Amnesty International*

Today I went to an Amnesty International Press Conference on forced eviction in Cambodia. Cambodian women are increasingly at the forefront of the battle against a wave of forced evictions sweeping the country.“Eviction and resistance in Cambodia: Five women tell their stories” is a documentary that details, through first-hand testimony, the stories of Hong, Mai, Sophal, Heap and Vanny, women who have faced or continue to resist forced eviction from their homes and land.

In Cambodia, women are at the forefront of the fight against forced evictions. Many have taken the lead in their communities’ struggle for justice, putting themselves at risk to defend their communities. Tens of thousands of people have been forcibly evicted across Cambodia, in both rural and urban areas while Indigenous people face expulsion from their traditional land.

Mai, 48, a mother from the Province of Oddar Meanchey, in north-west Cambodia, was pregnant in 2009 when she watched her home go up in flames. Her house, possessions, clothes, all went up in smoke and nothing was left. Her house and 118 others in her village, Bos, were bulldozed and burned to the ground by 150 police, military, and others believed to be workers employed by a company that was granted a concession over a large swath of land, including Bos village, for a sugar plantation. In October 2009, Mai was imprisoned for eight months for violating forestry laws when she travelled to the capital Phnom Penh to complain to Hun Sen, the Prime Minister, about the eviction. She was released in June 2010, but only after signing an agreement to relinquish the rights to her land. She now has little to provide for herself and her eight children.

Mai with two other women - all victims of forced eviction* 

Rapid economic development within a newly privatized land market has seen an increase in forced eviction across Cambodia. Tens of thousands of people across Cambodia are unlawfully losing their homes because of the demands of big businesses. Forced eviction often leads to loss of possessions and livelihood, the break up of communities, and a deterioration of a family’s mental and physical well being.

Access to education and health services can be disrupted. Many victims of forced eviction receive inadequate compensation and are resettled in remote areas. Forced evictions violate a person’s right to adequate housing, and are banned under international human rights treaties to which Cambodia is a state party.

We found... CIDAR!!!

We found CIDAR! Real, authentic, delicious Magnards Cidar. It was amazing... better then I ever remember it tasting. It was a tad bit expensive. Well, it was really expensive ($7 a bottle) but completely worth it.

"Cultivate a heart of love that knows no anger" - Cambodian proverb

One of my favourite things to do in Cambodia is visit the Buddhist Temples. I am not a religious person but they are beautiful and inviting places. Our favourite Temple to visit is Wat Ounalom. It is the most important Wat of Phnom Penh, and the center of Cambodian Buddhism. It was established in 1443 and consists of 44 structures. It was damaged during the Khmer Rouge years but has since been restored. The main complex has a stupa which contains what is believed to be an eyebrow hair of Buddha and an inscription in Pali.

Every time we have visited this Temple we have been blessed by monks and indulged in very interesting conversation with them. Last night we met Sareth Brak who started his own NGO called Raise and Support the Poor. RSP's aim is to provide education and skills to people which will enable children to provide for themselves in the future. The Temple was closed when we met Sareth but he took us into the monk living quarters, gave us the highest special blessing to bring us good luck in life and told us about all the work he is doing across Cambodia. He told me that he has worked with many student volunteers from the University of Guelph and McMaster University.

Here is the link to his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Raise-and-Support-the-Poor/106380338708 (or you can search Raise and Support the Poor)

Here is a youtube video about him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-LMVUKSorc

He also has a website but said he doesn't know how to work it well so prefers people to find information on facebook: http://www.rspngo.org/

Sarath is also a trained Cambodian boxer and teacher. He spoke a lot to us about Yantra tattoos and how they are believed to be magic and bestow mystical powers, protection, and good luck. In Cambodia, the tattoo is used for self-protection and Cambodians believe a yantra has magical powers that ward off evil and hardship. The tattoo is particularly popular amongst military personnel and boxers. The tattoo is believed  to guarantee that the person cannot receive any physical harm as long as they observe certain rules.

Me standing with Sareth Brak*

Meeting Sareth Brak is one of the highlights of my time in Cambodia. He is an extremely well educated and intelligent person and I look forward to maintaining contact with him in the future.

