Last Bicycle Day

Monday January 23: Today was our last day as a group. We went to Phnom Tamao Zoological park, about 40 km from Phnom Penh. It is a zoo where they care for and house animals rescued from the illegal trade of animals and animal parts. This is the place that Michaela discovered on previous trips to Cambodia and encouraged us to support with bicycles. Being as today was the Lunar New Year the zoo was extremely busy. The entrance road was lined for kilometers with beggars who threw water onto the dusty road in the hopes that they would be rewarded with money. Cars in front of us were throwing money out the windows and the beggars scrambled to pick it up. The money was likely 100 "real" notes which are worth 2.5 cents each. First we distributed 100 bikes to local area school children. The recipients were the very neediest students from 11 neighboring schools.  The children were very polite and well behaved. Then it was off to lunch in the zoo at a picnic area where there were all kinds of creatures being cooked - spiders, frogs on a stick, whole chickens including heads and feet, many other unrecognizable bugs etc. Linda had rice, I had nothing as I was feeling very good today and didn't want to spoil that. The chicken heads did look good though. We were being hosted by an organization called "Free the Bears". We gave our surplus food to the kids who go around and collect recyclable cans. Then we had a VIP tour of parts of the zoo. We saw elephants including one who had a prosthetic leg since he lost one front leg from being trapped in a trap. Next off to see the  Indo Asiatic tigers. They were very beautiful and we got very close to them.  One of them roared and lunged at Keith Montgomery. Then we headed to the main event which was the sun bears. They are the worlds smallest bears and are often killed for their gall bladders or to make bear paw soup. They are quite funny and seemed to want to perform for us. We also were taken to a private area where the keeper brought out a very tiny baby for us to see and photograph. We also saw some kind of fox, wild water buffalo which are different from the domestic and, gibbons. Most of our group is heading out tomorrow (Tuesday) and we head to Vietnam on Wednesday. Can't believe the Cambodia part of our trip is over. Linda got quite weepy at dinner tonight while giving a farewell thank you to the team. A few others spoke as well of how much they loved our time together helping 1097 children. Although this is the last post for our bicycle distribution project, please stay tuned to our blog for news on our tour of Vietnam. Posted by Dave

Cambodian Dump Children

Sunday, Jan 22: Another great and varied day of activity was had by all today! In the morning, many of us headed out for some serious shopping since time is running short now. Soapea, our favorite tuk tuk driver led a group of us to a beautiful multi level store that sold a variety of beautiful arts and crafts and antiques.  Many of us bought buddhas, silver jewelry, silk scarves and runners. Then we were taken to another store near the central market for more shopping.  We got back to the hotel just in time to hop on the bus to take us to Friends restaurant, which is the number one rated restaurant in the city.  The concept is that young people train other young people the skills needed to work in restaurants with very high standards for quality of food, service and hygiene. They also run a store that sells crafts made by young people. Lunch was great!  Many people bought the cookbooks. Everywhere in the city we see celebrations for new years.  Many establishments are closed, red lanterns and banners hang everywhere, people burn fake money in outside burners, trees with yellow flowers are on display with ornaments hanging on them and the offerings at the spirit houses are especially elaborate!  At our hotel, they had a whole suckling pig and a roast duck place in front of the house. Then we had the bus take us to just outside a huge dump in the city.  We got off the bus and walked through a very poor small village to a school and orphanage run by a lady who was nominated and won CNN hero of the year.  She was out of the country visiting a rotarian in Canada! She is making it possible for children who work with their parents picking through the dump to get to school for full days. She works to help parents with food purchases so that they don't need to have their children working alongside them each day. The school was closed today but it is very impressive looking and about 4 floors high.  They study Khmer in the morning and English in the afternoon.  There were only 50 or so children there since it was Chinese New Year.  These children were beautiful and really engaged with us individually as we moved through the group giving each child a Canada pin.  I sat on the floor singing the little English ditty "if you're happy and you know it" with about 6 students. We talked a little too and their English skills are quite good.  Some little girls walked up to Dave and put their little hands on his knees and asked what he did for a job.  One boy looked wwwaayyy up at Keith and said he was very tall.  We did the bicycle distribution of the 51 bicycles fairly quickly and then the children clapped and said goodbye as we left.  Some followed us all the way back to the bus. More amazing memories to add to the bank!! Posted by Linda

The King was not at home

Saturday Jan 21: We left the beach and took a four hour drive back to the Anise Hotel in the city. Along the way we passed many signs of people preparing for Chinese New Year which runs Jan 22 to 25. Also many textile and garment factories.  It took a long time to get in to the city...the traffic was very heavy. We dropped Porum off to catch a very crowded shared mini van back to Takeo.  For the first hour he had to ride standing up on the back bumper! There were several people riding on the roof. After a lovely lunch at our hotel oasis resto, many of us boarded the bus to visit the Royal Palace.  It was very hot 35 degrees and crowded. We heard from the guide that the king was in Beijing visiting his ailing father, the previous king. The current king is 59 years old and unmarried with no heirs. He spent 20 years in a ballet troupe in Paris before becoming king. But never fear, his father had 4 wives and has another 17 children to choose the next king from! We toured the very opulent Coronation Temple which had a lot of gold, crystal and jewels, the Silver Pagoda where the floor was covered in silver tiles and there were thousands of buddhas on display. One was made totally of emerald which was mined in Cambodia. Another was made of 90 kg of pure gold and had very large diamonds and rubies encrusted in it. Then on to the White Elephant stable...the Khmer rouge killed all these rare beasts during their reign of terror so there is only a concrete replica on display. For dinner, 9 of us went to a very good italian restaurant where Steve said he had the best lasagna ever and Socheat had her first visit to an Italian themed restaurant. Tomorrow, we will do a distribution of 97 bicycles for the students at the school near the dump here in the city.   We are all looking forward to being "back to work"! Posted by Linda

