Our days were at RDIC, our nights were at the Club. Have fun on the Waterslide of Death at Club Evergreen, but no weapons! The Club was rather posh-looking, but is found down a dirt road, 45 minutes from the city, next to a village, central nowhere. In the spirit of posh-ness, we used air-con for the first time in weeks. (Protect the earth, protect yourself... but it was really hot. We had to. Don't tell Captain Planet.) When we stayed here on the May trip, the hotel food was awful and Sarah and I lived on choco-chalk Caloriemate bars. So good. By August, the Club E kitchen had mysteriously been shut down, so we ate at the RDIC coffee shop. Often in Cambodia, things are cooked with a hint of meat, which means every meal is an unwanted treasure hunt. Bring on the chalk.
When we got back to Phnom Penh, we spent an NGO afternoon with our old friend, Master Kung Nai, or the Khmer Ray Charles. He had just returned that morning from a trip to England, but he and his son and 2 other students played for us on this traditional Cambodian guitar-like instrument called the chapei. He is supported by Cambodian Living Arts, which aims to keep traditional culture alive by supporting masters and students of music and dance. We also saw the same dance class as in May.
Pretty girls at CCF! Our final NGO visit was to Cambodian Children's Fund, which is the fantastic children's home and educational program we visited the past 2 years. Most of the kids used to work at Steung Meanchey, the municipal garbage dump, picking out recyclables for money. There are now 3 facilities, but we just went to the main one and saw some classes. We attempted a discussion about the environment with some of the older kids. Several of them thought that illegal logging and water pollution were the biggest threat to Cambodia's environment, and a few cited the dwindling populations of river dolphins in Kratie. It was great to see these kids again! |
You write very well.