Memories of Christmas past in Southeast Asia

Thinking about Christmas without snow and again living in Southeast Asia brought back memories of Christmases I have spend in this part of the world.

Christmas 1973 I was in Udorn, Thailand as part of an American fighter squadron located on the Royal Thai Airbase. A large percentage of the squadron had gone home for Christmas; those of us who were there celebrated Christmas. We looked around for Rudolph and his reindeer friends and their sleigh but they were in other parts of the world. OK, we can make do with what we have here, hefty water buffalo and wooden carts.

We rented six water buffalo and three carts, told the farmers what when on the air base they had to clean up what the water buffalo left behind. The carts arrived on Christmas Eve we loaded into the carts and headed off to regale the base with Christmas carols.

First stop the nurse's quarters, then the base commander's home. As we traveled from place to place I saw the farmer's children keeping to our bargain. When a water buffalo would leave something behind, one of the children would bend over the pile and sweep it off to the side or the road with his hands.

On Christmas day we had a party in our recreation room. The squadron commander ordered two large bowls of drink bloody marries and screwdrivers. We all brought our Christmas goodies sent from home and had a very nice spread.

Three years later I spend Christmas in the Philippines at Clark AFB, where I rented a house off base. Udorn was at the end of the Southeast Asia supply line, Clark was the beginning. When it came Christmas we could get just about anything, we could even purchase a real Christmas tree. I decided I would go native.

Two weekends before Christmas I took my four-wheel-drive out into the jungle, cut a banana tree, tied it on top and took it home. A normal Christmas tree has a hard wooden trunk; a banana tree has a very soft trunk, not suitable for a Christmas tree stand. What to do?

I pounded a nail in the ceiling, tied a piece of monofilament fishing line to the nail, stood the banana tree up and tied the fishing line around the tree just below the leaves. I hung it so it would stand in a bucket of water, decorated it with some small flashing lights and Pilipino Christmas tree.

Christmas in Cambodia

On Christmas day the high temperature was about 31 Celsius (88 Fahrenheit) so No Snow. I have spent Christmas in places where it was not winter in December (Thailand, Philippines and Texas) for me it doesn't seem like Christmas without cold and snow. In Cambodia it catches me off guard when someone tells me Merry Christmas; it is so hot Christmas seem six month away.

The only signs of Christmas are businesses that cater to foreigners, some banks, the western style supermarket and a few hotels. They have a Merry Christmas banner and some have a plastic garland in the shape of a Christmas tree on the inside of their front doors.

The best one is the gigantic Santa Claus standing in front of the computer store.

On Christmas Eve I was invited to a party at a friend's flat. It was a great party; most of the people were VSO volunteers. The flat was decorated with candles and Christmas lights. The table was piled high with goodies from local Cambodian treats to English puddings. After riding home and parking my moto I passed a parking attendant with a Santa's hat, it really looked out of place.

On Christmas day I awoke early and found my present to myself next to my computer, a new pair of reading glasses. For lunch I joined the group from last evening at a very nice Cambodian restaurant. Two of the women were showing off the fashions that they had made for the occasion. One woman said the dress (material and labor) cost $16.A real Christmas present at that price.

Quite a day in Morocco, Switzerland and Cambodia – Thank you technology

At 06:00 in the morning my phone beeped, a text message from Switzerland. The message said PLEASE CALL ME. I put the time and all capitals together that this was not a social how-are-you-doing call. Several possible problems went through my head in a flash.

I turned on the computer and waited for it to start and more possible bad things went through my head. What in the world could it be, Anita is in Switzerland, her mother is in the USA, and I am in Cambodia what in the world was going on?

Still half asleep I called Anita on Skype. After a very quick hello, she asked if I had read an e-mail and I said no. She explained that the house we own together in Fez, Morocco had no electricity and no water because the government had come by and removed the meters.

It took me a moment to flush all the worst-case scenarios out of my cobweb-filled head before I realized this situation was not nearly as bad as those I had conjured up.

Every year just before Fez fills up for the Christmas tourist season the government goes around and try to shut down places presumed to be illegal guest houses. The problem is simple: our house in Fez must be occupied, to prevent burglaries. We have a friend who is restoring his own house in the medina (old city) staying in ours and paying utilities. We do not run a guest house, but once again we have been caught up in a seasonal drama.

Living area in our house in Fez click to enlarge

Ceiling and carved plaster click to enlarge

So we do not have electricity or water in the house and Anita is in Europe and I am in Cambodia. How do we handle this? Time to turn to technology! First is Skype to contact Anita and then two people in Fez. Then to e-mail to send messages to other friends to ask what is happening in Fez. Finally I turn to somewhat older technology, the cell phone, and call our friend who is staying in the house.

View into the sleeping salon click to enlarge

Detail of the 17^th century carved plaster click to enlarge

After a few more calls and e-mails between continents and widely separated time zones, we find that the problem has been resolved, utilities are being restored to our house. I am amazed what can be done long distance with technology.

It finally happened

I was in the market and purchased 10 eggs and picked them up in the thin plastic sack. I am always carefully and put the eggs in the outside pocket of my back pack and today put them on top of the squid and then continued shopping.

I got home and started unpacking; when I opened the outside pocket of my backpack I noticed something was wet and a bit slimy. Oh oh, one of the eggs had broken. I don't know if the egg was checked when I purchased it or if it was hit while in the backpack but I had a little cleanup to do. Where is the cleanup crew when you need them?

