/Gilly-Sam">Sponsor Us</a></b></div>Sam Roberts (Ghostsigns)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04388533305466789541noreply@blogger.com0