The Journey(s) of Ian

Just to bring you all, and myself, up to date. Journeyed from Pakse in southern Laos to Phnom Penh. The bus trip began early in the morning, and we arrived in PP around about 21.00. We were delayed over an hour with a blown tyre. The stop was interesting, just south of the Cambo border, maybe 100kms in. We had a chance to chit chat and visit locals living in wooden houses along the highway. The bus was only half full, even with a dozen or so backpackers we picked up, who were waiting at the Laos/Cambo border for a ride. Road was a bit bumpy, and the trip a bit noisy, but no hassles (foam ear inserts). Phnom Penh is as I remembered it (here one year ago). Stayed at the same hotel, BJs, one street back from the Mekong River. Pleasant, small room, breeky, wifi, good service, $21 a night—what more can one ask for? The city itself, PP is a small city, based upon my baseline of Australian cities. The population is anywhere between two and three million, depending on who you ask, howeve...

Visit to NOPAHAA  (Northeastern Orphan and People Affected with Aids/HIV Association) My annual birthday fast approaching I made the decision to do what I now normally do, throw a party for a group of deserving and poor students. This time I was in the small town (pop. 13,000) of Stung Treng (“Stung Dray”) in north eastern Cambodia, near the Laos border. This seemed a suitable time to do my birthday thing.           I spoke to my local tour guide James, an enterprising fellow, who, after some thought and discussion, advised me that the best group to visit would be ‘across the river’, which is to say on the other side of the river from Stung Treng. At a village named ‘Thalla’. This is a school and orphanage for orphans and those children harmed by HIV. We also discussed what I should provide to the students. We settled upon a personal gift, a plastic bag containing: a writing pad, pen, pencil, rubber, a ruler, and a confectionary. For the group, fo...

The Central Market. 1930s art deco. A sight. I was last in Phnom Penh three years ago, in 2007. At that time the city seemed quiet, a little empty, quiet at times. How things have changed in only three years! There are more cars, more people, and more noise in the city than before. The river front is a busy and upmarket area. There is a great deal of construction going on in the city, which is also expanding. It is a good change. People working to make their lives better. The National Museum. The University of Cambodia. Lofty goals. The Silver Pagoda, in the Royal Palace complex. The Royal Palace. I plan to spend a week here in Phnom Penh, seeing what is to be seen and relaxing, and doing some waymarking. From there I want to revisit some part of the country I saw three years ago, and to see some new areas. Christopher Howes Rd, named for a de-miner, killed by the Khmer Rouge. The Independence monument, at night (obviously). The currently vacant ...

Cambodia March 2008 I decided to return to Cambodia for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it is an interesting country. While very poor, and still recovering from the effects of decades of conflict, it is also a dynamic and exciting nation with a people determined to improve their lot in life. It is this dynamism, combined with the (to me) exotic flavour of this small SE Asian nation, that makes it appealing. Thus, in January I departed from the fair but dull shores of Australia, arriving in Phnom Penh a mere 12 hours later, after a brief stop over in that most miniature of cities—Changi airport. PP had not changed much since I was last there 6 months ago, it was still dusty, noisy, dirty and poor: beggars sat on street corners, samloar (rickshaw) drivers hustled for fares, broken (or non-existent) footpaths tempted fate, a continual honking of horns—Ahhhh, paradise! My self-imposed mission was to hook up with a UN sponsored ‘convoy’, which was to carry needed supplies t...