Another day at the beach

Friday, Jan 20 Today, the bus was put into action again for a morning run to the market and an afternoon run to the quiet beach, Outras Beach. Those who didn't go to the market walked to a big modern supermarket to stock up on provisions for an afternoon party.  This store had everything, including a bottle of liquor with a small cobra holding a scorpion in its mouth inside the bottle!  Also a huge jar of snake repellant and a gecko trap. Outras Beach is certainly beautiful and quiet too. The Walton's and Brouillettes stopped at the first available shady spot and Linda went to buy some cold beer. I smelled a whiff of weed and noticed that the top item on the menu was "joint $1.50"!  So we quickly finished our beer and moved on to a more mainstream location(I had to drag Dave by his ear)  We had lunch with Lisa, Socheat and Porum.  They allowed us to share some of their interesting food selections.  We also shared some very interesting conversation about Porum and Socheat's life  experiences with marriage, medical and careers. After some swimming and sunning we headed back to the hotel and prepared for the surprise bridal shower celebration for Stephanie.  We popped the cork on some bubbly and raised our glasses to wish Stephanie and Nat a long and happy life together.  There were some gifts where the theme ended up being Canadian and tea towels in addition to other lovely items. Then down to the beach BBQ for our last sunset and dinner! A little more subdued since we knew we had to be at breakfast the next morning at 7 am before getting on the bus to return "home" to the Anise Hotel in Phnom Penh. We found out that we have no more bicycles to assemble and some expressed disappointment since we have gotten very proficient at it! We will have to write a manual for future groups.  We will just distribute them at two very interesting sites, the Bear Rescue Centre and the school for dump children. Posted by Linda

Chillin on the boat and at the beach

We are making the most of our time at the sea! Today 13 of us took a 20 minute tuk tuk ride north to a boat dock where a 3 story junk looking boat awaited us.  It took us out to a couple of islands quite a ways off shore to first snorkel and then swim and chill at a deserted white sand beach.  It was one of the most beautiful beaches Dave and I have ever been on.  The water is also the warmest we have ever felt! On the way out there was a lot of side to side motion that caused a couple of us to feel queasy! Ron was especially brave since he often gets sea sick when on a big boat but chose to join us.  Dave had a nap on the beach and many walked either direction to explore the shore. After a swim, Jan said her knee felt much better and she and Peter went for a long walk in both direction.  A few locals live out there and on the way back a mother and three little children hitched a ride to town. They also brought a tree along as well(???).  Several walked a long way to a pier where a family was building a large teak boat. We passed a tiny island completely covered by a resort where rooms cost $300 to $3000 per night! Tonight some went by tuk tuk and tractor taxi to a resto high above the sea with a great view of the fisherman's village. Others of us had BBQ  dinner sitting right on the beach. It was beautiful and very cheap! Some shared jugs of rum drinks and conversation got quite animated! There are quite a few beggars, mothers with their children approaching us to buy fireworks or simply donate. Tomorrow the bus will take us to the market in the morning and then to a quieter beach called Outras Beach for the afternoon. So don't fear folks, we are having a great time...wish you were here! Posted by Linda

Lotus Flowers and Water

You see beautiful pink lotus flowers everywhere. They grow in all the muddy little ponds in front of the houses.  The contrast of the beauty of the flower and the quality of the water is striking!  We did find out that the lotus plants are not grown for aesthetics -they are food just like pretty much every other living thing. We have never seen what we would call clean water in this country yet.  I guess we will once we reach the beach... You see people bathing, standing fishing up to their necks and children playing in this water.  We are not sure what they drink...there are big concrete cisterns pots at each house too - I guess they collect the rain water during rainy season. Also, we have come upon wells in our travels but I don't know how plentiful these are. Rotary could certainly help by providing clean water in Cambodia. We also heard that there is a real need for "family mosquito nets" since most families sleep together on their raised platforms. The cost is the same at $5 for a family net or individual one so let's go for the big ones! Posted by Linda

Another 110 bicycles for Cambodian Children



A fairly nice stall at the market.

 After a morning off when some went to the market and some went on the canal boat adventure.  Linda and I went to the market where we were overwhelmed with sights and sounds.  we chose to show a picture of a nice fruit stall rather than the pig intestine shop.  

We boarded the bus to return to the site where we assembled the 110 bicycles yesterday.

