Some of every day in Phnom Penh is spent in a tuk tuk with my colleagues. A few regular drivers have become firm friends through shared amusement at each other’s little ways and our limited common language. My fellow expatriates and I are currently holding a photographic competition, each of us preparing to show our … More Notes From A Tuk Tuk
The congested, hot, overstocked and fascinating Phsar (Market) Tuol Tom Poung, or Russian Market as it’s known in English, takes up a full block of the Phnom Penh neighbourhood I live in. From the top floor of my apartment building we can see the rooftops of the Russian Market – a patchwork of multi-coloured, rusty … More Heart Strings 02
Only in the past few years have I come to appreciate that I was born on the lucky side of life. Not only do I have enough food, love and shelter but I have the ability of having experienced going on an aeroplane, visiting towns and countries beyond my home, obtaining a first class education … More Battle of the Balance
When I first met Paula and her family, her father invited me to visit their village with the offer that he would take us out on his fishing boat. Now that I know them well, he lives in Malaysia in order to earn enough money to continue paying off the family’s debt, incurred throughout the … More Far Flung Fishing Friends
It is much more difficult in Phnom Penh, to find the impetus to write. My accommodation is a fifth floor apartment overlooking rooftops for as far as the eye can see. This removes me from community life somewhat although I’m slowly starting to recognise the neighbours beyond our apartment block. We recently relocated our office … More Standing On The Outside, Looking In
For thirteen days in Cambodia I was very busy. I visited the MSF project I will be working on from February, a similar public health program as I currently work on here in Australia but with many more issues to contend with. No doubt I will blog on that as and when I become involved. … More Thoughts from Alice Springs
When you get as old as me everyone starts to look young. Over 50% of the Cambodian population are under the age of 24 years old. Coming from a country where 40% of the population are over 50 years old, it is no wonder that I spend my life wondering why I’m surrounded by twelve … More We Can Survive Another Day
Despite having worked with Tuberculosis for many years now, my world is very largely without Tuberculosis courtesy of the luck which I was born into. TB exists in Australia at an annual rate of between 5 and 6 cases for every 100,000 people. In 2013 Australia, with a population over 23,000, notified 1,256 cases of … More Worlds With, Worlds Without, Worlds Apart
The problem is all inside your head, she said to me The answer is easy, if you take it logically I’d like to help you in your struggle to be free There must be 50 ways to leave your lover ~ Paul Simon The market town of Skun in Kampong Cham province, Cambodia, is one … More Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover
Poverty and hardship are very visible aspects to Cambodian life. Yet, coming from a wealthy background as overseas travelers do, seeing skinny children or elderly people hunched over themselves, beat-up old modes of travel, overcrowded vehicles and banana leaf shacks on dusty old highways, we don’t necessarily equate these very interesting sights with a level … More A Rich Village Life
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