Bunly Meas

Then I headed to Kratie, another province stands by the Mekong River. It was a five-hour drive from Preah Vihear, and the journey was not really bad. I was accompanied with jokes and fun from my colleagues in the same car. And what really blocked my ears and isolated all my senses from the surrounding environment was my little pink mp3 player. It saved me from boredom and tiredness. When I arrived in Kratie, it was just another new page of painting flipping just in front my eyes through the car's windows. From a very dried and warm Preah Vihear province, now I encountered a landscape filled with green leaves and wet ground. That was a very sweet welcoming scene that made me stuck to complain about the long drive. The Mekong river contains its lowest water during this month, but this does not mean that everything around it should be quiet. The river bank was full of people jogging, selling varieties of fruit and food, eating, and chatting. (but I did not notice people smoking). ...

It was exactly one month last week when the border conflict erupted in Preah Vihear province. The situation is very calm now. People, who fled their homes during the conflict, are back and continue their businesses as usual. Though, the conflict is still the hottest topic of everyday conversations. But for me, it is not my visit's interest. I was there neither to visit the temple nor to find out what was going on. My purpose was to see my on-going environmental project's activities, helping farmers to adapt to climate change impact. It was my first time to actually be in the field and met project staff and farmers, who my every work is aimed for. I had a very good opportunity to learn from them and especially to see all beautiful sites. Below are some of the photos from the visit and check more here . This is one of the typical farmers' houses in rural Cambodia and notably they are renovated when people's incomes are increased.     A very convenient and c...

It has been a month since I started my work in a climate change project. I am not working as a climate change specialist but still a communication guy. Though, working in this project is my good chance to learn about this topic as the world is worrying about the global warming! Early this month, I had a chance to meet project staff from the fields of the two targeted provinces, Kratie and Preah Vihea. Those are the people who work directly with farmers and make results. I learnt a lot of their experiences through personal conversations. For privacy reasons, I will not show their photos here. But I still have some nice views of Kompong Cham, where I met them. (More photos, please see the photo section ) Waiting for the sunset or a boat? The bridge is for my cows too! Don't worry! We have the patrolling boats too!

Now Cambodians and Thais could cross each other's borders without visa. They could stay as tourists up to two weeks, and all they need are simply their passports. Just a week before the new agreement implemented, I had a chance to experience the border crossing without using my passport (I confessed I forgot at home) but ID card. The purpose was just to shop at the Cambodian-Thai friendship market located in Thailand. I had two options, one was to go for a Border Pass that allows me to stay in Thailand for a week and get it revalidated every week. The second choice was to get an Immigration Card that grants me rights to wander around the border market up to 8 p.m. I went for the second one as it fit with my plan. Instead of standing in the queue, I could sit. But my turn was not guaranteed. The card making process was simple: waiting, taking a photo, showing ID card, paying fee, and waiting again. It was not long, just around five minutes, but waiting in the queue before ...

I had a chance to spend the weekend in Vientiane, Laos last week. It was a peaceful place, away from any stressful moments. The river, people and their culture were perfect combinations to welcome me who was searching for calmness. Oh, and the broken internet connection at my hotel could isolate me at least from my facebook friends! The Mekong River It was romantic to sit by the Mekong River and enjoyed the beautiful sunset. Especially, it was more excited to hold a bottle of Lao beer and taste grilled fish caught from the river. To get closer to the Mekong, I could walk on the temporary islands that newly emerged when the river dried up in this hot season. People & Food I loved the way people behave and interact with visitors. They are friendly and uninterested in anything unrelevant to them. So they do not disturb us much! But sometimes I needed to remind them of what they forget or ask them to be quicker. Food in Vientiane was really good. There were many kinds of them...

This morning I went to a local bakery and bought my favourite bread for breakfast as usual. That is not the story of this post, by the way. But when I returned to the parking lot nearby, an exciting moment just caught my attention. A family of a husband, a wife and a small daughter were standing in front of the shop. They were scanning on some cakes. "Why don't we get in?" asked the husband. His wife did not answer but looked curious. "Do you think this shop is expensive?" she returned a question. "Yes, the cake could cost us as high as $10 or our meals for two days," he guessed with a sad impression. They stood still. But the little daughter cried for getting closer to all those cakes. They could not resist but let their little angel guide them into the shop. Shortly, they came out with a small birthday cake. I did not know to whom the cake was for, but I saw the little girl keeping her eyes on it as her father was carrying. They all smiled and ...

Today, I went to pay road tax for my motorbike. I found out that officers there were friendlier and more helpful. More importantly, they were more transparent! Thanks to the tax department, NGOs, and everyone for this improvement. Especially, a big credit to individual taxer for their commitment. Keep up good work! Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.0