Cambodia - The Kingdom of Wonder

Monday, 8 November 2010

My Vietnam assessment experience- Oxfam East Asia blogs

My Blogs about Vietnam Experience is published on Oxfam East Asia blogs http://www.oxfamblogs.org/eastasia/?p=831

Wednesday, 3 November 2010

Vietnam WASH-Needs Assessment first 2 days

This is my first trip to Vietnam.. excited to see how the development took after 1975 and especially wanted to look at the most successful economic mode's ground impact, especially in central province.

26/10/10

It was normal tropical day, bit hot, brighter sunshine when i left Phnom Penh at 3:00 PM arrived 7:00 in Hanoi.. The airport is bit far from city [35 km] and it takes and hr and half to reach to central hanoi..

comfortably arrived in a nice Hotel [Hotel Ariva Eden] close to Vincom Tower and close to Oxfam office.

Wanted to have a look around the area.. so got down and walked around the vicinity.. found many "Cafe" where i could see young boys and girls sitting/ chating.. enjoying cigarette and tea/coffee.. it was fun.. to walk .. temperature was lowering down and making the walk pleasant..

Of course we notice the most are motor-bikes .. this country is flooded with mobike :) , parked at every where pedestrian can walk.. so the most ignored are pedestrian.. people are in hurry.. they dont respect pedestrians at all:) well i m sure we Asian can mange this as we have always seen crowded roads with almost every one in hurry to reach somewhere :)!!

the next day was briefing at office, bit of induction and going to airport at 2:30 to start journey to provinces.

Suddenly in the early morning i realise chilling cold !! sneak under my think blanket and waited my alarm to ring.. It was very cold morning with foggy weather... hada v.good breakfast in the hotel and started walking to office [it is only 10 min walk]....

the moment i step down the hotel.. i was taken on storm by chilling cold wind!! it was too cold!!!

and I was unprepared .. just have had oxfam sleeveless jacket:) ...

I was interoduced to my team Dung and toan.. two young and enthu people.. :)

We started 2:30 pm to go to airport!! the weather was chilling cold.. wind on top of it making it more worse.. and i was in one small jacket.. my collegue [dung -- pronounced "Zoom"] was bit more prepared.. as she has house near by she brought jacket and sweater etc..

well we reached airport.. queued up for check in... the queue was not moving at all!!! finally after 10 min. Vietnam Airlines lady came in and announced that the weather in Ha Tinh is not good, it is heavily raining and there is no ground clearance for aircraft.. so pl. wait.... we moved back.. found a good place to sit.. dung went around for a walk and buy some fruits etc.. she came back and i gave her the fort.. thought i should walk a bit and look in to situation,.... the computer showing Vinh city was blank !! no people around check-in counter.. i was curious.. finally spotted a staff in VNA.. she [in broken english] explained that flight is cancelled!!

I said what????

I walked back to Dung.. explained her situation.. she double checked!! and confirmed that BAD news is true!! I called Viet / Provas and explained the situation.. Viet promised me to get both of us on train [6 hrs journey] !!! We get in to taxi and started.. journey back to office....

finally we got train ticket confirmed... we still had some time... so Dung and I went to VINCOM shopping mall and took dinner there..

----

Finally it was time to go to Railway station.. not far from office.. we arrived on time.. the departure was 9:30 PM.. we found our compartment.. the train was not much different then what we have in india.. old, smelly , dusty !!! even if it was second class A/c compartment.. :) The toilets were extremely dirty.. ..

well I had top most birth and the space was so limited that one cannot sit.. so I pulled blanket ans said good night to dung .. she was sleepy too.. the train A/c was too cold!! so as the weather..

fortunately the blanket was ok so i slept.. i knew that we will reach at 3:30 so adjusted alarm 3:15... the train was bit slow [as usual]... i woke up around 2:00.. seems train was not moving.. slept again.. woke up at 3:15... no sign of station.. try to wake Dung up and ..she opened her one eye stared at window and told me that we have not yet arrived but was not able to tell me how far we are from.. and she slept again!!! i thought.. well what ever.. let me sleep again too.. so tried hard.. could not succeed .. so kept looking out side of window.. it was dark dark!! finally 5:45 the train stopped.. i asked the guy on middle birth and he confirmed it is "vinh city"!! wow!! i started collecting my lugguge .. dung woke up but still bit sleepy and slow.. so i gave her instructions that i am going ahead.... she followed...

it was a small station.. most of the people got down at Vnh city.. we went out.. Oxfam driver was waiting for us...

finally we set !! i was too tired due to shortfall in my sleep quota for 2 nights.. thought I will sleep.. but the moment we moved on high-way.. i was completely carried away by the sceneries out side... it was amazingly beautiful ..we crossed Lam river.. and it was the most beautiful and refreshing scene.. a big river and mountains !! a cold and foggy morning!!!

