History. Restored.

I have restored the second part of a post I made two years ago.

http://crunchyspiders.blogspot.com/2008/03/tired-tired-tired.html

I made the post in earnest, reviewed it in the calmness of the following day, and decided to leave it in place.

However, it became apparent that the post might make things worse, should it be, um, widely read; so it was removed shortly afterwards.

I think two years is long enough: let the truth be told.

And please, let me know what you think.

Dey Kraham slum cleared

In the early hours of the morning last Saturday, 24th January, 1500 families suddenly found themselves homeless.

Dey Kraham (literally: red earth) sits – or rather, sat – on the East side of Phnom Penh, near the National Assembly building and close to the mega casino owned by prime minister Hun Sen. At 2am on Saturday morning, all access routes into and out of the slum were blocked by the police, and heavy machinery was brought into place. At precisely 6am police and demolition workers entered Dey Kraham, using tear gas and flame throwers to disperse angry and frightened residents – many of whom had lived there for up to ten years.

Bulldozers were brought in, to crush the flimsy houses, while the residents scrambled to get clear. In some cases, people refused to leave their homes, and had to be persuaded to get out by NGO workers, moments before the buildings were flattened.

The process was completed by 8:00am.

Workers were paid $10 and were given breakfast and two litres of petrol.

Gecko

"Brrrrrrrrrrr brrrrrrrrrrrr
Gecko
Gecko
Gecko
geckoo
geckooo"

That's what a gecko sounds like. All night.

Knyom Rob

Nath, our translator (and another all-round good egg) has kindly rendered our names into Khmer for us...

What's in a name?

Phnom Penh has a thriving restaurant scene, with a plentiful supply of good Khmer restaurants, and many international restaurants. Among these, are two Korean eateries, calles Seoul and PyongYang.
This has made me wonder how the two of them compare: does the Seoul serve plentiful portions, while the PyongYang offer a meagre plate with a handful of rice? Is there patriotic music and do the waiters insist that the food has never been better? What happens to customers who complain? I do know that the Seoul is a very plush looking and expensive place in comparison to its counterpart.
Oddly enough, Seoul is in the North of the city, and PyongYang is in the south.

How the ferry docks work

This is how our daly commute happens...

Taking a break

Team 3 "the small" has gone home (Hi Bex and Dave: hope you're well) and we are taking a short break and have gone away.

Last time we did this, you may remember that we went to Kratie. This was great, but the seven hour coach journey each way was a bit much. This time, we are staying at Boddhi Tree Del Gusto, which is located in an old colonial era house just South of the central part of town.
There are three of these establishments in the city, and we have now dined in all of them. However, this is the first time that we have stayed in one.
It i very nice, the room is very colonial (French) and the service is friendly. It is just a shame that the only white wine that they have is Chilean chardonnay.
Now, we didn't choose this place because they have Argentinian Torrontes on the winelist, but wine that is actually drinkable (and not chardonnay or merlot) is hard to come by out here, and it certainly influenced us.
Still, it is very nice, and I highly recommnd it as a place to stay, should you find yourself in these parts. Although a mention should be made of the delightful and newly opened Coco Tree, a hundred yards North of Tuol Sleng. Excellent food.

Kreung

Kreung is the basis for most Khmer dishes. It is a spice mix made of the following:

• dried chilli
• galangel
• lemongress
• kaffir leaves
• shallots
• garlic
• shrimp paste

This is all pounded into a fine paste, and then mixed with coconut cream (sometimes).
Generally, the food here is not what you might call highly spicy. It has a balance of spice flavours, which comes from the balance of the kreung. And of course the huge lumps of chilli they can add when daft westerners who equate heat with authenticity, ask for it.