The Ultimate Family Vehicle

Have a family of five? Need to transport a litter of piglets or lifetime supply of aluminum pots? Cambodia has the motorcycle for you! Never have I seen so many people or things balanced so effectively on a motorcycle. But in reality, there is no other way to get around. During the rainy season, the roads often turn to mud and cars simply can't navigate through it. And with gas prices at roughly $1.25/litre (the average daily salary of a government doctor) few people could afford cars anyway. Those who do buy cars can select between a dark green Toyota camry, another dark green camry, or, if they're really lucky, they may be able to find a white camry which will turn brown within 3 minutes of driving off the lot. So if you're looking to buy a new vehicle and need any indication of what type of car can handle the toughest road conditions... you've got your answer... but seriously consider that motorcycle... you never know when you may want to move a load of bricks.

Lariam Induced Dreams: Installment 2

So I haven't been dreaming quite as much as before, and some of the dreams have reminded me of exactly how scary nightmares can be whether you're 3 or 23...

My latest funny dream was relatively short:

For some reason I was back at Lisgar Collegiate (my high school) in Ottawa. I can't remember why, I think I was just visiting. I found out from someone that Mr. Peters, my grade 12 English teacher, had something really important to give me. When I finally tracked him down he was so excited! He told me to wait outside his classroom door while he searched out this amazing object in his office. All of a sudden the door opens a crack and his hand shoves out with a tube of toothpaste in it. I take it, and he slams the door. I am a little upset that he was able to smell my bad breath from the other side of the school even before I ran into him. I walk around a little more and comment on how sad it is that so many of my Lisgar classmates have become alcoholics. And that's the end...

This was a particularly weird dream because most of my classmates from Lisgar are studying to be doctors, lawyers, and PhDs...

Siem Reap - Disneyland does Cambodia

After spending a few days in Siem Reap, we've come to realize that this city is not typical. The staff at the hospital likes to call it "Disneyland does Cambodia". The town itself is fantastic... there's a good mix of local restaurants and places for tourists, so if we are really tired of rice we can always head somewhere for a goat cheese salad. My new favourite restaurant name... "Burgers Without Borders". There are some lavish hotels on the way into town, one which runs at $750/night has been host to many exclusive notables including Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones.

The unfortunate reality is that many tourists believe they have seen Cambodia despite having never left town... and this town is not Cambodia. On our first day at the Angkor Hospital for Children, Nerai (an administrator I am working with) took us out in a tuk-tuk to give us a better idea of where the patients at the hospital come from. Barely 10km out of town, the overdecorated hotels disappeared to show a road lined with small grass huts. The pavement turned to dirt, with motorcycles and trucks trying to crawl through the thick mud, nearly 2 feet deep in many places. Rice fields grew as far as the eye could see, and the fancy restaurants of Siem Reap were replaced with old ladies selling roasted frog sausage and crickets. Nerai took us out into a rice field so we could see how it was planted... stalk by stalk, each one by hand until the field was full. Rice is not just a staple food here. It is a necessity of life. When the crop has a bad year, people die. Over 35% of the Cambodian population is moderately to severely malnourished. Stories of patients and their arduous journies to get care at AHC are commonplace... many travel days to get here. One child died because his family could not borrow the one dollar they needed to get a ride into town.

But despite all of their hardship, the Cambodian population are the kindest most sincere people I have ever met. Expat David from the hospital says that after so many years of strife, Cambodians finally have something to be proud of. They want to tell you more about their country and want to learn more about yours. We've had lots of fun telling stories of Canadian winter to Cambodians and foreigners alike.

Ryan has gotten started with his shadowing on the patient wards. Because many rural patients have to travel so far to get here, their condition is often extremely severe when they arrive. Ry's been treating lots of dengue fever, malnutrition and meningitis, and is planning on watching some surgeries next week. I've been up in the admin offices working with Nerai to revamp their monthly donor reports. I've been learning a lot about the different programs offered in the hospital, and the two of us have been taking Khmer language lessons. All in all, we are both having an incredible time. We can't rave enough about the people here, and there are lots of fun tourist activities to keep us busy on the weekends.

Hope everyone is well at home!

Bangkok day 3: "What do you mean it's Sunday?"

