PHOTOS FROM OUR EXPEDITION INTO BOKOR NATIONAL PARK...

We had been warned before we left that we should be a little careful about which ranger we took out into the forest - many of them are ex army personal, who are stuck up in this national park on a very low wage for a long period of time.... ...when we were organising to go for a 'hike', we asked; "we have heard that sometimes it isn't safe for women to go out alone with the guards, that they are sometimes unsafe. Is it okay for just the two of us to go?" (I was travelling with another girl from work)... the reply? "Oh no, dont worry, no problem the rangers carry large guns with them". Hehehe not quite the reasuring answer we were looking for - but our ranger, Vichet, who was 22 and very fun. Good English and a sweet sweet personality. He showed us "where the tiger sleeps" (under an overhanging rock), and showed us which carnivorious plant produces its own water which is safe for human consumption (he gave me some which I gulped down, only later realising that the water is actually used for drowning and digesting insects which the plant eats... but surely I would have felt it if any insects had gone down my throat? Surely? We ate wild berries, and had a close encounter with a PUMA with spots (demonstrated rather than spoken) - which we guessed might be a leopard?? (or perhaps some other wild animal that hurtled through the jungle at an alarming pace close by us, causing Viched to swing his gun up, and us to feel very small, insignificant and vulnerable temporarly)
I was fascinated by the gun, which we were told came from the Vietnamese during the Pol Pot times... I wonder if it still even went? Glad we didn't get to find out.
Jack - this frog is simply for you... for the rest of my life I will think of you every time I see a frog.
Ruined church, washer woman style 'Kroma' (Khmer/Cambodian Scarf), misty mountains, not a sole around, plateau on the mountain, jungle down each side, coast in the distance in one direction and national park into the distance on the other... YAY
More gun shots... sorry!

More photos from Bokor National Park (I think I'm doing this in the wrong order... Intro to Bokor is below this post)...

Floating down the river on a long boat with a grass roof. As in Khmer houses, you have to leave your shoes at the boat 'door' too!

This was our happy guide we met up with on day 2 of our explorations. A very happy chappy.
this was an amazing, and huge spider we saw. Tried to work out what it was called and think it's something close to 'dragon spider'... ?? ... very poisonous apparently, and massive. Bird like!

Hard to captuer it (designed to be invisible I guess, so that food will fly at it), but you can see it in this photo - and for a size reference check out the spider and the camera lens in the other photo!
This was us on the last day, just before we jumped on the boat and headed back down stream to Kampot.

JUNGLE ADVENTURES IN BOKOR NATIONAL PARK



24th June 07

Lots of photos to put up today. Spent last weekend on a trip down to Bokor National Park with one of the girls from work, we headed up into the park by taxi, stayed the night in a rangers 'hut' (big training center), and then spent 5 hours the next morning walking with one of the rangers (22 yr old Vichet) through the park. Had one close encounter with a large wild beast. As we were heading up the side of a valley, something large hurtled through the bush to our right, crashing bashing and going fast - could have been a wild pig or a big cat... we will never know... scary though, in an exciting way. We did a big bit of rubbish collection along the national park road at one point, and also wandered around the ruins of what was once a French retreat/resort in the area.

After our solo exploring we met up with a tour group (the cheapest way to get out of the national park), and had a bumpy ride down on the back of a pick up truck, before being deposited up river and floating down to the little town of Kampot where we stayed one last night. In the morning we hired a moto (scooter bike) and drove to Kep where we dipped our feet in to the ocean before racing back and jumping on our noon bus to Phnom Penh! Fantastic weekend! Great to be out of the city for a while - seeing the coast was something else, as was being up in the mountains and the forests - made me very happy!!

This was one of the better sections of road on our way up the mountain. The road was amazingly bad, in a very amazingly exciting way! Never thought we would die, but highly expected to write off the car. Turns out bottoming out several times, and covering uneven terrain at a ridiculous speed is the norm up this mountain.... as we found out on the way down, where I think Lindsay did think she was going to die (very insecurely attached to the back of a fast, bouncy truck!)

Me and Lindsay, exploring around Bokor National Park (one teeny bit of it).

This is looking into the national park, sea on the left, more Cambodia on the Right. Should be able to see a small temple along the ridge, but I think the photo is too small....

This is on the river trip at the end of our weekend, we had been up in the hills directly in front of us in this picture. Cambodia is beautiful! Still not used to seeing sugar palms around everywhere.

Out in the provinces, half an hour north of Phnom Penh (Tang Kang).
The village chiefs from one of the communes we visited
Some of the village people from Tang Kang - this woman was making a fish cheese or paste called 'Prohok'.

Kia Ora you lot!