The bicycles had been moved to the local primary school where all the students and parents were assembled to greet us warmly. There are 350 students attending this school and hardly any already had bicycles.

In all it took as long to give the bicycles away as to assemble.  There is the usual two step verification and paperwork process with the school officials.  The children are put into several long lines and asked to kneel or squat down, luckily under a shade tree. They were very good and patient as usual.

Rotarians had to line the perimeter around the bicycles to keep parents and other children from getting in to possibly knock down bicycles or try to choose their child's bike. It felt a little awkward but we tried to be friendly and smile to all.

This school was visited for the first time last year by Lisa and Dr Pisal.  The school officials said this was the first time anyone had ever come to help them. Lisa promised to bring back bicycles and today she fulfilled her promise.  The school had started a guest book and Lisa was the first to write in it! 

Tomorrow we head to the beach - yipee.  three days of much deserved R and R.

110 bikes distributed at Wat Vihear Kpous Primary School

Be careful what you buy at the Market

So we have had some funny purchases take place when thing are not what they first appear!  First, Dave has been shampooing with Pantene conditioner and wondering why it wasn't sudsing up, Ruth bought sun screen that turned out to be skin lightener and Margaret bought shampoo to use for laundering her whites by hand that turned out to have black dye in it to keep your hair looking shiny and black.  We have all learned to read the labels more carefully! Posted by Linda

Margaret Walton's Observations

We are in Takeo. It is a hot sunny day and we are enjoying an afternoon off after assembling 110 bicycles this morning. It is getting easier and quicker as we hone our skills and each settle in to our allotted tasks. I am in charge of parts. Ruth and I make sure there is a basket for each bike containing all of the parts required for assembly with the holes punched ready to be installed. Ruth punches the holes,a task I do not envy. I would end up with punctured fingers but she is very proficient. If parts are missing or something is broken my job is to  scrounge through my spare parts boxes that I have been putting together and try and find the part that will solve the problem. In order to do that I am turning into quite a hoarder, picking up bits and pieces when I see them and guarding them carefully. Ron and I are sitting in a lovely courtyard surrounded by mango trees and orchids. Given that others are working hard to keep up with events, I though I would write a bit about my impressions of Cambodia. Cambodia  is chaotic, the land is flat, there is grinding poverty, the people are gentle, polite and clean (which is quite amazing given the conditions many of them live in) and those that have the basic essentials of life are working hard to better themselves and their country. Others struggle for daily survival. The evidence of poverty and the struggle for survival is everywhere.It is humbling to see how little the people have; yet the children appear to be happy. They create play spaces in the most challenging situations. They are extremely grateful but also dignified when we give them their bikes. Many of the areas we visit have limited electricity and even where is exists it is expensive so people.get up with the light and go to bed with the light. It is a novel experience to be in a city of thousands of people and see few lights and little activity after 7:00 pm. Western society could learn a lot about conservation from these people. Cambodia has an extremely young population; due no doubt to the genocide that wiped out 10% of the popularion and would have decimated previous generations. When we first arrived after spending time in Hong Kong I thought Phnom Penh was poor and dirty. However after spending 10 days in the north when we arrived back in Phenom Penh it looked like Paris. There are wide boulevards, beautiful buildings, upscale shops, a clean well organized market, residential neighbourhoods and landscaping. There are of course slum conditions and evident poverty but they are on the outskirts or interspersed with more prosperous development. The poverty appears to me to be more universal in the north. The area where we did bicycle distributions around Battenbang was no man's land between Pol Pot's regime and the Cambodian government until the late 1990's. It was obviously neglected for many years and probably heavily mined. Once Pol Pot's regime fell, the Cambodian government moved people there to settle the area. The land is poor, can only grow one crop a year(while other areas of the country produce up to 3, there has been drought for a number of years and the people have trouble growing enough food to survive. Many have to leave home to find work. The terrible conditions show in the children. Tiny children who  we assume are 5 or 6 turn out to be 12 or 13. They do not grow because they are malnourished. When giving out bicycles there is concern amongst our group when they deliver a bicycle that does not fit a child. What we need to remember is that this bicycle is not just for this child nor will they receive a larger ones as they grow (as our kids do). This bicycle is for the family and for them it is like receiving a car. They will use it for many purposes and receiving it means there is a chance that the child will continue in school. Otherwise when they reach high school and the closest school is 6+ kilometres away with no affordable transportation they will not be able to continue. There is garbage everywhere, particularly plastic, the scourage given to the world by modern society. Sanitation is an obvious problem and there are many cases of disability. Thven all of this combined with what these people have been through in recent generations,  and all of the challenges they face, I am constantly amazed by their attitude.

