I’ve become a groupie. Kevin, an American guitarist and singer, plays every Monday in Belmiro’s, and I’m always there – waving, singing along, requesting songs and generally behaving in an embarrassing way. Kevin has a broad fan base. Here he is with Jess who’s 21. And this is Rene, a 69 year-old Cuban, who grew… Continue reading Another confession

I’ve been to two unusual local meals recently. The first was in the village, at the house next door to the school, and was hosted by Momm, who works in the special needs department at Grace House. The whole school staff was invited to lunch, and it was a special lunch for Momm’s mother-in-law who… Continue reading Getting my own back on the crocodiles

  Thankfully my male mid-life crisis only seems to strike at weekends, so I haven’t yet strutted into school wearing a large medallion and a Hawaiian shirt. This weekend it was quad biking. Annette and I were given a quick demo and then a five-minute test.  I passed and was deemed safe to go out… Continue reading Hell-raisin’ again

I have been blessed three times so far in Cambodia and have now started giving off a saintly glow – either that or my antiperspirant’s stopped working. The first time was on a food tour, where we stopped for a blessing on our way to the food market. It must have worked because I ate… Continue reading I am truly blessed

Well, I’ve taught a couple of cracking science lessons this week – even the school director was impressed.  Perhaps I’ve missed my vocation after all. I used great ingenuity, as the lesson plan to teach The Solar System required many spherical objects of different sizes, including a coriander seed and a blueberry.  Cambodia is famous… Continue reading Thank God for mini aubergines

Going shopping is a very different experience here, as I discover every time I go out to buy something. If you want some tanning products – something to give you that healthy bronzed glow – forget it.  Everything here’s all about being white. Even international brands have a different slant over here. In fact, it’s… Continue reading The grass is always greener … or browner … or whiter

The patisserie is just across the road from the school. First thing in the morning they cook the cakes in special containers with burning wood on top and underneath. The cook lifted the lid to show me the cakes sizzling away. Then Grandma bags them all up and hangs them up and they sell them… Continue reading A visit to patisserie

It always surprises me what some people need to have spelled out for them. I suppose the proprietors are covering their own butts by pointing out that if you slip inside whilst perched on the rim, you have only yourself to blame and no compensation will be coming your way. I was unsure what the… Continue reading The correct use of the lavatory

No, not a description of me – although it comes pretty close at times over here – it’s an indication of some of the myriad types of rice to be found in Cambodia. I’ve become a bit of a rice expert over the past four weeks, and I now know that the average Cambodian eats… Continue reading red, sticky, boiled, fried, soaked

Leapt onto a vespa again yesterday … am now on first name terms with the owner of the company as I’m such a good customer.  We went out to explore the Cambodian countryside and I had a fantastic day, marred only by a slight social faux pas at lunchtime. The day started with a visit… Continue reading A social faux pas

These posters can be found all over Siem Reap and I’ve been approached three times so far by the so-called ‘baby milk mothers’.  They are usually around the busiest part of town in the evening with a baby strapped to them.  They approach and say ‘I don’t want money – just some milk for the… Continue reading The darker side of life in Cambodia

There have been quite a few torrential downpours this week.  They don’t last long and the sun soon comes out again, but things do get rather damp.  Tuk tuks in particular are not very waterproof – they roll plastic or fabric covers down the sides if it starts to rain, a bit like putting a… Continue reading That incontinent feeling again

There was great excitement at breakfast today – well from me, at any rate.  I walked into the dining room to be greeted by a brand, spanking new coffee machine … and it works perfectly!  Chay, the assistant manager, told me proudly that they’d spent $4,500 on it. It’s the sort that grinds the beans… Continue reading Breakfast gadgetry

I’ve been to a cookery class.  A local hotel runs half-day classes which start with a visit to the market with the chef. She bought some of the ingredients for the meal we were going to cook. These are banana flowers, used to make a salad. No part of the animal goes to waste –… Continue reading Cooks in tuk tuks

I decided to indulge in a massage, and the Khmer Relief Spa came highly recommended. When I arrived I was given iced jasmine tea, with a lotus flower looking very zen in a little bowl on the tray.  I was then invited to choose my massage, and opted for the anti-stress release, advertised as ‘a… Continue reading The Khmer Relief Spa

Whilst I was busy getting lost the other day, I happened upon a shadow puppet show being put on in the grounds of a local restaurant by some students. They had written the show themselves, and were performing it to raise money for their school. In a more conscious effort to learn more about the… Continue reading A spot of culture

A trip out has given me the idea for a new business in the UK … hammock bars. I went out with some of the staff at the school, vaulting onto the back of a motorbike as if I was born to it, and we headed out of town for the day. First stop was… Continue reading How many monks can you fit in a tuk tuk?

As I finish school at three on a Friday, I decided to go on a jaunt afterwards and visit something nearby.  I was investigating the possibilities and came across the crocodile farm, which advertises ‘crocodiles of various sizes and dispositions’.  I found this intriguing because I’d been led to believe that all crocodiles were of… Continue reading Misunderstood crocodiles

I thought you might like to hear the wedding music that’s started up again this morning, so have made a one-minute recording from my bedroom. Turn your speakers up to full blast and play on a continuous loop for three days for the genuine experience.  

You can see what look like small shrines on poles outside buildings all over Siem Reap and the surrounding villages.  These are called Neak Ta and the tradition dates from pre-Angkorian times ie before the 9th Century, when people had animist beliefs. It is important to build one before you build your house, to ask… Continue reading Celestial planning permission