Our last day in Bangkok started with an early morning trip to the airport for our flight out. Apparently, we were so excited to get to Cambodia that we showed up a whole day early! After spending a few minutes trying fruitlessly to convince the man at the desk that, no, it was, in fact, Monday... I checked with a few other employees and found out that unfortunately, he was right, it was, in fact, Sunday.

We used this extra day to our advantage to see a few things we had originally missed out on. First stop, the National Museum, which boasts an impressive collection of old things. Call me Queen Midas but my personal favourites included the gold leaf patterned window shutters on the museum buildings and the massive gold boats which were being restored right before our eyes. The park across from the museum was decked out for the Queen's birthday two days later. The trees on the main streets were lined with gorgeous lights and her gold framed portrait was set up and adorned in locations all over the city.

In the evening we took a tuk tuk (haha! took a tuk tuk!) to a night market on the other end of town. This was a big spot for designer watches and Tiffany jewelry... but after being quoted a last price of over $100 on a fake Rolex, we were done for the night.

Bangkok Day 1

On our first day in Bangkok we ended up getting jet lag but in a good way. We were up at the crack of dawn and ready to start our adventure. First stop was Kaosan road which was about 2 blocks away from our hotel. It was busy with activity even early in the morning with fresh orange juice carts and plenty of stands selling DVD's and funny t-shirts. After that we wandered down to our first Wat (Buddhist temple). It was very beautiful decorated with gold-leaf and colored glass. The grounds were also immaculately kept. Our next stop was the Royal palace and the temple of the Emerald Buddha. If you ever have a chance to go to Bangkok this is a must see. The architecture and sculptures were absolutely stunning and we had a great tour guide who told us a lot about the symbolism and history of the site. Our tour guide was very helpful and showed us to the market by the river and got us a long boat tour through the canals. This was really neat because we got a chance to see the Thai people outside of the tourist context (thanks uncle Brian for the recommendation). The boat tour dropped us off at another river side market where there was a wide abundance of food including fresh mangoes and dried fish. We skipped on the fish but we had the amazing fresh mango's (sorry Kelsey for making your mouth water). Right next to the market was another Wat Pho which is famous for the giant reclining Buddha (probably about 40m long). The whole sculpture is covered in gold leaf and the feet are made of mother of pearl. After our visit we grabbed dinner at the river side market, the food here tastes amazing and you smell it everywhere you go. After a long day of walking we returned to our hotel, but just before we had a relaxing 30min foot massage, the perfect way to finish the day.

Lariam Induced Dreams: Installment 1

Because Cambodia is a malaria risk, Ryan and I are taking anti-malarial medications. Ryan opted for the ordinary daily version with few side effects, while I chose to enhance my adventure (and your reading pleasure) with Lariam, the weekly medication with wonderful side effects such as hallucinations and vivid dreams. My first one involved a photo shoot with myself and some other guy, each of us wearing one half of a kangaroo suit. I was the top half, but I had no kangaroo head. The shoot was taking place on the world's tallest cliff. My job was to lie on my stomach, grab this bizarre handle below and hang upside-down from the cliff like I was in a handstand, but hanging over the edge. This was, of course, very scary... I was trying REALLY hard to smile and make the photo come out nicely, but it was really hard to balance up there like that (especially in half a kangaroo suit) and I inevitably lost my grip and plummeted towards a river below. Luckily I woke up before I hit the ground... :)

The Adventure Begins!

Sur’sday!

Ryan and I have been excited for this adventure for months now, and it is hard to believe it has finally arrived! For those of you who aren’t aware of our plans, we’re headed to Siem Reap, Cambodia to volunteer at the Angkor Hospital for Children (www.angkorhospital.org). You can read a little more about the history of Cambodia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Cambodia

The genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge Regime left Cambodia with virtually no health care system and a population with a median age of 20 (Canada's is 39). The hospital provides free treatment to children and trains local doctors.

Our trip began as every good adventure does… with an email 15 minutes before I leave for my first flight saying to Hong Kong has been canceled. Thank you for flying Cathay Pacific>. After a few calls to Cathay offices in other time zones, some itinerary changes, and lots of movies, we finally made it to Bangkok, Thailand!