R a n d o m rants.: The D.A.Y.S.

18/5: At the airport. All 31 of us including Martin, who went to send us off but will fly there only a week later because of his split lips.

Spent the first night at bee ngor's place, the singaporean volunteer who spent like the past 15 years there.

Our sleeping place

Welcome to village chan

Our sleeping place and the kitchen shed to the right. Grass huts are commonplace in cambodia. Tiled roofing and brick walls are rare and for the rich.

Village kids are all cam whores i swear.

The kids brought us to the padi fields behind our hut on the first day, the place we'll spend alot of time at in the days to come.

The morning routine was to pump water for the day's washing and bathing needs

A cliche jump in the air shot. That was like the 16th attempt.

Watching our first sunrise at the fields. That was about 5am in the morning.

Cambodia is one of the flattest countires i've seen. The horizon just goes on and on and onnnnn everywhere.

By 530am, it's so bright it felt like 8am. The whole sense of time became so distorted. And for the first couple of days, time crept by so slowly almost as if the day wouldn't end.

Award winning

We love to squeeze.

And we love the heat.

Another morning watching the sunrise. This time our driver was thoughtful enough to bring us to some place new.

But alas, it was cloudy.

The first weekend. We had a short getaway to Phnom Penh, which is only about 4 hour's drive away on a bumpy road. Damn near. Anyway, this pic was taken outside the only airconditioned shopping centre in Phnom Penh. (and probably the only airconditioned public place). Like they say in the army, you can do whatever you want, just dont get caught. If not shame shame.

We had dinner at this meaningful place called Friends restaurant. Basically, it's opened by this organisation (mith samlanh) that aims to take children off the streets by providing them training and jobs (in this case, it's cooks and waiters). The food is good and reasonably priced. Decors cool too. Try it if you happen to be in town.

Support local booze. Hey, who bought the heineken!?

Happy birthday bernard. Hope you liked our barcardi coke condom :)

This place, is full of educational value laden, thought provoking articles, and skulls.

Back at the village. Every morning a group of us will go to the nearby market about 20min drive away to buy the day's groceries. The pork noodles there is shiokass. So is the ice coffee. So is the soya bean. So is the green bean paste deep fried stuff.

What is there to do, but to read and to play with the kids?

Cooking has never been more fun

Primary school abstract arts class aka murder scene appreciation session.

Awww. Sweet.

Watching sunrise became our official morning pastime

After seeing these, I'm sure you'll understand why.

I can sit down here and read whole day long

Or talk, thats what we did.

This is life. Simple. The way i like it.

This patch beside the kitchen is the smoking point, laundry yard, and the official gossip monger station

We dug some wells, played some mud

Singapore's XI vs Cambodian XI. Heh we won 6-2.

Not bad at all

Knn. So old still act cute. She's only 39 by the way.

Ok, here are some of my favourite kids. Meet Ah Chim. One hardy boy. Never cries. Likes to bury his dick in the sand and sometimes pees at our doorstep. Usually half naked or naked.

Ah Kan (L) and Chamran. Naughtiest kids in the block. Chamran has a habit of whacking you in the groin when you're most vulnerable (like when you're taking photos or carrying some other kid) then run off to the nearest sympathetic girl's arms for protection. Small bastard has got a cute face irresistible to most.

Wandara. Here, he's trying very hard to wink. Tsk.

Wandara again with martin's damned balloons. He's a cry baby. Wuss.

Everybody's favourite girl rina and her crush sarl.

Munay

Tengli! He's my favourite. Damn cute lah.

Shit i forgot his name already. I'll just call him derick phong. But he's cute too lah. Oh i forgot to mention that these pics are priceless, because the kids rarely smile when they take pictures.

See? An all stone faced Sports day

Last day in school.

Little toad for you?

Last night at the village. Everybody was having a photo taking frenzy. And alot of random kids we havent seen before start turning up asking for freebies. Errr.. okkkayy.

Goodbye village chan. A place that lacks creature comforts, but the place to get away from it all, from you.

Hello Siem Reap. Sunrise AGAIN? But this is Angkor Wat, so it's different.

Love this. Acting in solitude.

The mother of all trees. No, make that the great grandmother.

We went on this trip to a floating village. Instead of grass huts, it was floating grass huts.

It was quite an experience. The lake water reminds me of Batu Apoi.

A windy experience.

Siem Reap is much more tourist friendly compared to Phnom Penh. Alot of posh 5 star fullerton style hotels and posh restaurants. Dinner at this slick cafe called blue pumpkin (but it's all white inside). AIR CONDITIONED. Enough said. The night before, we tried out a highly rated restaurant red piano, which only turned out to be so so.

Inside it is all white, complete with sofas, comfy cushions and breakfast in bed tables.

And i realise how easy it is to spot a Singaporean in a foreign land. The way we dress, the way we talk and the way we behave. It's sooo tell tale.

For once, our watering hole is no longer the well.

We missed mambo.

Oh i wanna get a canon camera! They have this colour highlighting function thats so damn cool alright.

Dead fish towers. Where they dont serve dogs, cats, rats and wrms (i guess they meant worms). Good food and a chance to feed some crocs for 50 cents. Too bad i was down with diarrhoea.

A 12 hour bus ride to Ho Chi Minh City which turned out to be 15 hours. Damned po chai pills aren't workingggg.

And finally, a whole world of difference in vietnam. Once we crossed the border, we dont see grass huts not more. The roads are (slightly)smoother, less dusty and in place of grass huts brick houses with messed up electric wiring. But at least there's electricity.

Indeed. Gives you strong bones!

At the overated Ben Thanh market. Overrated and overpriced.

Notre Dame Cathedral, with a few pretty flowers.

You won't want to drive there. You ought to get a finisher's medal for crossing the road and surviving. According to wikitravel: Traffic flows in a continuous, noisy stream, and traffic signals appear to be largely "advisory". Crossing roads is therefore a challenge for Westerners used to traffic lights. The trick is to follow the Vietnamese - step confidently out into the road and cross at a slow but steady pace. Trust that the traffic will flow miraculously around you, and it (probably) will.