On route home....

At singapore airport just now so thought id do last blog entry. thanks to those who are following.....went out last night for dinner with 5 or 6 people, was lovely evening but very hard to accept was my last night there. went to night market after dinner and bought a few things and had a foot scrub and foot massage, 3dollars for 30mins, if only it cost that little at home!! went to island bar for last drink, really good and people over here remember everyone even if you have only been there a couple of times haha. packed up all my bags last night and had late night as was scared i would sleep in and not get up in time for tuk tuk driver picking me up at 8am. i managed though and was ready by 7am!!! very strange feeling this morning and did not feel right on way to airport leaving siem reap. funny as people say about many places you either like a place or hate it, well can honestly say i love siem reap and will be back and back to New Hope.
Got to airport about 8.30am and queued to put my case in etc.....bunch of french and dutch people and they were all pretty rude, barging in infront of us who had been waiting. didnt let it bother me as was only start of a very long journey haha......stayed calm and laid back like the locals would. eventually got bag in and managed to get that all the way through to aberdeen then i had to pay 25 dollar for leaving the country haha. you pay to get in and leave....boarded the flight and we went via pnomh penh - just to make the journey longer then onwards to singapore where i have been the last 6hours and still another 2 to go until i board flight to manchester, oh and did i forget to mention i go via munich.........wow been all over the place. hoping il manage to sleep on plane on way home otherwise going to be very long journey.
oh well guess i better go get last min things..see you all when i get home. x

Last day in Siem Reap :(:(:(:(

Sorry didnt update yesterday folks but internet has not been working. yesterday morning i went to the silk farm which was interesting and then went to the war museum which was also very good. guy that showed us around the war museum was growing up during the war and some parts of the museum he could not look at the pictures because some of his friends were the people in them that were injured, was very sad and he showed us he still has a small bit of shrapnel in his eye, he lost his fingers on one hand due to a land mine and also has bit of metal work in groin which causes him a lot of pain and he hopes one day to get an operation on his leg. he also said he does not get paid for working at museum but he likes to show tourists around and show them how happy he is now that no war in his country.
in the evening we went out for a meal as usual and then hit the night market and island bar. was some kind of entertainment going on tonight for new year and was quite dangerous at times but funny, stuff that happens here would never be allowed to happen back home. love how laid back it is here and will miss that loads when get back home.

Monday.....i leave here tomorrow morning, cannot believe it has been 4 and a half weeks already :( dont want to come home but guess it will be fun to catch up with family and friends. just dont feel ready to come home yet but never mind, il be back. went into town this morning and then went to pool for a wee while, never thought id be happy when sun wasnt really shining at a pool but loved it for a couple hours this afternoon. was quite cloudy so very nice cool swim. going out for dinner tonight with a few people and then going to get last min bits and pieces. have packed most of my bag and will do rest later. doubt i will sleep tonight because be too worried that i sleep in for flight home.....mind you maybe that wouldnt be such a bad thing. get stuck in siem reap for another few days/weeks or even months :) x

Saturday....2more full days until i leave siem reap :(:(

This morning got up and walked along to Wat Bo temple, lovely wee place. already been there but wanted to go again, very old and this wee old man comes along and opens place up so you can have a look around. put small amount of money in a wee box to feed the monks and they are all happy. Didnt feel so warm today but still roasting!! not so humid i didnt think. walked around town and had lunch then walked out to Prince D'Ángkor hotel and went for a swim. wasnt there very long but still a wee bit red :( not sore so thats bonus. This evening went into town and met some of the oz girls and one of them has their family over now aswel. went to temple bar and saw the apsara dancing again, quite facinating how they can bend their fingers back so far etc. two of the dancers got a fit of giggles whilst performing, was pretty funny. then the guys playing the music were in stitches too. came home earlyish as getting up in morning to go to silk far and war mueseum. should be good day xx

