Mozzeenet

Yet another week goes by…tooo fast!

Well we didn’t end up going to Sihanoukville this weekend because we weren’t going to have much time there. We’ll go another weekend.

Still had a good weekend though.

On Saturday, we went to Koh Daich again, the island on the Mekong. On the way, we stopped and ate fresh corn at one of the Khmer places over the river. They’re wooden huts built on stilts, open air with a platform going out to them.

The corn is yummy. While we were there, a big rain storm came through. It was exciting being almost out in it but still under cover - the canvas roll-down sides were flapping and blowing about and we could see the rain out over the river and fields. Very exciting!

There was a police man sitting over oppposite us on a mat with his gun laid out beside him. Only in Phnom Penh.

Once the rain cleared, we headed off to the island and had a relaxing few hours swimming in the river. The road in was very muddy - a bit precarious on the bikes but we made it.

Back in PP, Saturday night - we went to a cheap Indian/Sri Lankan restaurant for dinner. Nice food.

We tried a few places after that, a party then two bars, both almost deserted, quite unusual. Then we found out about a pub crawl that was on that night, going from pub to pub - on cyclos, the bike type vehicles which have a driver cycling and a seat to sit on at the front. There were 80 cyclos involved apparently! A pretty amazing sight in Phnom Penh.

We ended up at the Riverhouse lounge, had good music playing which was a real treat.

Sunday was a lazy day - slept very late then went for a massage (as usual).

In the evening, I had a negative experience - it’s an experience that is very common to Phnom Penh and one which you come to expect as almost inevitable.

My bag was snatched while I was on the back of a moto. I was driving with Hean to practice Kmai. Sonia was on another moto with Jim, another driver.

Suddenly, my bag was snatched at of my hand and I saw a moto with 2 guys on it speeding past. I held onto the bag for a minute but had to let go. It happened in a second.

Hean sped up to chase after them but then slowed down - it was too dangerous to try and not much we could have done.

So, I lost my wallet ($40 US), mobile phone and keys. Very inconvenient.

It gave me a shock and made me start being a bit more careful again. I had become complacent. We’ve been warned heaps about this - happens a lot here. You have to hold your bag right in front of you with the straps tucked away. That’s one of the main reasons we were told to get a helmet - because the thieves can grab the strap when you’ve got it over your shoulder and haul you off the bike.

Anyway, I have bought another mobile phone second hand exactly the same as the other one and it works fine. It was $42 US and I have my house keys back.

I bought a new bag today and a wallet from a gift shop near The Russian Market.

Last night, Sonia and I went to check out an Arabic dancing club at a gym at the Mikasa hotel (very flash). It looks like fun so we might try it next week. Good for a laugh anyway. On the way home, we had a foot massage but my masseuse (? female) was brutal. She did not want to be there and it was really painful the whole way though. Not relaxing at all - more like punishment and torture. I think I will stick to Seeing Hands.

Work has been fairly busy - have been installing Norton Anti-virus on the Centre computers, also preparing materials for the Excel workshop happening in a few weeks.

This weekend, I really am going away - off to Bangkok to see Mum and Dad. It’s a surprise for Dad, should be fun though I have just heard Mum has been in hospital with a pinched nerve in her back. Poor thing - I hope she is feeling better.

Ruth e xx
Miss Phnomer in Cambodia