A few more photos, and another quick update -

Work is going well - I'm mainly working on material and creating resources for a 4 day workshop on communication and negotiation skills. This will be given to employees of various industry sectors (for example garment workers) to help them with their union activities and achieving things like better wagers and working conditions. Its interesting - so far I've just been collecting general information - but the fun part starts soon when we think of ways to adapt the games, debates, examples and techniques we know to fit a Khmer setting... thankfully we have been warned that the lecture style is out, and games, role plays and interactive stuff is in. ... I'll get some photos!

Other than that I'm still working on advocacy letters, and case summaries for land dispute and eviction cases - a few of which have become very 'hot' over the last few days (google 'group 78' and Phnom Penh).

I have also got flatmate for the next two months! Very fun to have someone else around, and great to have someone to talk over all the thoughts that living here encourages! It happened just by chance, and was a bit rushed - so it wasn't until afterwards that we discovered we are both vegetarian, like to buy organic and local produce... and when all her stuff turned up, I noticed she had a climbing harness and a bright yellow Ortlieb pannier! It just keeps getting better and better!! Excitement grows, as do plans for adventure, and the number of late night cups of tea on the balcony.

I have been joining in on some of her projects too, where my time allows (hence, why I am now typing up a document on communication over dinner in my favourite little cafe, where I have just discovered I can also get internet on my laptop) - which has meant trips out to the provinces, much to my delight!

Anyway, my dinner is now ready, and I should get onto my document writing! But much love to you all, thinking of familiar faces, places and smiles lots!

kisses and hugs
xx
Anna

These guys were part of a church we visited. Their service was over an hour and a half, in which time they moved around in sync. Very amazing to watch!

These were two of the wonderful people we saw in Vietnam. The woman above, is making little seedling pots out of what I think is banana leaf, each on secured with a little splinter of wood. The guy below was washing his rooster as I cycled past. I stopped and ran back to ask for a photo - at which point he did a final polish and stood up proudly with his rooster. (Unfortunately for the roster, I think it was being so carefully looked after because it was a fighting one - but all the same, they did make a handsome pair).

A monk on a hill we climed, close to Chou Doc, and the waters edge in the Mekong Delta region (by My Tho), both in Vietnam.

drinking hot coffee with condensed milk in Vietnam on the cycle trip - in the middle of a rain storm!

Rachel (VSA - based in Svay Rieng at REDA organisation), and Garth - in the back of a tuk-tuk at night.

Warren and I on the back of a moto, in the monsoon rain in Phnom Penh (on our way to the circus of all places!)

May 28^th 07

ARg,

A long long overdue update! Things are going well! I’m really liking living here, my house is cool, I’ve too much to do in the time I have free, and the monsoon has started – it’s awesome! I’m really tried at the moment though. Need to start getting some better sleeps, and maybe some iron tablets or something. It’s been kind of hectic the last month.

It’s almost 3 months since I got to Cambodia! That feels pretty weird – it sounds like a long time on paper, but it doesn’t feel like a long time of actually living here. A lot has happened though.

Working backwards, I’ve just come back from Svay Rieng this weekend, where I spent two days hanging out with Fiona at her place. It was cool to catch up with her, and have someone to swap stories with. I really like it down there, and it feels good to get out of the city. The way it works is I get up and jump on a bus early on Saturday morning, and get to Fiona’s place about 10am on Saturday – then hang out there for a night and ‘hitch’ a ride back to Phnom Penh on Sunday afternoon (paying my driver about US$4 for the seat in the car).

The week before that was spent working. Another VSA girl, Rachael stayed with me, and it was nice to have a housemate for a while! In the next post I’ll stick up a thing from the Geography News letter about work here in Cambodia.

The week before that was spent cycling with Rachael and Kate (another VSAer, who also works in Phnom Penh with me). We went from Sunday-Sunday in Vietnam. We hit Vietnam close by Ben Cau (via Svay Rieng), skirted down the left hand side of Saigon/Ho chi minh (didn’t go in, thank god – the traffic was bad enough on the outskirts), to the delta region, and then cycled up river to a place called Chau Doc. It was an awesome week – and got some good photos. Great to be back on the bicycle again (I’ve just brought one here in PP, a new paddock basher to replace the old paddock basher I left at home!).

Just before that, two Kiw guys; Warren and Garth, turned up at my door. My first Kiwi visitors! It was great to have them there, a little taste of home!

And before that it’s been more work. They were the main events of the past 4 weeks. Lots of little happenings in between times. Like the monsoon beginning, so some weeks we get rain every afternoon. The mosquito numbers are going up ever so slightly. There are less mangos around now. I’ve been doing some dress making (yay), with fabric being so cheap I’m happy to buy a few meters and get into it (rather than at home buying a few meters and then being too scared to start because I don’t want to destroy the fabric!!!). I’ve almost made a dress, just need to locate somewhere to buy a zip! I’ve worked out where the guitar shops are, and someone is helping me choose one to buy next week.

Anyway – that is a very quick update.

Love you all lots, hope everyone’s travels are going well, and good luck for exams eh!

Xxox

Anna