Friday....final day at New Hope :(

This morning i said goodbye to 3 of the girls from oz, strange really as you feel as if you have known some of the people you meet for a very long time. 3 of the oz girls are still in siem reap and went out with them this morning for a foot massage, was lovely and as usual was more than foot massage as they did shoulders and back at same time - 3dollars for half an hour and the girls were fab! will miss this life...in some ways.
went to new hope in afternoon, felt weird knowing it was my last time doing the journey there in tuk tuk. it was rice collection day today so lots of people in the school getting rice, sauces etc for the month. amount of rice and money etc they got varied on whether they were sponsored family, size of family etc. was very interesting and actually felt like kind of thing you would watch on tv for children in need etc. cannot imagine how it must feel to have to rely on this donations etc from people for basic necessity such as food. once again though. the people here are amazing and very very grateful for anything you can give them.
Boy with the burns was back in today and i redressed his wounds, really hope they dont get worse over khmer new year. told him if they do happen to get worse to go back to hospital and we can sort something out for him. however, he states that the hospital will do nothing. hoping that because i taught his sister how to do it yesterday she will do it and things will improve.
Left the project shortly before 5pm and very very strange walking out the gate for the last time :( you get really attached to the place and will miss every minute of it. great people here doing a fantastic job.......
went out for dinner this evening with a couple of girls from globalteers and then went for a few drinks and home to bed it is.....

Party day at new hope for khmer new year

Fab afternoon had by all I think. Had the decorations and everything up. Played loads of games with the kids and did some songs too. Kids got to eat curry and bread which they loved and were looking for more. Myself and the 6 ladies from oz all got a big thank you and a certificate from kerry and kemsour for our help. I got a few wee notes from some of the older kids which was lovely. Have promised them I will come back at some point and don't think it will be a problem keeping the problem. Bought ben 10 outfit for 1 of the wee boys and he had tears when i gave him it which nearly started me off but i managed not to cry :-) the girls from oz had made up a song for new hope and asked me to sing it with them which was nice and the kids loved it. Really going to miss these kids, they are ALL adorable. We did have some flour throwing etc but i was lucky enough to avoid it. haha. caught some of the girls out the back with few small bottles of wine! It happens everywhere i guess.
Spent some time in clinic helping re dress the young lads burns, real shame because its new year and the clinic closes for a week and tracey the nurse is on holidays for 2weeks so have had to show his sister how to clean the burns and dress them. hope they dont get worse over this time.
Also spent some time catching up with Kerry, she is a fab lady and very very busy! Spoke to her about the money I had and she was amazed. Think its decided that money i raised is going to go towards helping improve the classrooms/build a new one and also maybe help the medical clinic as they are moving round in to kerrys house and will need some new equipment.
After school, we went straight into pub street and had a few drinks and dinner at red piano and island bar and then i went to meet tracey at funky monkey for the pub quiz.

Another 2 days.....

Yesterday i got up in morning and met tracey the nurse from new hope to go and get some supplies for clinic dressing wise. very difficult to find ANYTHING here, they have very minimal choices haha. i got lots of bandages, vaseline dressings, tape, blood pressure machine, sutures and some other things. that is about the most you can get. has been impossible to find suture removers. Think tracey was happy with the supplies she got and hopefully they will help for a wee while....some of money i raised went towards this but not very much at all. went out to new hope after this and there was a meeting about the rice collection and party that will be happening this week at new hope. came back into guesthouse as had to collect the clothes i bought for the boy with the burns from house fire.
in the afternoon went back out to new hope and let our class have a fun day of arts and crafts and games. think they really enjoyed this. also helped out tracey in the clinic to remove 2 kids sutures and also re dress the burns that the 20year old boy sustained from house fire. busy day and very very hot. went out to one of the school girls house as one of volunteers here wishes to sponsor her so wanted to get idea of living conditions etc. this wee girl is gorgeous and when we explained why we were there all she said was "i dont need anything, all i would like is some rice to help my mum'' lovely girl and very intelligent. had a good day on the whole at school but not looking forward to leaving....amazing how attached you become to these kids.
in the evening we went to a 1dollar tapas place at soria moria.....really good food and well worth a dollar. it was started up for poor kids who wanted to work in hotel industry and as a training night...

