I only know two people in New York and they are both called Karen S. Karen S1, because I met her first, lives in SoHo. Karen S2, because I met her second, lives in Greenwich Village. These are both suburbs in the lower part of Manhattan Island. SoHo is a small area of about six … More From One Extreme to Another
There’s something quite exotic about the streets of Phnom Penh, especially at night when I regularly get a sense of being inside a historical South East Asian novel, which I don’t ever recall reading. The closest I can think of is the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel which is set in 21st century India. … More Here in Subcity
Cambodia has an impressive total of 28 national holidays per year. That’s another 5+ working weeks of days off added to the annual leave people can take. Not that most people are entitled to annual leave given that less than 20% work in occupations which follow the labour laws. Most people work seven days per … More Millions of Monks
It’s now over a week since I saw the homeless lady with her baby. I like to think that she was able to find a safe alternative and has gone onto better things, kick started by the money earned from selling her hair. In reality it’s just as possible that she has been trafficked to … More The Difference a Little Can Make
These are a shortened alteration of words written by Martin Luther King Jr, the famous American Civil Rights leader. They are words that have always struck a chord with me. In quoting them here, I researched where they came from and it’s an interesting story. In Birmingham Alabama in April 1963, during demonstrations against racial segregation, … More Injustice Anywhere Threatens Justice Everywhere
This week I met a new patient who was unable to control quiet tears every time any of the staff walked into her isolation room. That’s not especially surprising, being diagnosed with two stigmatising diseases (HIV and DRTB) in a country where the majority are already consumed by poverty-related stress. I knew that as the … More Unequal Exaggerations
Despite the amount of poverty that pervades my observations here, there is a charisma to Cambodia which is steeped in characteristics such as humour, dignity, respect and sense of community. Recently, in three separate visits, I spent a chunk of time in the bustling centre of Cambodia’s tourism hub Siem Reap, observing the world. My … More All of the Village Chickens
We woke today to news of the death of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Columbia’s President has described him as the “greatest Colombian of all time”. This is surely thanks to his ageless and captivating writing, celebrated by millions of ordinary readers and the Nobel Academy alike. His prose has been described as Magical Realism, which combines … More Magical Realism
I’ve left work behind for a few days of rest and recreation in the city, my main aim being to have the mop of discoloured shaggy hair on my head revived into something half-tolerable again. Witnessing the suffering of our patients is often heart-wrenching and this week the severe chicken pox blistering of a patient … More Pedalling Phnom Penh
Siem Reap is a bustling hive of tourism and wealth. Unless you are not a tourist, or one of the privileged minority benefiting from the tourism, in which case it is a bustling hive of desperation and poverty. Either way, it is a busy, vibrant place, situated 5km from the historic Angkorian temples made famous … More Monks on Motorbikes
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