Spent weekend in relative quite of Siem Reap.  It is the high season and there were many tourists high percentage seemed to be from China and Korea.  I thought Australian tourists could be loud but a group of Chinese tourists sure can be heard and fill a room. Interesting to see the next generation of street sellers. The photo was taken on a Sunday morning and the young girls were starting to get into their day. This group all assured me they were going to school – but not on a Sunday.  [...]

English  class at the Cambodian Handicraft Association – taught by Australian volunteer.[...]

I am trying to spend time with the Mr Kim and his students from Cambodian Handicraft Association (CHA) after I work each day at the Cambodian Mine Action Centre. You can visit their facebook here (www.facebook.com/hay.k.tha) and their website here  (www.cha-cambodia.org) CHA provide vocational training to disabled and disadvantaged Cambodians – they make wonderful products that can be purchased online or they gratefully receive donations to help their future and the future of their students.[...]

Looking out my window I noticed prawns being dried.[...]

I got to work this morning – quite an effort to get their given the traffic. Canberra looks good compared to whats here. the driver had heard that Canberra had a lot of round abouts and he couldn’t get the concept. I told him not many others do either. The Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) is Cambodia’s leading demining organization, working in the key areas of Survey and Land Release, Mine and UXO Clearance, Mine and UXO Risk Education and Training, Research and Development. CMAC currently has 1,715 staff across Cambodia, including a national office in Phnom Penh, six provincial demining units and a Training Centre in Kampong Chhnang, working towards the mission of “Saving lives and Supporting Development for Cambodia” If you want to know more go to their website[...]

I arrived in Phnom Penh yesterday after 21 hours in airports and in the air. This is my street for the next two months. I spent Sunday at the Cambodian Handicraft Association and tomorrow will start working at the Cambodian Mine Action Group.    [...]

I was reminded of the Joseph Stalin quote: ‘It’s Not the People Who Vote that Count; It’s the People Who Count the Votes’  [...]

We are all a bit slow today after we had a big outing last night.  It is my birthday on the 11th and Jane, a volunteer, had her last day here yesterday. We decided to take all the students out for a party. This is quite an exercise as many cannot walk. We had a cake and a great meal. The Director makes sure they experience something they have not done before to increase their confidence. I will post more photos of the big event.[...]