Prahok

Waiting for the flight to Phnom Penh… Scheduled at 18:30 local time.

An episode from the Reamker…

The performers here are the children of the Kampong Chhnang orphanage.

Best wishes for 2008 from Belgium! I hope you had a spectacular 2007 and I wish you all the best for 2008.

To brush your teeth, you need a brush, toothpaste and … water.

The Tonle Sap lake is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia. It has a surface area of 2,700 km² which grows to 16,000 km² during the monsoon season.

This picture was taken during our last trip to Cambodia.

In Cambodia, small mountains are used to produce gravel. This gravel is used to build houses or to make concrete. Large pieces of rock are hammered into smaller pieces, all by hand. At these sites, you find sometimes a whole family, from old to young, hitting rocks. This child was the youngest…

I was rather busy the last few months. Maybe I will (or must) find some time to do more postings.

Since we are approaching the end of the year, I would like to wish you all already now the best for the new year.

I found some time today to do something about the spam comments. There arrived 2 to 10 spam comments every day. Finished now. When you post a comment, you have to enter the code show in the image. This way, I know that the comment was entered by a human. Comment do not directly show up on the blog if this is the first time you post a comment. A have to approve it.

Cambodia, here we come…

50 hours and counting…

We are almost ready with the packing; camera’s, computers, game consoles, memory sticks, shaving razors, clothes. People here in Belgium are passing by to drop off envelopes with letters, people in Cambodia are calling to ask for (legal) drugs.

Sunday afternoon, 17:15 take off to Frankfurt. 20:15 take off to Bangkok. We will be in Phnom Penh monday evening at 19:30.

The first trip is to Kampong Chhnang where we will stay most of the time:

The second trip with my sister and broter in law, who will arrive on Thursday, will be a trip around the lake:

A third trip is planned to visit some friends in Kep:

People who want to come visit us, here is a map from Kampong Chhnang with the main road from Phnom Penh and the main road from Battambang:

You are all welcome…

First, sorry for not posting recently. I am rather busy at work for the moment.

Yet 9 days before leaving the country to … Cambodia. I got myself a visa here in Belgium at the Cambodian Ambassy. They charged me 20 euro’s, which is not the same as 20 dollars ;). My wife and kids have permanent visa. The advantage: no waiting at Phnom Penh, Pochentong Airport. We can go directly to the immigration desks.

We will leaving Belgium on Sunday, the 15th of July. From Zaventem to Frankfurt. Then from Frankfurt to Bangkok. Waiting… 6 hours. From Bangkok to Phnom Penh. As we arrive on Monday, 7.30 PM, we will stay one night in Phnom Penh.

Thursday, shopping day! Probably, the girls will be at Soriya to get some food, at the Olympic Market for cloths. We boys, we will be at Psar Thmei looking for a mower for the grass. I also need some chemicals for the swimming pool. Late in the afternoon or at the end of the day, we will hopefully be in Kampong Chhnang.

My sister, an orphan from Cambodia, who came to Belgium back in 1980, just after the war, will come to Cambodia on Thursday. It will be the first time for her after 27 years to be back in Cambodia. Her husband and two children will join her. I will pick them up in Phnom Penh, and we will be back in Kampong Chhnang the next day.

Plans for the next two/three weeks:

- A visit to the Kampong Chhnang orphanage. My wife’s aunt, Ma Om, has been the Head of the orphanage for many years. There are 66 children and 8 adults. The cloths we will buy (see day one) are for the children.

- A trip around the Tonle Sap lake. From Kampong Chhnang to Battambang. I was in Battambang in 2005. My wife lived there a few years, just before the famous year 1975. There she saw er father for the last time. From Battambang to Svay Sisophon. My Cambodian sister was born there and lived there until she was taken to Thailand in 1980. From Sisophon to either Poipet or to either Siem Riep. Every time we were in Siem Riep (twice), we visited the temples (Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Baphoun, Sras Srang, Banteay Srei, Phnom Kulen, …). From Siem Riep to Kampong Thom. We never stopped at this city. Maybe this time? Next stop is Kampong Cham. Maybe we will visit a friend of Ma Om. From Kampong Cham to the ferry point at Prek Kdam and back to Kampong Chhnang.

- A trip to Kep: we have some Belgian friends who live or stay in Kep. They started a development program for the region. More information about this project can be found at their website here. Click on the hands enter the website.

- A trip to a village somewhere near Takeo. I friend of ours plans to build a small hospital ( 15m x 15m ). I have the plans of the hospital and I will check the offer of a local contractor. The prices seem ok, but the quantities seem not ok.

- Other tips from your side ?

Back to Belgium on the 13th of August or I will (hopefully) miss the plain and be back on …