We are the Champions

Monday January 16 Today we got to sleep in a little-on the bus by 9 am for the trip to another school location where  our task was to assemble 110 bicycles. This now pretty much goes like clockwork and in just under 2 hours we were finished! The children ran to join us to watch from the other side of the fence. They will have to wait one more day to receive their bicycles.  We go back there tomorrow afternoon to give those 110 bicycles in one big group distribution fro the Rotary Club of  Gravenhurst.  When we arrived there was very poor quality very loud Cambodian wedding music playing at the farm next to us.  We all clapped when that noise stopped! Naomi said we could never krump to that stuff! Mr Bam stopped by.  He is part of Lisa's network in this part of Cambodia. He is from this village but has studied organic farming methods in Japan for nine months.  Then he brought his knowledge back to his people.  He explained to us that his village is very poor and until Lisa started bringing bicycles here in 2009,students had to walk 6 km to get to primary school and could not get to high school.  Now these bicycles are making it possible for more students to get to school.  He thanked us and asked us to keep coming... This afternoon, Dave and I and Michaela are sitting on our veranda enjoying the breeze and the village sounds. Michaela is letting Dave use her computer so that he can upload pics to our blog. Stay tuned! Posted by Linda

The Funan Canals




Racing up the Canal

 


Angkor Borei



Phom Ba Temple




Looking East towards Vietnam

  Given that we had the afternoon off, Seven of us took a boat ride on the Funan Canals. These were built in the 1880's to reach the impoverished village of Angkor Borei. We had two boats. Since there were only 7 of us the boat driver wanted to take a lady and her bags of shopping including a few live ducks. Lisa, our leader who wasn't coming with us told them to take only our group. The lady left and off we went full speed ahead. Then, we took a slight detour to pick up - guess who - the lady and her ducks. The ducks were flapping around at Margaret Walton's feet.  We passed many boats of various shapes and sizes as well as shacks built on the canal berms. We figure the people in the shacks are there temporarily to work the rice paddies and also to fish. There were also large boats carrying empty water kicks and recyclable material. Our first stop after about 35 minutes was an archeological museum at the village of Angkor Borei. The approach to the village was a twisty narrow channel with lush vegetation on either side. The approach and the village itself reminded me of the scene in Apocolypse Now when they arrive at the surreal village. There was all manner of decrepit boats and sampan's with people bathing in the water. The duck lady left us here. The Museum was small and we were off again to the temple of Phnom Da. There we climbed up many stairs to the temple on the mountain. There is a chunk out of the side of the Temple that was from a bomb during a battle between Vietnm forces and the Khemer Rouge. Most of Cambodia is flat so it was strange to see this moderately high mountain in the middle of all this flood prone flat land. From the top we apparently could see Vietnam about six kms away. The trip back was fun as the sun was setting and we arrived at Takeo at 6:00 pm just as it got dark.  We all agreed that the 2-1/2 hr cruise was well worth  the $10 (each) we paid. Posted by Dave

Canal Houses

Food Market and Cooking Class



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Spice Girls - Naomi and Stephanie



At the market to select ingredients

Boy finally gets a bike

  We had to be up early today and on the bus early to hit the village market with Socheat's husband, Porum. He is a trained cordon blue chef! We followed him around the various streets and alleys and watched as he bought vegetables and fruits, spices, fresh chicken, flopping fish and...frogs! We all helped carry the supplies. At one point, I was surrounded by fresh meat, including a pig's head complete with eyeballs and  ladies who were cooking donuts over a charcoal fire. It was stifling and overwhelming and I had to make a quick exit to find some "fresh air". Once Porum had completed his purchases, we walked a short distance and down a little lane to a house that Pauline rents for $60 per month. Pauline is an Australian lady who works with Lisa at Banyon Learning Centre. Porum gave us all jobs to use our purchases to make our lunch. Ron roasted peanuts, Peter cooked eggplants over a charcoal grill, Linda, Dave and Jan were in the spice preparation area, many people chopped all assortment of fresh fruit and vegetables, Susan chopped limes and Donna and Walter had the best jobs...Walter cleaned the fish and Donna, the biology teacher, cleaned the frogs! Lunch consisted of a cabbage salad with shredded chicken and khmer lime dressing, fried pumpkin, eggplant, fish soup with tomatoes and pineapple that everyone raved about, and curried froglegs - yum! Linda was the most unadventurous one and stuck to rice and pumpkin. After the lunch and cleanup, we walked out to the bus for a short ride back to the school to give away 11 bicycles.  Everyone was really happy to see the little boy with the Cambodian t shirt who didn't get a bike yesterday finally get a bike today! A few of us had tears over that one. On the way back to the guesthouse we stopped for a great supply of Asian WD 40. It was called RP 40 and WD 80. We also had our usual ice cream stop. Some went out on a river boat ride and I will let Dave fill you in on that wild ride! Posted by Linda