This morning i got up and went to one of the local markets a wee bit further away from guesthouse, really big and lots of local things there....one good thing was they were not so pushy and persistent at saying 'buy something madam'' got a few things there and cheaper. also went back and bought some more bandages etc for clinic at new hope....just getting ready for party this afternoon now...should be fun but been warned i may come home covered in flour and water...haha

Monday and tuesday

Yesterday got up and went to red cross office, don't think they really understood what i wanted. just wanted to find out about what they do in cambodia with red cross etc. nice building etc they have there and from reading a leaflet sounds as if mainly female volunteers and they help in ways with kids etc here. also seen them diverting traffic 1day? who noz?
in the afternoon at new hope, i helped in the clinic again and did a couple of dressings. also searched town for stitch removers as two kids that had biopsies are due stitches out thursday. in the past they have just used scissors but stitches very close to skin in these 2girls. taught the kids in the class in afternoon and couple of kids would not let go of me as said they dont want me to leave this week. told them i would be back and their response was that every teacher says that but very rarely comes back - i will, just not sure when yet. wee boy ratana wanted me to go to the beach with them this weekend for a couple of days but i fly home tues morning and dont want to take chance of not getting back here in time to catch flight. would love to go to beach with them all though. haha. spent about an hour or two in the afternoon chatting to kerry at new hope and getting some ideas as to where to spend the money i raised. thinking i might use it towards improving the classroom or towards building a new classroom as they need an extra 1. kerry was saying it is easier to get donations for smaller things such as bikes etc but when comes to bigger projects its very difficult to get the money. will think about it for next few days and decide.
in the evening we went into town and had dinner as nick, volunteer co-ordinator at globalteers was leaving to go back to teaching. came home earlyish as head was pretty sore, didnt drink enough water yesterday and thats probably why. then at night when got off phone to mum i was a bit upset, haha don't know why because don't feel homesick and don't want to leave here.

Tuesday morning......got up early again this morning and set off before 9am, out to new hope to meet kerry. we got shown around the village. we went in new hope car and there was about 15 of us in total in 1 vehicle haha. good fun though. first of all we met a wee old granny who was desperate to show us her house, she looks after her grandchildren as their parents are dead and she wanted no windows in her house so locals could not see her grandaughter as if they did apparently they would want to marry her to get the land they live in. wee granny was lovely and the 6volunteers from oz kitted her out in new outfit. from there, we went on to visit the next family who turned out to be sylvia's sponsor family, when the translator explained to them who i was they mother ran up to me and gave huge hug and she would not let go. these people are sooooo lovely and sylv, they look like they are doing fab and have their house now. wee boy has artificial limb and is adorable. the story goes on, all these families we visited are fab people and literally have very minimal. real eye opener but yet they teach us all something as they are still happy the majority of them.
in the afternoon, went back out to new hope and was helping in clinic again. a 20year old guy came in with horrific burns, he was in a house fire 3 or 4 weeks ago...had burns on back, arms, leg and hands. with very minimal dressings etc we did the best we could and have asked him to come back on daily basis for us to see them. it was his house that went up on fire so he is now staying with his gran so we decided to take him home and see their set up. they have 2 wee huts which in total there are 13people staying there. they earn under 80,000 riel a month which is not even 20dollars. their huts are also in very very poor condition and will require work before the rainy season. he has no clothes as all his were burnt in fire so im going in to market tonight to get some tshirts, shorts etc for him. couldnt leave him with nothing and going to go and get some dressings, stronger painkillers etc with nurse tomorrow morning which i am also going to put some money towards from the money i raised.

Templed Out!

Set off at 8am this morning and off to the temples, went with two other volunteers. started of at angkor wat which took 2hours to get round and could probably have spent more time there. got to go up the top but the steps coming back down were horendous, pretty scary as very narrow and steep. good fun though and lovely lovely place. went from there to bayon, which is probably my favourite, temple with the faces. then went on to angkor thom and had a look around quite a few temples there including the elephant terrace and the 1 that is in tomb raider where all the tree roots are up through the temple, amazing really to see. went to a couple of smaller ones and then headed home. far too hot and after climbing lots and lots of steps and over rocks was very tired. spent the day at temples with LOTS of kids after our money again and trying to sell me more bracelets yet again. did buy some of their postcards though and a book about the temples as the history is a lot to take in and incredible. had a wee snooze in afternoon when i got back and then in evening went to a restraunt just round corner from guesthouse. had my 1st bad meal since ive been here, not bad really considering nearly been here a month and eaten out like every night. had sweet and sour chicken but the chicken was very hard so that put me off. came back to guesthouse and went upstairs with a few others and had couple of drinks and a chat. going to bed soon as back to work tomorrow. planning getting up in morning and going to red cross office, whether it happens or not is another story.

