APAD 203: Sunset in Ratanakiri
After so many weeks, I’m back to blogging. Sorry folks, I was away.
In fact, I was in Ratanakiri province for Operation Smile Cambodia’s surgical mission there.
Ratanakiri has changed since the last time I was here (2002) but it has retained its rural charm. It’s the “winter” season there; the weather so much cooler than in Phnom Penh. At night, temperature dipped at about 15C. At one point, the parents of our patients built a bonfire in the hospital yard to keep them all warm.
Anyways, I want to share this beautiful sunset in Ratanakiri. The sun was slowly falling down the horizon, slowly hiding behind the hills of Ratanakiri. It was a lovely sight.
The day is done… gone the sun…
APAD 196: Greeters
Pretty school assistants line up in front of their school to greet the schoolchildren as they arrive and lead them to their respective classrooms. They do this every morning week in, week out.
APAD 192: Street food
My officemates and I ran errands across town last Friday. We had an uneventful tuk-tuk ride but we gotta do what we gotta do, eh! On the way back, we passed by Olympic Market and there – rows of nom pang pate stalls welcomed us. Of course, I had to stop and buy one. Nom pang pate is one of my favourite street food in Phnom Penh.
Nom pang pate. Local baguette with pate, cucumbers, green tomatoes, slathered with yolk-ish concoction composed of honey and other secret ingredients. Yummy.
For only a dollar, you’ll get fat slabs of pate on a bed of fresh veggies (mentioned above) on a crunchy baguette with shredded papaya on the side (much like our achara). It’s a remarkably crunchy and messy affair but I tell you, it’s finger-lickin’ good, mate!
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.
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