"It's been a hard day's night" - The Beatles

Here is a little peak into the daily happenings of my life. 

I wake up, shower, get dressed and put on my super cool helmet!

I walk down 66 steps to the main floor where I have breakfast. I don't eat in my helmet for the record. My breakfast usually consists of a plate of chopped fruit...watermelon, pare, dragon fruit, pineapple, and sometimes mango. You know it's going to be a good day when you have mango on your plate. I also enjoy a delicious lemon tea with ice! 

Then my driver picks me up for work. This is Kay. He greets me every morning with a smile and wants to know everything I did the evening before. I'm sure his generosity and interest in my life is half personal interest, half he wants to practice English. Whatever the reason, I enjoy talking with him very much. We usually chat the whole way to work and back about life, our families, our travels, etc... Out of all the Cambodian friends I have made here, I am going to miss him the most! 

We carefully weave through the busy streets, run traffic lights and sometimes even driving on the sidewalk. This is all very normal and very exciting! 

This is the COMFREL Head Office where I work every day. 

This is the sign on the front of our building. Ooo-la-la!

This is my air conditioned office. I sit in the desk closest to the fan on the far left. You can see my awesome  purifying water bottle from the Fergundanza's that I LOVE and use all the time!!! I share this office with four Cambodian men. It can get awkward at times and they mostly pretend I'm not there but they bring me banana snacks so it works!!!! 

At lunch I have a two hour break so I go for a quick walk to stretch my legs. It must be quick though because it's too hot to stay out for long. Cars parked over the sidewalk is very normal. In fact, there is usually a security guard who helps them pull in and back out.

This is the Cambodian flag lined street I walk down. There are a few universities and learning centers along this road so it's always busy with students... and of course dogs! There is also a children's hospital where I normally sit on a bench and eat my lunch  (white rice and fried vegetables).

After my day, I head back to Tattoo Guesthouse where I live.

I spend a lot of my weeknights along the riverfront where there are countless restaurants, bars, spas, shops and forms of entertainment. There are usually street performers that draw huge crowds and exercise classes going on along the water. It's a beautiful and relaxing environment and is very different from the rest of the city. 

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore"

Whoever has recently had a problem in Cambodia was probably talking about Kampot and Kep. To say this weekend was an experience is an understatement. Cathy and I decided to head back south to visit the towns of Kampot and Kep. Kampot is best known for its famous black pepper, which is still widely available in Cambodia. Kep used to be a popular resort town for the French and Cambodian elite until the 1960s but is starting to build up again.

We stayed in Kampot at this seemingly beautiful guesthouse resort type place called Utopia. The scenery, mountains views, and lakefront were absolutely beautiful. The outside of our bungalow was very cute and cozy but the inside was a different story. There was a bat in our room (yes, I understand we are living in their space, but still) and there were blood stains on my sheets and our towels… now this can be controlled. The Western owners were very nice though, I must admit.

On the Saturday we visited Bokor Mountain where you can see stunning panoramic views over Cambodia and Vietnam from the mountain tops. The motorbike ride up the mountain was AWESOME and incredibly fun with the winding roads, breathtaking views and wind blowing in your hair. About half way up the mountain it started to get overcast and before we even knew it, we were surrounded by fog.

Surrounded by fog at the top of Bokor Mountain*

 We couldn’t see two meters in front of us. After spending an hour driving to the top to see the beautiful site of Cambodia and Vietnam below, this was just hilarious to all of us. That’s Mother Nature for you! 

Surrounded by fog at the top of Bokor Mountain*

About five minutes after we began our trip down the mountain, it began to rain. It wasn’t that light, cute, refreshing pitter patter rain, it was that “I’m Mother Nature and I’m going to make this rain hurt” type of rain. We were soaked… from head to foot just soaked!!!