Takeo

The Laundry Lady

Porkers on the street at back of Daunkeo Guesthouse

Arrived in Takeo to our guesthouse (Daunkeoguesthouse Guest house) at about 10:30am. It is a pleasant oasis in a small but clean village - no dust.  There are very large pigs roaming the street behind us and the street in front is adjacent to a canal.  We took our laundry across the road and they are washing it by hand in a bucket on the street. I left my Swiss army knife in a pocket and they gave it back to me right away- very honest people. Unfortunately it was cloudy today so the dryer (the sun) wasn't working so our clothes weren't ready by five as promised. After a fairly good lunch at one of the only two restaurants suitable for westerners we headed out to a small village where a new two room school is being built. Lisa escorted a group of 15-18 year old international students from the round/square organization here in Dec and they worked on the school and the fence surrounding the compound. There was a new outdoor toilet (western style with seats) donated by the citizens of Muskoka. A new well in the schoolyard was also donated by people in Muskoka.  A tent had been set up so we could work in the shade but it was cloudy anyway. The tent was a wedding tent so very colorful in gold, yellow, red and green, etc. This afternoon we put together 145 of 190 bikes. No distribution.  Tomorrow we finish the remaining 45 and give 150 away in the afternoon. We had a really good assembly process working today. Two people took them off the pile, straightened the handlebar and tightened/adjusted the seat. Then on to another two people who put on the pedals. Meanwhile two people formed the parts department and punched holes in the basket for the bolts, put in all the parts - brackets, nuts, bolts, bell and generator. The rest of us assembled all the parts, adjusted the chain and wheels and made sure everything worked. We (20 of us) ended up completely assembling a bike every minute on average, the best yet.  Back to Takeo for dinner in the canal restaurant for fresh shrimps (they were still alive earlier this afternoon), French fries, chicken and ginger and, stir fried vegetables (I am dying for a good steak). There is a Gecko in our bathroom - a good thing since they eat the Mosquitos.

Spirit Houses

Friday Jan 13 I covet a spirit house but despair that I can not get one back to Canada since they are very large and built of concrete!  These are absolutely beautiful birdhouse like structures on a pedestal that are very colourfully painted. Almost every house and business, no matter how modest, has one at the front entrance. The idea is that every evil spirit is captured in this spirit house and thus does not enter the building. Each day, people leave all manner of offerings on the platform of the spirit house and many sticks of incense burn constantly. I absolutely love these structures and one of Dave's first tasks when we get home will be to build one for our porch! I hope to find a miniature lightweight version before we leave Cambodia! Posted by Linda

Charcoal and Insence

Friday Jan 13. Another impression that will stay with me is the multitude of odours, especially the charcoal used at all the outdoor cooking areas and restaurants to cook fish, meat and all manner of other "food". Sometimes at meal times you can actually see the smoke in the air. This smell was more prevalent in the rural areas than in the city of phnom penh. The country is peppered with beautiful temples. You can smell incense whenever you are anywhere near one and also randomly as you move through the streets. I have come to like the smell of incense and the sound of chanting monks! Posted by Linda

Bus to Phnom Penh

Thursday, Jan 12. We are back in Phnom Penh for one night. Stephanie Boag from Australia (now living in Vietnam) has joined us for the rest of the trip. Left Battambag at 8:00am for what was supposed to be a four to five hour trip. The bus hit a pothole and there was a loud bang and a whole lotta shakin. There was hissing and alarms as we pulled over onto the side of the very busy highway. We all got out and kind of stood around in a field. Oddly there was an old toilet. We thought perhaps a flat tire or a brake issue but it turned out to be a broken spring. I thought we were going to be sitting in the heat for hours but after about 45 minutes our amazing bus driver did a roadside repair and got us going again.  We got back on but all had to sit on the left side. After a few kms we broke down again. Our leader called for a new bus which had to come from Phnom Penh -about 2.5 hrs away. After another quick repair we were on the way again and this time made it all the way. No need for the other bus. We were only about 2.0 hrs late getting in. Getting a new bus tomorrow for our trip to Takeo Province. Takeo is primitive and rural. We are there for 5 days and will be working on bikes the whole time. No pool and only two suitable restaurants which we will alternate eating at. Lisa (our leader) has been here before and has trained the restaurants to take the heads off the fish and gut them - for our western tastes. After that we are going to the beach at Sihanoukville for a few days of R & R before we get back to work. Posted by Dave

Weddings and Funerals

Sitting here at 7:30 am waiting to get on the bus for our 3 hour ride back to Phnom Penh where we will pick up Stephanie Boag. We hear the monks chanting off in the distance. A lovely sound. I wanted to share some random thoughts about things we encounter. One morning, we were awoken at 4 am by chanting that got louder and louder. Turns out it was the start of a wedding celebration. "party rental" trucks arrive filled with chairs, tents, beautiful colored awning, bbq's, etc. They set up under the canopies at the appointed party spot for several hundred people to come and join the bride and groom for several days of celebrations. We have seen many such parties and they are so colourful and beautiful. The same kind of set up takes place for funerals too. They carry on for days, there is more sombre chanting but the awnings and draperies are still elaborate. We wonder how the people afford these events... Completely off topic, this morning at breakfast Walter announced that Keith and Susan had joined the Communist Party! He had "Trotsky" if you know what I mean... Ha ha! Ron is just exiting the communist party today after being out of commission yesterday. Now off to the bus, Linda

Another day...another 300 bicycles are distributed!