I wanted to get coffee or tea.. Dung was sleepy so she drifted off!! i was enjoying mountainous ride... one side river and one side mountain..

finally 7:50 we reached to Huong Khe district.. the hotel.. i had to call Toan who was waiting for us... he came down.. welcomed us.. and told me that he has fixed up meeting with district authority [vice chairman and directors] at district centre.. so we had 10 min time to get ready for meeting.. I wanted to have tea.. .but no time..

we entered DC.. the vice chairman welcomed us... called up on other officials..

it was a good meeting.. we got some pieces of information on WASH.. and surprisingly we found that we were the first team to do WASH assessment.

we came to know that "father front land" [organisation] is coordinating the response .. so went up stair and met vice chairman, PH director and other office bearers..

our formal meeting lasted short, at the same time.. a policeman came to us and nominated himself to join us for assessment for my protection as i am a foreigner :) I was not comfortable but well this is how business is done here.. so accepted his help :)

---

we started for first commune called Phoung Dien..

----

finally at 10.00

vietnam assessment Oct2010

Read more about Vietnam Flood Assessment:

http://www.oxfamblogs.org/eastasia/?p=831

Thursday, 21 October 2010

Hilarious notes from web server

few days back I was trying to log in to my twitter account and this is what I got::

I guess human kind have humanized the machine :)

Wednesday, 20 October 2010

My picture live in Warsaw


	Hi Manish, Congratulations! Your image has been chosen to be projected in Warsaw

	YOUR DATE AND TIME FOR PROJECTION IS:
	Warsaw 22/10/10 20:57

	Your moment of fame On 22/10/10 at 20:57, your picture will be projected in the following location: Palace Of Culture And Science, Warsaw. Why not watch yourself projected live? Either bring some friends to make a night of it in Warsaw or watch your projection live online. Please keep in mind that the date & time above are based on the location of the projection, which may differ from your time zone. To check what time it is for you, go to www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html. View live projection

About 2010 © Copyright Aviva Privacy Terms & Conditions

Sunday, 15 November 2009

Kohkong and Siahnuak ville visit

It was all of a sudden program to visit Kohkong and Siahnukville both seaside in Cambodia during the water festival.

Until I get on one of my colleague's sister's[Cheata] friend car I didnt know the people with whom i am going.. I was introduced to Bernard [a guy who is working in UN] and Vanna [Tuk Tuk driver and guide]. so we are 4 people going to a destination which is very famous tourist spots.

[Manish, Cheata and Vanna]

[Cheata, Manish, Vanna and bernard]

Our journey started 7:00 am.. Phnom Penh [PP] traffic is horrible always so we took 35 minute to come out of PP.. The land scape on both the sides of road is mind blowing..we were crossing small river lets and greenery around..

Bernard [french guy] is a nice guy who is working on "khmer rouge" investigation and is having lots of nice story to talk. Vanna is very interesting khmer guy who has gathered good command over English as well got some good knowledge of different part of cambodia/ world.

[Bernard]

Cheata is a nice lady working with bernard in the same UN office did her studies in France [6 years] and she is a notary.. she has alot to talk to bur she felt more comfortable to talk in french so she switched to franch more often and bernard has to translate for me and vanna..

bernard volunteered to drive his car with one broken finger in right hand.

We talked alot about variety of topics on the way... we bought kites to fly on beach....

since morning.. we were really wondering . no idea where we are heading.... .... We reached to a nice place "mangrove jungle" at Kohkong.. we decided to take a boat ride thru jungle to small island... it was really fun.. the sun was too hot but the water was cool!!! it was giving us nice cool breeze ..... we had 1.5 hrs ride... by then it was already 3:00 PM...

we started inquiring about the place to stay in kohkong.. Bernard was having contacts... we used all .. the sad news was no place was empty... we decided to try our luck.. we drove over bridge.. we reached to Thailand border.. where the patch of land is a "free zone".... when we stop our car I saw mind blowing building.. it was better then palace... it was a 5star hotel... i knew it was going to be very costly.. we still tried.. they said 55 USD/night.. not bad compared to the class.. .. still there is no point in spending too much ... so we decided to go to another hotel next to it.... same case..... ... we were almost ready to spend 55..... but we thought lets give one more try.. we took turn.. 100 mt down the 5star there was a guest house.. and surprisingly we got 7 USD/night a room.. of course there was no aircondition.. the room were without windows...... fortunately they has exhaust.. :) it was definitely horrible ... so we decided to stay there one night and find another place next day.. bernard and cheata decided to go for swimming 6 am.. i decided to stay in bed for long.. i promised them to join for break fast..

It was late evening.. we wanted to touch he beach... we drove long to reach the beach.. it was almost dark.. most of the people have left.. we could see some some people walking on beach.. sun was going down... it was beautiful seen.. the sky was red ......

we flew kites.. we spend 15-20 min. and then sun set and it was dark... we left the beach and decided to nourish us with rich food..

we reach to the sea side seafood restaurant.. we had fantastic dinner.. we really enjoyed it.. we were too tired... we went to guests house and took some rest.. the 5star hotel had a casino and a night club.. we were excited to visit.... we got ready and reach there.. there was a big casino place... but no night club...and we also came to know there is no night club in vicinity either..... we got dis-hearted .. we came back.. we decided to go to another small place on beach were we could see some stalls.. most of them closed... we wanted to go to karaoke place... ... we walked.. but karaoke was almost closed.... we decided to go back.. cheata suggested to sit on beach for a while and talk.. bernard and I agreed ... we set there and talked for a while..... we came back