Standing in the rain, soaking wet. Can't really complain with that view in the background though*

After this we went to see the Kompong Trach caves with their ancient ruins and did some splunking (thanks Mom for this new word!!!). They were awesome!!! It was quite scary because you couldn’t see a thing, we were the only ones there, and there were no signs, no directions and no instruction of any kind. There were also lots of bats, dripping water, etc… It was everything the ROM’s bat cave made it out to be… but better! It was hard to take pictures, mostly because I couldn’t really see what I was looking at, but I tried.

Splunking in Kompong Trach caves. If you look closely and use your imagination, this looks like an elephant*

After our day filled with exciting moto adventures, our drivers must have decided amoungst themselves that our price for the day had gone up. Umm… we negotiated a price before we left, organizing all of our daily activities and times. Why was this happening? We said no sternly, confirmed the details for tomorrow and began to walk away. They tried to tell us again it had gone up and we just kept walking. Little did we know this was going to be the ongoing theme of the weekend.

On Sunday we visited Kep’s main beach. There were a few other Westerner’s around, but not many so we were skeptical of setting up camp and spending the rest of our morning and afternoon there. We eventually strategically sat beside other Western women and went for a swim. We only lasted about half an hour because the reaction from the locals was dreadful. A crowd had started to form around us on the sidewalk along the beach, and people were taking pictures and videotaping us. A Western man said it was just because they couldn’t believe we were trying to tan, but I wasn’t convinced. We packed up our stuff and left, immediately! We found this hotel with a private pool that overlooked the ocean. The staff told us that if we ordered lunch we wouldn’t have to pay to use the pool so we were relieved and thrilled to be in such a beautiful, private place. When we went to leave, we paid for our lunch bill and as we were about to leave there was lots of discussion going on between the waitresses. She wrote something down and handed it to us…. an $8 charge for using the pool. The waitress tried to get us to pay and when she realized we wouldn’t budge, shuffled us over to the reception Manager (who told us we could use it for free if we ordered lunch). When we explained we wouldn’t be paying the $8, she said, “Well then sisters, what can you pay me?” Ummm… nothing! She wanted us to settle for $4 but we refused and said at most we will pay $1 each. She obviously wasn’t satisfied with this but we used the same tactic we had used with our moto drivers the day before. We left our money and walked away. 

Enjoying our private swim overlooking the Gulf of Thailand*

Getting annoyed now with what was happening, we walked back to our meeting spot with our moto drivers huffing and puffing a bit at what had just happened. Our drivers dropped us off, and guess what… they asked for more money! It was almost unbelievable the dishonesty that was going on in this place. In Phnom Penh and everywhere else I have been, you negotiate a price before you start, and that price is honoured no matter what. There are no ifs, ands or buts… no exceptions. You discuss the price, you know what you are getting yourself into, it is honoured by all parties involved, and you go. There is a respectful way of doing things and it works for everyone. In Kampot and Kep it seemed to be the opposite. They were negotiating prices to trap you in and then demanding a higher price. It was almost unbelievable. I also want to add that we were already incredibly overpaying our moto drivers, and for lunch. To put this into perspective, we paid $5 each to take a bus from Phnom Penh to Kampot. We paid our moto drivers $13 on Saturday and $10 on Sunday EACH to drive us around. For them to ask for $5 more is just outrageous, especially when the average wage per day in Kampot is $5.  So, we used the same tactic as before. We gave him the agreed upon price and walked away. 

The last bus left Kampot at 12:30pm that afternoon so we decided to get a private taxi. We agreed upon the price of $40 for just Cathy and me to get a private ride in a car back to Phnom Penh. This was organized through our guesthouse for us so we thought it would be trustworthy. The driver came to pick us up, we confirmed the details once again, got in the very comfy and air conditioned Toyota and we went on our way. If something seems too good to be true, it is.  Things weren’t as they seemed to be, ONCE AGAIN! We drove into Kampot, stopped at a gas station, our driver changed and four Cambodians tried to get in. I will also mention at this point that we were in a five person car. Obviously we had a huge problem with this so they said they would knock $5 off our price. Umm.. NO! We got out, grabbed our bags from the trunk, and walked away. We walked to this travel place that wasn’t interested in really helping us, but said they had a friend who could take us. Sure enough, it was the same driver as before. In a bit of a rage, we got on the phone with our hostel who said they couldn’t find anyone else but they would talk to the driver and negotiate something for us. The driver spent an hour and a half trying to get us to pay $35 for being squished in the back. After some help from our guesthouse, we eventually agreed that we would pay $30 for the whole back seat and two Cambodian women would share the passenger seat for $5 each. When the taxi came back to pick us up, there was the whole back row for us, two Cambodian men in the passenger seat, and then the driver and a Cambodian woman in the driver seat. I wish I could say I was surprised but I honestly wasn’t. I realize this might not have been the safest thing to do but at this point we were absolutely fed up with the dishonesty of everyone we encountered and just wanted to get home.