Just in from a relaxing pizza dinner shared with Keith and Susan, Ruth and Jan and Peter. Hot dogs on the pizza instead of ham-no charge. Others went back out by tuk tuk to cafe eden. Today was a record day for Rotary Wheels for Learning. 300 bicycles distributed in one day! The first 200 were delivered to children at the Red Cross location. There were 100 group distributions and 100 individual ones. The district governor was in attendance and gave a speech which included explaining how the families lived in the area. He said until 20 years ago the area was a wasteland due to pol pot and land mines. This was all finished pretty quickly ( we're getting pretty efficient) and then we sat and had a sandwich in the shade. We packed up the canvas sign which was written in khmer to bring home - don't know whose suitcase it will fit in! By now, many team members have nicknames assigned by Walter. There is "WD" Ron, spare parts Margaret, Puncher Ruth ( she punches holes with a screwdriver through baskets), and more to come. By the end we will all have meaningful monikers! Back for a short bus ride to meet up with a couple of tractor taxis to take us on a 20 minute ride on a very bumpy dusty road to a primary school where 100 very tiny and very poor students were waiting for their bicycles. The 11 year olds appear to be 6! We were SO relieved to discover that most assembly had been looked after by the student recipients and their families!! Especially because there was no shade for us to work under. After the customary ceremony where little children sang for us and teachers spoke about what a huge difference these bicycles make to the lives of these children and their families, we got down to giving out 94 group distributions and 6 individual bicycles. Michaela (aka Colonel Klink) had to fight off a few mothers who wanted particular bicycles - just like hockey moms! President Linda was presented with a framed certificate signed by every dignitary in the country I think which was addressed to "Rotary Club - Canadian People" - love it! This site was about as remote as you could be I think so we really see how people live and work. Back on the taxis in the very hot sun and back to the bus for the one and one half hour ride back to the city hotel. We all washed layers of red dust off in our showers! Lisa is right - the need is endless! I know the people hope that Lisa keeps returning to these locations. Must sleep now - pretty tired... Linda

Bikes, Dust, Chickens, Trains and more CrIckets

Today we were on the bus at 7:30 am. After a quick stop to pick up tools and much needed WD-40 we drove to a Red Cross facility in very rural Cambodia (Koas Krala). No distribution today but we had 300 bikes to deal with. 200 needed to be assembled for distribution on Wednesday at the Red Cross. The other 100 were prepared for shipment by tractor taxi to remote Takor primary school. For lunch today we went to a village compound. In preparation for our arrival they had watered the road so there would be no dust while we ate. We sat under thatched roofs with chickens,dogs and cats at our feet. We were served rice, (road) dried salted fish, beef sausage balls, pork and my favorite-stir fried veggies with liver and kidney and what looked like a small eyeball. after lunch we went back to the Red Cross to finish the bikes then off to the bamboo train. (search "bamboo train" on YouTube). This was fun. The train is just a motor car wit bamboo slats and a small motor. We had to stop to untie cows that were tangled up on the tracks. Then we stopped for drinks at a very poor area. Sancheat (our interpreter) bought a bag of crickets for a snack. There were trays of raw meat lying in the open and covered in flies. Meanwhile the bamboo train was lifted off the tracks and turned around for our ride back. Tomorrow we will go back to the Red Cross compound and distribute the 200 assembled bikes. Then after the same delightful lunch stop we will hop on a tractor taxi to go to Takor School to put together (we are hoping the students will have most of the work done) the bikes. The tractor taxi ride will be 1 hour on a rough track where the bus can't go. We have each bought pillows for the hard wooden seats

Another great day - we are all falling in love with the Cambodian families

Linda with student

Student waiting for a bicycle

Happy to receive  rice from Bracebridge Rotarians

Students clapping us in

Somehow the post for this day has disappeared. Linda will try to recreate it. Generally the day involved a distribution of rice and bicycles at a temple with a big Buddha. In the afternoon we went to a school where the children lined the entrance and clapped as we walked in . Very emotional. (Dave -Linda will add more)

Breaking news from dinner!

Past president Margaret received a special treat on her plate at dinner...a chicken head! Michaela has the photo evidence which we will try and post soon! Rotarian Riti, our new friend from Rotary Club of Battambang, apologized to president Linda. He said I should have received that special delicacy - ugh! Off to sleep - another busy distribution tomorrow - on the bus by 8 am. Linda

