APAD 184: Stairway to somewhere…
In one of my previous projects in Krong Kep, we visited a Buddhist wat that sits on top of a hill in Ou Krasang commune. Due to its central location and good facilities, it was selected as one of the village hubs for a rural ICT-project that I was involved with in 2006-2008.
When we visited the area, it was the height of the rainy season. The team braved the monsoon rains and muddy roads – and this lofty stairs – to inspect and evaluate the facilities.
Stairway to… nirvana? Uhm, no, not yet.
In case you are curious, the view from above is magnificent! Despite the rain, we saw green ricefields in contrast with the red, red soil as far as the eyes can see. The landscape is punctuated by palm trees, the national tree of Cambodia. Will try to find a photo of the rural Cambodian landscape from my archived files and post here in the future.
APAD 178: Public Service Announcement
A very simple flyer made by the folks at Operation Smile Cambodia. It is straight to the point, fuss-free, and features the before and after photos of one of the patients from the previous missions.
Operation Smile Cambodia: Changing Lives One Smile at a Time.
It’s English version reads like this:
Cambodia International Mission
Operation Smile Cambodia, in collaboration with Poi Pet Referral Hospital in Banteay Meancheay province, will conduct free surgeries, from 8-13 September 2013, to children and adults who have cleft lips, cleft palates, and other facial deformities.
Please come to Poi Pet Referral Hospital on 8 September at 8:00AM for free screening and evaluation. Surgery will be conducted from 9-13 September.
For more information, please contact:
Tel. (023) 211 405
(015) 543 599
(077) 838 473
Email: laytheavy@operationsmile.org
Website: www.operationsmile.org.kh
APAD 110: Deity
This is my Monday Mellow Yellows entry for this week, a very colourful decorative wall decor from Nepal. Had there been a smaller version of this, I would’ve bought one to pair it with another wall decor that I bought as souvenir when I went to Sri Lanka years ago.
Sorry that it is not somewhat Cambodia-related though. I will make it up next week. Promise 🙂
So see you then!
APAD 106: Khmer alphabet
In my previous work as an environment advocate, I had the opportunity to visit schools in most Cambodian provinces. By doing so, I was able to practice my spoken Khmer which I studied for about a year. It wasn’t so easy but good thing we had an excellent teacher teaching Khmer for foreigners back then in the early 2000s at Institut Français Cambodge. And the more I visited local schools and talked to local people, the faster I became fluent in Khmer language.
In one of our visits, I saw these visuals pasted on a classroom wall.
The Khmer alphabet has 23 vowels. I kid you not.
These are the Khmer vowels, if I am not mistaken, and the sounds they correspond to and is illustrated by the schoolchildren. Visually, the Khmer script is almost similar to Thai and Laos.
Difficult to learn how to speak, you ask? Try reading and writing, lol.
APAD 233: Lip balm from Cambodia’s wilds
Before the end of the year, there was a trade far held at Koh Pich. With the theme One Province, One Product, all provinces in Cambodia put up booths showcasing their resources. They were joined by other exhibitors from Japan, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Laos, China, and many others.
There is one booth that I was interested much and its by an organisation called Nature Wild. Nature Wild is an enterprise and marketing support service provider initiated by the Cambodia Programme of NTFP-EP (Non-Timber Forest Products-Exchange Programme) for South and Southeast Asia. Basically, it assists its local partners that are mostly community-based NTFP (non-timber forest products) enterprises and other social enterprise initiatives. If I am not mistaken, this is the pet project of my dear friend Femy 🙂
Here is one of the products that were on display:
Lip balm from the beeswax found in the the wilds of northeast Cambodia.
Of course I had to try it so I bought one. It works just like any other lip balms I’ve used in the past. For only $2, it’s not bad. They also have food products such as wild honey and vinegar. All products are made from Cambodian wild materials/resources, community grown and with environment-friendly packaging. And yes, I am promoting these products!
To know more about Nature Wild and its work in Cambodia, please click here.
APAD 200: King of Kampot road
This is the alternative road, National Road 2, going to Kampot province. As you can see, it is very quiet with only a horse-drawn cart plying the route. Along with ox-driven carts, they are considered the kings of this road.
This is my 2ooth entry – yipeeeeee! – and it’s for this week’s Our World Tuesday.Click on the logo for more pictures of our world.
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