Phnom Penh

We arrived in Phnom Penh on Thursday evening and had an interesting weekend learning more about Cambodia’s sad history, visiting the sights and spending time with Erin and Cam. We also met some new friends, who I would get to spend the week with while we all went out to build houses in rural Cambodia (more on this later).

Erin and I traveled through PP ten years ago and out of anywhere I have been fortunate enough to visit again in the past two years, PP has, undoubtedly, changed the most. I can remember arriving in PP, young and naïve that first time, thinking ‘how can this be a capital city if none of the streets are paved?’ Time has done wonders for PP – the people are slowly healing from their horrendous history and the city is vibrant, green and a great spot to spend the weekend. We were shocked by the international goods and full supermarket shelves – a very different sight than we are used to in HCMC. And like I thought ten years ago, I still relished in the smiling, friendly faces of people, many of whom are the only surviving members of their immediate family.

‘Everyone over the age of 30 has a story to tell here.’

Janne Riske, founder of Tabitha Cambodia

PP is a city of contrast – an incredible gold-coloured palace and the horrific photos of the victims of Tuol Sleng, renamed Security Prison 21 (S-21). Then there are the roadside vendors selling barbequed bats and cockroaches outside of the lovely river front balcony of the FCC (Foreign Correspondence Club). We took it all in during our weekend trip. We visited the Royal Palace from where we could view the King’s residence (it is the Kingdom of Cambodia after all) and saw the Silver Pagoda. We found our TZ3 Lumix camera at Central Market and felt that purchasing it ‘used’ there was ok since ours was ‘lost’ a couple months earlier down the road in Siem Reap. On Saturday, we took a car out to Choeung Ek which is better known as the Killing Fields. It was here that almost 9000 people were executed and discarded in open graves. The stoopa, which is made up of row upon row of human skulls, is a strong reminder of the genocide. How something so terrible could happen in our lifetime is horrifying. Our guide had lost his parents, uncle and brother – at 17 years of age, he escaped. But it was obvious, he would never escape the horror of seeing family and fellow Khmers killed during the genocide. We went to Tuol Slong or S-21, the high school turned prison and torture centre for the Khmer Rouge. Like the Killing Fields, S-21 is not a happy place. We were lucky to have Caleb with us and his constant chatter and waving brought smiles to many people at a spot that very rarely sees a dry eye. We enjoyed drinks overlooking Tonle Sap at the FCC balcony where we arrived (almost) in time for happy hour. Could we wait a few minutes to order half price drinks?! For sure! When everyone else went off for dinner, we walked down the main street to the night market – a local, family affair. An entire section of the market was lined with mats where families enjoyed their dinner from the various stalls. We hopped in a tuk tuk to get back to our hotel.

On Sunday morning, I said farewell to Kevin and Caleb who traveled back to HCMC and I got in a van with 10 other volunteers to head southwest of PP. We would stay at the Kirirom Hillside Resort for a few nights and from here, commute to a local village to build homes. Our goal is 16 homes, which these Khmer families have saved a lifetime for ($30 is the amount each family must save to pay for their home). Tomorrow the hard work begins…

Caleb's first tuk tuk ride.

Mom and Caleb at the Royal Palace with the 'puppy'.

At the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek monument.

Erin and I visiting the Tuol Sleng Museum for the second time. The first time we were there was almost exactly 10 years ago.

Family tuk tuk ride.

Where Did the Week Go??

Erin and Cam have come and gone to Ho Chi Minh City and I still have not updated the blog. We were having way too much fun catching up. Erin's visit was very special to me. It is almost exactly ten years ago that Erin and I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, travelling overland from Cambodia. Sharing Vietnam all over again with Erin has brought my experience here full circle. Our life here now is a much different experience than we had many years ago. We sure did not enjoy the comforts of a home or knowing where the best places to eat in the city were. Nevermind those highlights, I think Erin was just happy that we were able to provide a bed without ants and breakfast included!

It was a busy week! We welcomed Erin and Cam with Trang's pho ga dinner. The next night we headed out to the Ben Thanh Night Market where Terry, a mutual friend from Calgary who recently moved to Kuala Lumpur, joined us. The following night we took a dinner cruise on the Saigon River to celebrate a friend's birthday. We then woke up early on Saturday to head to the beach where we enjoyed lunch and pool time at the Anoasis Resort. By the time Sunday came, we were all exhausted and ready for a relaxing day and evening barbeque on the patio while enjoying the music coming over the wall and gate from our neighborhood restaurant.

Erin, Cam and Kevin catching up on the patio.

Dinner at Ben Thanh Night Market.

Ready to get on the Bonsai Cruise.

Erin and Cam at Ho Tram beach.

Floating at the Anoasis pool. Cam was looking rather pink by the time he got out.

Erin and Caleb playing out in the garden.

Catching Up

Being busy with house guests and people away for Christmas, we finally had a chance to catch up with friends this weekend. We were able to try two new restaurants - Com Nieu (a Vietnamese rice claypot restaurant) and New York Steakhouse and Winery - two very different spots. Not only was Com Nieu about a tenth the price of the New York Steakhouse, the food was much better (if you can compare lemongrass fish to a ribeye?). Both nights out were enjoyable although after getting in rather late on Friday and Caleb not getting the memo about Saturday being a sleep in day, we were exhausted by the time we got home from dinner on Saturday. Today, we enjoyed the cooler (+25 degrees) weather and did the 5 km loop walk in our neighborhood. We ended up at Mekong Merchant for brunch and got Caleb back in time for his nap before he melted down.