3rd April 2010

Got up and lazed about for a while this morning then headed into the town and went to bank. no tuk tuks about so was about to start walking when a guy came up on motobike so went in on back of that. wandered around town and got my travellers cheques changed then came back to guesthouse. went out about 4pm with so, one of the khmer teachers at new hope to a temple near the floating village, very old temple and lots and lots of steps to get up to it. had to wait til 5.30pm and we got to go up for free. other people were paying to get in, if only the knew they could get in free haha but we were told not to tell any of them. wandered around the wee village for a while before going up all the steps and saw lots of different things. went to see sunset at temple, was not a good sunset but really good scenery and nice temple all the same. saw some monks busy working away with a pile of sand, apparently they build a mountain with the sand infront of the pagoda for new year which is only a week away. gutted il miss the new year :( will be on my way home! went out for dinner at molly malones tonight and watched the chelsea v man utd game. home early because going round the temples tomorrow, angkor wat, thom etc so busy day ahead of me. off to bed soon xx

Back again, twice in one day!

Ok so today i went to swimming pool at hotel for an hour or so, wasnt very sunny though, in the shade most of time, just humid. also went to get some passport pics printed of some of the kids as they will all be getting id badges and not all of them could get pictures so kind soul i am, i took them haha joking! had a good day in school, was back to just 2teachers in the class today so really good fun. had a fun day with them colouring in and drawing. 2kids in the class had got new ben 10 outfits so the rest want them now! one wee boy, he stays with kerry drew two lovehearts and gave the picture to me to keep and was pointing at me and him, he is gorgeous 8year old boy and very very clever. also helped in the clinic as one of kerrys other wee girls who is 4years old (but looks about 2) cut her heel on the bike with the house mum so put a wee dressing on that to keep it clean. also spent some time playing rounders with some kids, well the bat was a cleaning brush and ball was plastic bottle - all good fun though.
this evening i went out for a meal with the 6 ozzie volunteers who are a great laugh and then met some others at molly malones for a couple of drinks. 2 of the morning volunteers are leaving so some people out for that including kenneth and kerry. managed to speak to kerry and she is going to take me and 1 other volunteer out around the village on tuesday morning. looking forward to that. x

Sorry mum, yes i did miss out yesterdays blog

Must try keep blog up to date as getting picked up on missing a day out haha.
Yesterday morning was up early again as was getting picked up at 8am to go out to the fish farm by a guy tony who is working on that side of the project. got picked up in air con car and it was fab!! Project is quite a bit away, i thought it was next to new hope but it's not. was very interesting morning, they are at present building two large fish ponds which they hope will be up and running in another few months and once they see how things go with the two ponds, if it is worthwhile etc they plan on doing a further two ponds. They have also trained a local guy next to where they are building and he is going to take care of the mushroom hut where they are growing two types of mushrooms. They have a large area with 1500 chickens and although they are in boxes, 2 in each box they look much healthier than the 1s you see on tv and they get quite a lot of eggs per day which in turn they sell to hotels and restraunts (75cents for 10eggs). they also apparently dry out the chicken poo and sell that. At the moment, they are building a house which one of the families will move into who work in the farm. Unsure of how much the house will cost to build but they are hoping to build a further 15houses. Once the fish and mushroom farm are up and running they hope to earn about 25,000 US Dollars a year and that if the amount left after paying all their workers, electricity costs etc. The workers get paid 3.5dollars a day which does not sound much but is pretty good compared to most jobs over here and they also get to stay in the houses and get electricity for free. They are moving some folk from area that new hope is in to this area slowly if they have the skills and are willing to work hard. I asked the question about where the money would go and tony said all money raised will go back to helping the people in area i working in at present. they eventually hope to build a school out at the fish farm area. will be interesting to find out how things are going when all up and running.

School in the afternoon, my class was much smaller today. today they had stories and the book we had to read them was a bit old for them so made up own story and let them do some drawings. Helped tracey the nurse do a couple of dressings on the kids that had biopsies done the other day in pnom penh. they are such brave children. they each had like 5 or 6 stitches in for a biopsy. fingers crossed that they can get some treatment, not sure how good it looks for them though :-( medical clinic is closed for a couple of days as they need to get a new licence so are able to do dressings etc but cannot give out any medications.

In the evening i went to pub quiz again, we came 4th! improving slowly but quiz very difficult some of the questions i dont even understand haha never mind knowing the answers.