240 BICYCLES!

No more touristy stuff. Today we left at 7:30 am and started our first distribution at a rural area called Ratanak Mandul. Our work site was a run down Buddhist temple. We had the help of the Battambang Rotary Club who had arranged for a tent, organized the children getting there from far and wide and had organized getting the bikes there. We had to put the pedals on, attach the bell, the generator and the basket. While we worked, a local dentist and Walter Ried had a dental hygiene session with the kids in the tent. These kids were all fairly well dressed but also very poor. Some of their parents were in the vicinity and they looked poor but all were happy. We couldn't believe how well behaved these kids were. Their were 212 kids at this site and they all sat patiently while we put the bikes together. Some kids were there from 8:00 am until 2:00 pm. Some of the bikes needed air and there was a local guy with a compressor to help. There were also a lot of other Cambodians who helped us put the bikes together. Not sure who they were, some were teenagers and some adults. We worked together and developed a system even though we couldn't understand each other's language. The washroom facilities we used were quite interesting. It was the Monk's guest washroom which was a squatter complete with a cistern and bucket to flush with and a rather large tarantula in the corner. Some people used tHe Monk's regular washroom which was apparently quite a different experience. The head Monk came over while we were having our box lunch and brought us tiny bananas (very good) and some fruit called nehi or something and it too was good (like a lichee fruit). Written by Dave who then turned over to Linda to finish as he had a well deserved shower. The bikes we distributed today at the temple were 37 individual donations, 125 with Rotary Club of bracebridge donation, and 50 with Rotary Club of Mississauga lakeshore. We used Jan's thank you board - great idea Jan! I think it was one of Lisa's biggest distributions and our organization and team work got better as the work progressed! And don't think the days work was done! Back on the bus for a short drive to a village of 1500 people who had the centre square set up to welcome us with a real party. When we arrived the 28 children who were getting the bikes at this site were happily dancing in a circle to loud music. Michaela and Linda joined the circle much to our and the children's delight. We were asked to sit on plastic chairs to listen to a village elder welcome us very warmly. There were village elders who were sitting on the ground in front of us. Mostly old ladies. They were there to receive 10 kg bags of rice from the rotary club of Gravenhurst and Battambang. These people do not grow rice and can not afford to buy it. Many of us handed bags to these lovely elders who bowed to us to thank us. They offered us whole coconuts and the juice is full of electrolytes and is very refreshing! Then we finished assembling the bikes and presented them to the 28 chosen children. On the way home we took a very bumpy narrow road so we could stop at a vineyard. The Shiraz is not good and no one bought a bottle. Now we are off to dinner with the Battambang Rotarians beside our pool - whew - quite the memorable day! The people of this country are lovely and gentle. Off to dinner - signed off for today Linda

OFF TO BATTAMBAG

Today we drove from Siam Reap to Battambag - about 3.5 hours to go 140km.  Battambag is a major rice producinbg area so we saw many rice fields being harvested and many strange trucks and assorted vehicles delivering bags of rice to rice mills.  It is also freedom day or something like that and there seems to be a lot of trucks filled with men waving flags and playing strange music.

Our hotel in Battambag is very nice.  Has a regular shower and a great pool.  Cost is $15.00/night and it really is a 3 or 4 star facility.

Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day.  We meet up with ten or so local Rotarians and head out to a very poor area to distribute about 280 bikes.  We need to put the pedals on all of them.  Walter Ried and a local dentist will be teaching dental hygiene to the children while we finish the bicycle assembly.  We are down a few team members due to illness so it will be hard work.  The pool and beer at the end of the day will be our reward.

If you are reading our posts but haven't signed up as a follower please do so since I am trying to get more members than Ruth Bell-Towns has.  Her blog if you want to follow it (but don't sign up) is http:\\ruthgoestocambodia.blogspot.com.

Temples and Landmines

Angkor Wat at sunrise

Defused Landmines at Museum 

Today we were up and on the bus by 4:30 am to go to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise over the temple. It was an eery experience walking into the place in total darkness. For $1.00 you could get a mat to sit on and a coffee. Slowly as we watched the temple began to reveal itself. Spectacular. Then we went into the temple - lots of bas reliefs and buddha's. Afterwards we went to Angkor Thom which was nearby and part of the old city of Angkor. There were tourists riding elephants at $50.00 each. Made for some good photos. Then a short stop at another ruin - more rocks and Buddha's. After lunch we went to a landmine museum founded by Ari Ra a 2010 CNN hero.During the era of genocide he worked with the Khnmer Rouge as a young boy and he laid 1000's of mines. He then switched sides and fought against the Khmer Rouge and now is working on demining all of Cambodia.   People are still dying from left over mines although not as many as years ago.  Tomorrow we are off to Battanbang where we will start distribution of some of the bicycles over the next five days.

The Rocky Road to Siam Reep

Michaela, Margaret and Ron

Here we sit, Dave, Michaela, Ron and I drinking Angkor beer and watching the world go by in Siam Reep. Life is good. We are off to the ruins of Angkor Wat at 4:30 am tomorrow so tonight will be an early one. I have only been here for two days so am still collecting impressions. Cambodia is flat, poor but energetic. The people are beautiful and endlessly polite. Given what they have been through they are amazing. I have now seen rice paddies water buffalos and a buddha manufacturing factory (hand hewing of rock). we had a wonderful Cambodian lunch, 4 courses for $4. No wonder they are poor. We are off to have dinner with local Rotarians so have to go. Posted by Margaret

The wheels on the bus go round and round...