Two people in the driver seat (with our driver on his phone), and two people in the passenger seat*

We did make it home in excellent time and the drive was quite enjoyable, for us anyways. We paid our $30 for the back seat and there was no changing of the price… thank goodness! When we got into Phnom Penh, we were unfortunately caught in a traffic jam because of a very serious motorbike accident. By the looks of their injuries, I would be shocked if they died from the moto accident. My guess is that they were gunshot wounds and the reactions from the Cambodians helped support this thought.

This weekend was a huge eye opening experience for me. Over the last two months I have been getting very comfortable in Phnom Penh and Cambodia in general with traveling around, communicating with the people, taking the buses, Tuk Tuk’s and moto’s, etc… I love this country and the people I have met are all wonderful people. Kampot and Kep are the only places I have ever run into trouble like this, but everything about this weekend reminded me that Cambodia is a dangerous place, there is a lot of crime, corruption and violence, and that I can never let my guard down. 

All good things must come to an end*

My roommates of two months, Kim and Lauren, have left for Malaysia. They are great girls who I got along with very well. I was so lucky and grateful to have had such awesome and kind people as roommates. We went out together, stayed in together, had countless laughs, exciting adventures, mistakes/learning experiences and took heaps of pictures along the way. I miss them!!!

Doing a freeze-frame-high-five. No big deal but we are kind of a big deal*

It all started two months ago when we spent our first day in Cambodia together.

It wasn't long before we recruited a fourth Canadian and ultimately became known as "the Canadians"

We got along well for quite a few reasons, but one reason in particular might have been because we all had very similar "social" habits.

We did some freeze-frame-high-fiving at a few bars...

Had some jagerbombs...

Taught everyone how to play flip cup...

And wrote some things on some walls!

We knew how to have fun, but we also had many great nights hanging out in our room chatting, watching Disney movies or "How I Met Your Mother". Oh, and this is our pet gecko, George. He lives in our bathroom, protects us from the mosquito's and greets us with a squeak every morning.

I will miss them very  much but will hopefully be crossing paths with them again in Vietnam in a few weeks!!!! I wonder if we can fit 4 on a moto or 9 in a Tuk Tuk in Vietnam as well?!?!?!

After they left, I did some re-arranging of the beds. I would rather have my roommates back, but in the meantime my comfy sleeping arrangement will do.

I also got HOT WATER IN MY SHOWER!!!

"Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot little puppies" - Gene Hill

The place I am staying... GOT PUPPIES!!!!!!!! There are two and they are the cutest, tiniest and most playful things in the world. 

There are stray dogs roaming the streets and searching for scraps everywhere you go. They are filled with flees, various diseases that can easily be spotted, and for the most part are just skin and bones. I wouldn't even be able to tell you which types of dogs are here because they are random mixes and all look like different breeds. It's very sad seeing them everywhere but for your own safety you don't go near them. They leave people alone.. in fact I have never seen a dog approach a person on it's own, but I do not trust them. Before I say this, I realize it is a very spoiled Western thought about a developing countries problem but I'm sorry...male dogs who have not been neutered are just disgusting! Yes, you know what I'm talking about. I know it's natural but EWE!!!

It is so great to see healthy puppies who are cleaned, fed and properly taken care of. At first the guesthouse owner thought someone might step on them because they are so tiny, but all they do is wrestle across the floor and do these little baby barks. You can't miss them and can't help but love them!