We had a nice breakfast.. ...we then decided to visit Vanna's uncle place and to see a patch of land.. bernard was interested to buy... it was a nice place... just on beach..... around 70000 USD. [35 mt x 100 mt].. we decided to go to safari world.. a park in Kohkong.. we wanted to see dolphin show.. but it was not in schedule.. the guard suggested to go to "crocodile show".. we rushed..... it was just started....

mind blowing.. stunning show.... i missed my heart beats many time....

there were 3 crocodile .. and 3 people in the ring.. 2 young boys and 1 girl... they were playing with croc.. two giant crock... they were pulling and pushing them... the local commentary was going on... i didnt understand but it was kind of making more exciting.. the boys put the hand [palm] in the mouth of croc.. and a swift of second he took it out before croc bite... i could hear solid sound of bite.. very hard... :).... he did it 3 times....

then the tempo was built up.... they announced that boys will put their head in the mouth of corc.... stunning... complete silence... in crowed.. hundreds of people were watching this show..... boys put the head in the mouth... my goodness!!!... then the girl.. then the boy ....... they did it thrice......

the height was when they announced that girl will put her hand in croc's mouth.. i could not stand anymore.. i walked away... to me it was complete inhuman.. i felt i should not encourage this kind of things... anways.. i could not do anything other then walking away....

-------------

finally we decided to drive to sianukville.. a famous beach in cambodia.. we reach there at 5:00 pm... we met one of the friends of bernard.. they were all french speaking.. so i enjoyed my silence for 45/60 min..

we then came to queen hill resort.. nice wooden bungalows.. i had some stomach pain.. ... we rented bunglows @ 25 USD/night...

Vanna's cousin had arranged barbecue but because of my stomach pain i excluded myself and decided to sleep for a while...

bernard and cheata came back at around 9:30.. they picked me up and we went to a nice night club.. Utopia..they had nice music.. the club was full of foreigners [known as "barang" in local language] and locals .. .. we enjoyed dancing ... 4 of us danced like hell till 1:30... we drove back and we saw another club.. we decided to join that too.. we danced again..... total fun till 2:30... came back...

morning plan was to go for swimming but bernard and cheata were not sure when /where... i slept well.. i was damn sure to go for swimming in the morning. so went on beach at around 6:45 am..

wowwww....... what a beach.. full of white send... nice shallow water... cool one.... i really went mad.... i swam for almost 1 hr.. and i saw bernard and cheata coming.. they were not in a mood to swim.. cheata took walk... bernard joined me for swiming for 5 min and we decided to go for breakfast....

The beach had series of restaurent on one side where we can find any sort of breakfast.. local, khmer, intercontinental.. we went for inter continental BF.. very good after 1 hr of swimming... then we enjoyed sun bath for quite some time.....

cheeata was busy talking to bernard in french and i was enjoying my favourite thing.. observing people.. i saw local vendors selling fruit, shawl, wrist belt, kitchen, bangles.... hell lot of items.. i saw few families.. enjoying holidays... saw kids enjoying swimming and making fun with sand and water...... saw people /kids enjoying banana boat rides.. it was fantastic morning..

we came back.. we checked out.... we went on sea side .. did kite flying for some time.... ... we went to local market for buying some items... especially cheata wanted to buy some gift for her family.... we came to a big market... she walked straight to a crab shop.. .. my god.. so many crabs tied with piece of cloth kept in water trays..... she bought kilo of crab... 6 usd/kilo.. they were alive..... she decided to boil them up as we had 4-5 hrs journey back.... we went to a shop were they helped her boiling... the process of boiling was cruel.. the guy pushed knife in the eyes of crabs and rotate ruthlessly .. the crabs shivered for a while and died... then he boiled them up ....

we were then ready to go back to PP....

cheata put the boiled crabs in dickey right behind me.... me and vanna were sitting on back seat.... .. the smell was horrible... we could not bear it... we opened the window.... some what relaxing...... still the whole car was full of boiled crab smell.. :)

we came back around 7:45 PM.. it was a fantastic journey..

I found good friends like bernard, vanna and cheata.. especially bernard is a real good person..I liked him much.

Monday, 9 November 2009

Genocide museum- Toul Sleng Museum Cambodia

I visited genocide museum the local name is Toul sleng museum. which is basically a School which was concerted in prison during Khmer Rouge time 1975 -1979.

The number of prisoners tortured and killed is unknown but some rough estimate is 20000. The school is having 4 buildings A B C and D [earlier known as S.21 [Security post 21]] where high officials, govt., teachers, doctors, engineers were brought in tortured and killed.

The most inhuman act ever been documented. There is alot written on museum and number of photographs are posted on net.

I am touched alot by the evidence and trying to paste some horrific pictures over here; the only purpose is to bring the light to the most inhuman regime ever existed.

The trial of Khmer rouge rulers is still under way ; they are still not convicted; 3 out of 2 especially "pol pot" is dead.