Dinner at Com Nieu with the gang - tossing clay pots, amazingly good lemongrass fish, crispy rice... delicious

I finally got a picassa album together of our Christmas & New Year's photos. I still have not labelled them all but this a start! I also started a One Year Old album for Caleb including a couple cute ones of Caleb out at Mekong Merchants today.

Words

I am frustrated that my lost camera also means that I cannot record any Caleb videos and lately, there have been so many opportunities! I need to order a new camera as soon as possible - this week's goal!

Caleb has started to talk - he can say a few words. His first real work was 'hi'. It makes sense since he uses this word about 500 times a day. He is very friendly so greets everyone on the street (and there are alot of people on the street here) with a 'hi' which often comes with a wave (more aggressive waving occurs when someone fails to wave back). Caleb's other two words right now are 'up' and 'out'. If he wants to be picked up, climb the stairs, or climb pretty much anything (he is really into climbing right now), he says 'up'. If he wants to go outside, he says 'out'. He has about half of both 'apple' and 'puppy' down. He say 'ap' for apple and 'up' for puppy (not to be confused for 'up' as in 'please, pick me up!).

Our Quiet House

We were sad to see the last of our guests leave this morning. Krista, Kris and Jacob departed for a one night stop in Kuala Lumpur on route back to Reading. We had a great time hanging out with Kris and Krista and getting lots of playtime in with Jacob. We were honored to get to be a part of Jacob's first Christmas and New Years. We look forward to our next holiday together again - maybe another beach destination, guys!? Safe returns to the UK - stay warm!

Jacob and Caleb's last play date at 38 Lily.

Farewell to the Jewetts - please come back for a visit anytime!

One more photo of the Moms and their boys!

Back to the Deep Freeze

We set the alarm for 3am to get up to say our farewells to Jo-Ann, Jeff and Anna. They had an early morning flight out of Ho Chi Minh City. They were incredibly efficient - all packed up with Anna being the last item out of the house. Anna barely woke up. In her dreamy state, she was all smiles for us and we were happy to get in another hug!

We were so lucky to have Jo-Ann and Anna stay with us for six weeks. It was so wonderful to get to see Anna and Caleb develop and grow in that time (and they definitely did). When Jeff arrived, Caleb had a new buddy. Caleb loved playing with Uncle Jeff. We have so many wonderful memories of your time with us in Vietnam and Thailand. Start planning the next trip!

Jeff, Jo-Ann and Anushka in Ho Chi Minh City on Christmas Eve.

In Thailand.

Beach buddies - Anna and Caleb on the beach in Thailand.

Chocolate Ice Cream

Thank you, Aunty Jo-Ann, for introducing me to chocolate ice cream and suckers. My Mom is so excited about my favourite new food group ;)

I miss you and all the great treats you share with me!

Love,

Caleb

Chocolate ice cream that comes in a chocolate cone is delicious!

Someday when I am as big as Anna, I will get one all to myself

(note: this event was followed by a mandatory bath).

Little Dinosaur

Caleb tried out one of his many pairs of new pajamas made with love by Gramma Alvina. These are my absolute favourite - the yellow dinosaur pjs. How cute!

Bedtime story with Dad.

Getting very sleepy.

After Caleb was fast asleep, Kevin and I enjoyed a Canadian steak bbq. Absolutely delicious! Too bad Jeff and Jo-Ann missed out on this dinner when their plane from Siem Reap was delayed by four hours.

Vu and Van Get Married

Tonight we attended Van, our nanny's son's wedding. It was the best wedding we have been to in Vietnam (and we have been to quite a few over the past few months). Trang looked stunning in a magenta ao dai, curled hair, and make-up. Coincidently, the ruby earrings and necklace that Caleb got her for Christmas matched perfectly. Sadly, Caleb did not recognize Trang with make-up on! It was a really special wedding for a number of reasons: Trang went out of her way to make sure that her 'kids' (Caleb and Mia, who she previously cared for) were well looked after. Trang cooked lasagna, quiche and included a huge plate of cherry tomatoes (Caleb's favourite) for our table, in additional to the delicious Vietnamese fare. Plus, we knew a number of people at the wedding. It took me a while to recognize everyone in their smart attire, make-up and hairdos but our housekeeper, gardner, previous house's security guard, as well as a number of our friends' housekeepers were also in attendance. It is neat to see how close everyone working in the same household becomes.

The most memorable moment of the evening was Caleb's diaper change on the back of a (stationary) motorbike. We were a bit panicked to discover a 'serious' diaper halfway through dinner. We searched for a spot to change Caleb and were forced to settle on the motorbike parking lot. It took both of us to perform the task - Kevin held Caleb steady to avoid him rolling off the seat while I quickly did the dirty diaper for clean diaper exchange and clean-up. It was an awesome Vietnam moment.

Mia, Trang and Caleb.

Kevin and Trang's Mom, the cutest little Vietnamese woman in the country.

Sandman

We have lots of great photos of Christmas and our New Years Trip to Koh Samui, Thailand so I will put together an album very soon. For now, check out this great shot of Caleb on the beach. He was a crawling maniac. He lost his balance at one point and came up with a mouthful of sand! He survived and continued on his way as Mom and Dad chased him along the beach.

Mr. Sandman