Stares
Had an early night last night, slept at 7pm surprise, surprise (approx 10pm Ozzie time), and surprisingle had a decent 12 hour nap. Woke up nice and refreshed but had to wait for my cousin and aunty to travel from the countryside to pick me up from Phnom Penh.
Through the hectic traffic of Phnom Penh City, the motodop driver weaved us through to Psar Thmei from Boeung Kok I, Toul Kok. Upon our arrival, my aunty tried to bargain her way into hiring a "kong-bei" otherwise known as a three wheeler, to take me 11km out of the city to visit my grandmother. At first the driver hesitated saying that the drive was too far, and that it wasn't worth the trip, but after continual hecalling and bargaining, the driver finally gave in.
As we weaved through the city to my grandmothers place, I saw that the city had changed in the sense that there were less beggers (surprise surprise), and that many buildings have been either rebuilt or repainted so the city no longer looks like an extreme shithole like it was back in 2001. During the drive along the outskirts of the city, along the Mekong River, surprisingly there were no more berungs riding on their hired moto's to the red-zone, as officials had finally cracked down on this area.
Upon arrival my little cousins greeted me with excitement, and surprisingly they remembered me. Unfortunately the same could not be said for my grandmother, who is getting extremely old and frail now, with extremely poor eye sight, and continual health problems. During my short stay, I distributed some of the items I had brought back from Australia and was thanked with huge grins and smiles.
We left Phnom Penh at 3:00 for a two hour drive to Kampong Cham (my dad's home province). The main road to Kampong Cham has suffered from wear and tear, due to the heavy usage by both cars and heavy loaded trucks. We arrived at exactly 5:00 and quickly said hi to a few family members near the Japanese friendship Bridge (Speak Kizuna), and jetted off to my grandmothers house which was another 5 minutes down into the countryside.
Whilst travelling through the city and Kampong Cham, I was spotted a mile away. Everyone pretty much stopped what they were doing for at least a minute or two and just stared. Either at the fact that I was a foreigner being dinkied by a female local, or that fact that I am huge compared to them, heh heh heh.
For now goodbye and goodnight and I will keep everyone posted upon my travels to ancient ruins, and schools and such.
-allan-
Through the hectic traffic of Phnom Penh City, the motodop driver weaved us through to Psar Thmei from Boeung Kok I, Toul Kok. Upon our arrival, my aunty tried to bargain her way into hiring a "kong-bei" otherwise known as a three wheeler, to take me 11km out of the city to visit my grandmother. At first the driver hesitated saying that the drive was too far, and that it wasn't worth the trip, but after continual hecalling and bargaining, the driver finally gave in.
As we weaved through the city to my grandmothers place, I saw that the city had changed in the sense that there were less beggers (surprise surprise), and that many buildings have been either rebuilt or repainted so the city no longer looks like an extreme shithole like it was back in 2001. During the drive along the outskirts of the city, along the Mekong River, surprisingly there were no more berungs riding on their hired moto's to the red-zone, as officials had finally cracked down on this area.
Upon arrival my little cousins greeted me with excitement, and surprisingly they remembered me. Unfortunately the same could not be said for my grandmother, who is getting extremely old and frail now, with extremely poor eye sight, and continual health problems. During my short stay, I distributed some of the items I had brought back from Australia and was thanked with huge grins and smiles.
We left Phnom Penh at 3:00 for a two hour drive to Kampong Cham (my dad's home province). The main road to Kampong Cham has suffered from wear and tear, due to the heavy usage by both cars and heavy loaded trucks. We arrived at exactly 5:00 and quickly said hi to a few family members near the Japanese friendship Bridge (Speak Kizuna), and jetted off to my grandmothers house which was another 5 minutes down into the countryside.
Whilst travelling through the city and Kampong Cham, I was spotted a mile away. Everyone pretty much stopped what they were doing for at least a minute or two and just stared. Either at the fact that I was a foreigner being dinkied by a female local, or that fact that I am huge compared to them, heh heh heh.
For now goodbye and goodnight and I will keep everyone posted upon my travels to ancient ruins, and schools and such.
-allan-
posted by - allan - at
10:12 PM
1 Comments:
12 hours does not contribute to what you call 'nap' Arran.
-Jay
By
ToFu, at 03 February, 2006 02:21
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