Goan sao

Today started off with a simple text message from Angela, whilst at the hospital, to me, still at the house - "Can you bring a philip screwdriver?"

I picked up the scewdriver and cycled into the hospital; it was nearly time to join Angela, Nicole and Andre for coffee opposite the hospital, anyway. We tend to drop whatever we are doing and meet up everyday for our coffee fix at 10 am.
After coffee, Angela told me there was a problem with the door lock on the Maternity door , so we went to have a look.
 The problem was the door handles were missing and a coat hanger was being used to open the door and when I took the lock assembly out of the door in fell into a hundred pieces -" hmmm what have I started , how do they lock the door tonight?"
Luckly, a local shop had a new lock for 20$ which we funded from family/friends donations. The hospital has no budget for such things.
So I fitted the new lock with the usual audience of Kamai men silently watching.
Now,- what a super job it looks - a tatty steel door with a new handle, lock and keys
 (Goan sao = key).
It took most of the day with running around collecting tools etc, but a very satisfying feeling when I have my cans of beer tonight and reflect on the complexity of the job - "hmmm..... only you could have fixed that Chris in the 36 degree heat etc - quite right - pssstt (sound of beer can opening etc.)

Maternity door with new lock and handles.

Former King's funeral

We have just had a few days off work as Cambodia held the funeral of its former King.

The funeral was held in Phomn Penh where massive crowds were expected.

We travelled instead to Kampong Cham where we spent some weeks doing our language training.

I found the following information about the former King:

Cambodia on Thursday wrapped up a week-long funeral for its revered former King Norodom Sihanouk with a procession to return the cremated remains of the colourful ex-monarch to the royal palace.

After chanting by 90 Buddhist monks, two diamond-studded gold urns and one marble urn containing the remains were transported atop a golden float shaped like a mythological bird from the crematorium to the palace.

"This is to honour his majesty who is the greatest hero of Cambodia," Sihanouk's long-time personal assistant Prince Sisowath Thomico told AFP.

The rest of the remains had been lowered into the confluence of the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Tonle Bassac rivers in Phnom Penh on Tuesday.

Sihanouk's widow Monique and his son King Norodom Sihamoni travelled on the float with the urns during a televised procession attended by senior government officials, including Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The urns will be kept in a stupa inside the palace, where before his death Sihanouk had asked to be placed with his favourite daughter, Kantha Bopha, who died aged three.

Sihanouk died of a heart attack in Beijing in October, aged 89.

After lying in state for three months, his embalmed body was cremated on Monday after several days of lavish ceremonies including an elaborate procession through the streets of Phnom Penh that drew crowds of mourners.

A father of 14 children over six marriages, Sihanouk abdicated in 2004 after steering Cambodia through six decades marked by independence from France, civil war, the murderous Khmer Rouge regime, his own exile and finally peace.

Many elderly Cambodians credit him with overseeing a rare period of political stability in the 1950s and 1960s, following independence, until the Khmer Rouge emerged in the 1970s.

 

On a practical note, we now have a new 1000 Riel bank note featuring the King:

 

 

 

Farmers love Cassava

Cassava farming is still expanding in Cambodia as profit margins continue to rise (local paper).
The plant is used in ethanol production and is a common site as it is laid out to dry on many open spaces.
It has a distintive smell when cut and laid out to dry and I caught the familiar whiff when getting up this morning.

 

This is the view from our bedroom window this morning- what was an empty field yesterday is now being used to dry cassava.

 



It looks like small, hard, white stones when it is drying on the ground.
A lot of labour is needed to process the crop and dry it.

Some cash has been invested in this operation as the hand barrows look new and in better condition than most I see.

 



Local farmers say they are seeing increasing demand by foreigners to grow and export the crop.
Cassava is planted in March or April and harvested from December to February in Cambodia.
I read in the local paper interest came largely from Korean , Chinese and Thai businessmen who sell cassava abroad.

The strangest sight is driving along the main highway to Phnom Penh and seeing it laid on the verge of the road to dry.

 



About this time last year I was riding the motorbike and stopped to have a closer look.

 



The people tending the cassava camp by the side of the road and never leave it un-attended as it is valuable and relatively easy to scoop up and drive away with a load.
So, looks like they will be drying the stuff until we leave so will have to get used to the smell. Just hope they dont start work too early in the morning.