This is a picture of my local ice delivery man. We can have it in a large block, which is about the size of a railroad tie or he will saw it into sections. Many people don’t have fridges but they have ice boxes instead. The machine at the end of his trailer is an ice crusher and so, if you want it that way he’ll do it on the spot. Everything is available and within easy reach. It reminded me of a time I had with a friend in India. He’d invited guests from overseas for dinner and he asked them what they’d like for dessert. They said they’d like ice cream so he phoned a number and within minutes there was a knock on the door and a man arrived with ice cream. The lady said she was disappointed she hadn’t had a salwar kameez made, the blouse and pants outfit that Indian women like to wear. Our host picked up the phone and within minutes a tailor arrived to measure the lady and she would have the outfit the next day.
I got up at 6.30am as Thornin said he’d arrive at 9am and we’d have breakfast together. At 9am he phoned to say he was having breakfast alone and I should do the same. At 10am he said he was stuck in traffic and wouldn’t arrive for another 30 minutes. Welcome to Cambodia. It wasn’t his fault as the traffic was bad but it complicates life as I kept having to open and close the doors and turn the fan on.
We finally left for Battambang and it took ages to get out of the city because so many people were coming to the river side to watch the practising of the dragon boats. The provincial races have all been held and the winners are now in Phnom Penh for the championships. The boats range in size from small ones, holding around 20 people, to big ones that hold around 75 people. They are all carved out of single trees and are very narrow. I’m told if a paddler falls off then it’s his problem as the boat doesn’t stop to pick him up. There are a lot of single day holidays in Cambodia but the boat race is a big 3 day holiday and is a huge attraction for the ordinary folk as it costs nothing to watch the races. I’ve seen them before and I always get depressed with the amount of rubbish lying around. It all gets picked up but I don’t like to see it in the first place.
In Phnom Penh there are three rivers - Mekong, Tonle Sap and Tonle Bassac - “Tonle” means ‘river’. During the rainy season there is a huge amount of water coming down the Mekong and so the water from the Tonle Sap lake cannot get into the Mekong to flow south to Vietnam. Instead, the flow of the water reverses and the lake triples in size. The boat races signify the time when the water decides to flow south again.
Thornin likes to listen to music on the trip so I loaned him my headphones and I switched off and nodded off. It’s a six hour drive so there’s a lot of time to nod off. I’d never drive over here as the roads are narrow and wind all over the place. There are lots of slow moving trucks, motorbikes and farm equipment on the road so I’d be a nervous wreck at the end of the drive.
We stopped for lunch and had a fish soup and a dish with coriander, beef and pineapple - it was good too.
We arrived at Thornin’s home at 5pm and I settled into my room; I have the same room all the time so I suppose it’s ‘my;’ room. It’s next to a big hall and tomorrow a monk will give a course on leadershiop to a number of youth.
I was sitting on my own, doing some typing, when a group of men asked me to join them. One of them owns a bus and we use him each year to move the Canadian dentists from one location to another. They had a large pot of soup with vegetables. I asked what it was and was told it was beef. They gave me a bowl but I have to say it was a different kind of cow to what I’m used to. I don’t think I saw a single piece of meat as it was mostly intestines. I sometimes think I’m a walking garbage can as I subject my innards to all kinds of food. I chewed away, with no clue what I was eating, but it was enjoyable and the company was fun. There’s something special about being with people you can’t talk to; you just depend on body language and a few smiles.
They’ve left and it’s close to bedtime. I hope this is going to be OK. After a while my iPad screen starts to flash on and off every time I type a letter. It’s hard to read and impossible to check. I’m told that blogger is a Google creation and I’m using an iPad. They don’t get along together and so nothing is done to fix the hiccups I keep having. So wish me luck as I publish this.