Buckets of fried tarantula's - yumm

No Grenades Allowed

Hello all our loyal followers We now have our full team together (waltons arrived from hong kong, michaela and our new team member Naomi (Stephanie boags cousin) from London last evening) - 19 in all including our local guide socheat and our wonderful field coordinator Lisa McCoy. Many of us went to foreign correspondents club for dinner where we started with happy hour with jugs of mojito, piña colada, margaritas and Singapore slings for 1/2 price ($7.50)! All of us on the bus by 8 am for the long bus ride north to siem reap 410 km but quite a bit of bumpy dirt road washed out by the floods this fall. Very interesting countryside and small towns and lots of dirty looking rivers and rice fields. Saw many brahma bulls and water buffalo roaming loose. Stopped for "bathroom" break - the always challenging squat type! Met by many beautiful young children selling fresh fruit - they had all the best selling lines and knew us by name before we left. Bought little bananas, pineapple and some strange, tasty fruit that the Rickards had eaten before. Walter, Rick and Dave ate deep fried crickets but they left the tarantulas alone! So far they are not complaining of any stomach issues... Our lunch stop by the highway was beautiful next to a river, open air seating with great views and very good mainly vegetarian meal. This suited Naomi since she is a vegetarian. Lots of good conversations and laffs on the bus - got caught up with michaela, got to know Naomi, and engineers speculating on sewage, electric and water supply, and land ownership (saw no for sale signs). Arrived in siem reap (pop 194,000) earlier than expected. U Dara guesthouse very nice and clean. A sign in the room cautioned against bring in guns, grenades or drugs.  Short break then back on the bus to drive to Angkor wat ticket office to get one day pass. We plan to be at the site tomorrow morning at 4 am for sunrise - early to bed tonight guys! Angkor wat is the largest religious site in the world and a person could spend one week to see it fully. We will see the highlights I guess. tonight we will have dinner with some rotarians from siem reap. The club only has five members! En route today at our lunch stop we met some Aussies from Perth who were in Cambodia to build toilets at schools...think I prefer the bicycles! Over and out for now - I promise to get another team member to post soon! Our work commences soon don't worry. Linda

Tuk tuks and the Killing Fields

Tuk-Tuk

Lisa arranged for three of the very best tuk tuk drivers to take 10 of us on a wild ride through throbbing city streets with agenda to learn more about the Khmer rouge destruction of Cambodian society starting in April 1975. It is hard to describe the feeling of riding in this open air wagon pulled by a scooter...you experience the smells, both good and bad, the traffic chaos and the dust and pollution. You can reach out to touch the next scooter or big truck. You see families on one scooter. You see a scooter carrying many live chickens headed to their end at the market. Very real experience of life in this city. Our first stop was the Genocide museum named Tuol Sleng or S.21 (security office 21) - in reality a prison where many of the country's educated and city dwellers along with their whole family were detained and tortured from 1975-1979.. We had a very knowledgeable young tour guide who told us he would explain the facts of what happened but could not express any of his own opinions, especially about politics. These people were mainly all eventually taken to Choeungek Killing fields about one half hour away to be "destroyed". We met one of the very few survivors during this tour. He described how violent and extreme the treatment was. It was a very moving experience. Next, back on the waiting tuk tuks for the drive to one of over 340 killing field locations in Cambodia. We were given an audio guide to lead us through the site. It was an excellent description of what happened here...which was the execution of men, women and children-20000 in all...horrifying. As you walk in you encounter the memorial stupa, a huge monument that is filled with shelves of skulls and bones. You must remove your shoes and you can smell incense It appears that one evil man pol pot and his evil policies was able to destroy the cities and pull apart families and ended up killing one quarter of the countries citizens - 2 million people - in a few years. Now, this country of gentle people are trying to rebuild...against the odds. I am happy to be here with my rotary friends to help in our small way. (Posted by Linda)

Inside the Stupa at the killing fields

Arrived in Phnom Penh

Tuesday January 3 Yesterday in Hong Kong was a fun day. We had a tour of the city including the peak tram (great view of the city), then to Aberden where we had a ride on a sampan with an old fisherman to visit the floating village. Then to a jewelry factory where Dave got a Buddha pendant and Linda bought a Chinese junk pendant. Back on the bus to Stanley where there is a market and, a nice promenade where we had a drink. We saw a small dog wearing a soccer shirt and four tiny nikes! Ron and Margaret Walton arrived and we went out to dinner close to the hotel at a Cantonese restaurant...we found out that Ron isn't a big fan of Chinese food but luckily he liked what we ordered. We had crab claws, duck breast with fl fois GRAS, Kobe beef and stuffed scallops-all excellent! Met part of our group at the HK airport this morning - Jan and Peter Ricard, Walter and Donna Ried, Steve and Janice Hayhurst, Rick and Cheryl Hunter. Very interesting ride into the city. Now having a drink while we wait for our room. $2.00 for a Margarita. $0.75 for a beer. Ruth Bell-Towns arrived in Phnom yesterday and she was on a tour today. Life is good! Linda and Dave

Touring Hong Kong Central and Kowloon

January 1, 2012 Took a tram to the western market area and then back to the HK botanical gardens. $0.45 for the tram and it was a fun ride. It is a narrow electric streetcar on rails. The walk up to the gardens was steep and there were many thousand young Asian women walking down, having lunch and singing. Turned out that they were maids and nannies who get together every Sunday - their only day off. Then it was off to Kowloon by Star Ferry. Very nice views of HK business District. Walked along the promenade and we couldn't believe the masses of people, all of whom were taking pictures. At one point you could barely walk on the sidewalk. Today (Monday) we are taking a tour to the peak lookout, a fishing village and the harbor of Stanley. Margaret and Ron are expected to arrive at 2:30 or so this afternoon. By the way, Dave had squid for breakfast - yum. And Linda stuck to toast and fruit...ho hum and yum too!