Metal chopsticks are tricky

My colleague Rishi recommended a Korean restaurant about a kilometer from work. He told me that for $5.00 there was a lot of food. I didn't have breakfast and thought it would be a good day to check it out.

I drove up and looked at the building "this does not look like a restaurant", but it was. There must be other businesses and a home in the house. The restaurant room is small with three tables. In this restaurant silverware, chopsticks and spoons are in a small wooden box, not standing in hot water like in a Cambodian restaurant. The waitress brought me a cold wet towel and a plastic bottle with water that had been in the freezer.

The menu had a smattering of English and pictures, I pointed to a rib looking meat dish. I was not sure of the meat, pork, beef or dog.

Shortly the appetizer dishes arrived, an array of kimchi looking dishes. I opened the wooden box and selected a pair of metal chopsticks. I have used bamboo and plastic chopsticks but never metal ones. These were less than 1/3 the diameter of any others I have used. It took some getting accustomed to. I could not hold them the way I normally hold plastic or bamboo chopsticks. After five minutes was up and eating.

The appetizers were very good with the exception of the tofu, it was a bit oily and the tofu did not have much flavor.

As I was savoring the appetizers the main dish arrived. A small plate of ribs with meat attached and a plate of salad, cabbage, lettuce and long green peppers. I was still enjoying the appetizers as the waitress departed, few minutes later she came back with a gigantic industrial kitchen scissor. She cut the meat off of the bones and snipped it into large bite size pieces. That was great; my only tools were metal chopsticks and a spoon.

The meat, still not sure of the origin, was very tasty and tender, so that leaves out beef, I know it was not chicken or fish so that leave pork or dog. The ribs were too small for a large hog it is possible that it was a piglet's.

I will definitely be going back to try other dishes.

I wanted the smiley cup

In Cambodia silverware, plates, cups do not always match, sometimes they are very nice and other times they are old plastic. This morning at a breakfast restaurant I had my normal rice with pork. The woman brought me a cup with a straw and then poured the tea.

I am not sure why, it may be sanitation, but there is almost always a straw in a cup. Usually the straw only comes ½ inch (1 cm) above the cut. This morning I got a longer straw. I

I received a plain cup but saw smiley face cups, I wanted one of the smiley face cups, not really. These are an example of what some of the restaurant ware is in Cambodia.

The woman went back to tending fish on the grill. Here banana leaves are not used as decoration; they are used in the cooking process and as plates. Banana leaves are placed on the grill, I assume to keep the fish for sticking to the grill and the fish is fried on top of the leave.

Camera care - sensor cleaning

Single lens reflex digital cameras can get dust on the sensor and that shows up on the photos. I was processing photos and found dust spots on the sensor of my Nikon D100. There are two ways to remove the dust, the easiest is to open up the camera and blow the dust off. After blowing it off with a bulb blower I took a photo against a clean background and found that there were still spots.

The next method is to take a sensor cleaning solution on a delicate swab and delicately clean the sensor. If you scratch the sensor the camera is ruined. The sensor cleaning solution I had was so old that it did not evaporate. Now I have more than one or two spots on the sensor, a lot of spots and streaks. I need a new container of sensor cleaning fluid.

Trying to find sensor cleaning fluid in Phnom Penh is difficult, in fact impossible. I tried eight or nine photo shops and did not find any. I was on the way home and passed a pharmacy. I thought "sensor cleaning fluid is basically isopropyl alcohol". I wonder if the pharmacy has a small bottle of isopropyl alcohol. They did and it was 500 Real $0.12. Sensor cleaning fluid is normally very expensive.

Will it work? I put three drops on the swab. That was too much, but it got all but one spot off. Next time I used one drop and was very careful. The test showed it was clean. I was ready to go.

From Kampot to Kep and back home to Phnom Penh

My plan was to stop in Kep and I did want to stop in Kep because the seafood is very good. On my way back to Phnom Penh I took a moto from Kampot to Kep (about 25 km) and had the morning to look around. I had the moto drop me at the crab market which is right on the water. The photo below shows two ladies getting a crab pot ready for the day, they tie it out and when a customer comes along, they pull it in and sell the crabs right out of the pot.

I walked through the market and found my favorite, squid. A small squid barbequed on a stick was $0.50. I wanted to try the fish but after three squid I was full.

I walked about two kilometers to the bus stop and listened to podcasts. The bus finally came along; I did not want to go to sleep worrying that if I did not get off in Phnom Penh I did not know where I would end up.

I enjoy taking photos of people in the bus. The young boy was a great subject, at the bus stop the parking attendant was eating a corn on the cob.

To the Cambodian coast, Kampot

On Thanksgiving Thursday I took a bus to Kampot and Kep. I live about a kilometer from the Soyra bus station. This is a small bus station on a corner of an average street near the Oruseey market, so the area is always crowded. There is not much of a waiting room, it is on the sidewalk outside of the building.

It is about a five hour trip to Kep and Kampot to towns on the Gulf of Siam. On the way the bus has one bus stop. That day the street in front of the bus stop is under construction to things are a little more dusty than normal. This bus stop is similar to the one on the way to Kampong Cham. There are some differences; this one does not have as much room so there are more small vendors carrying there wears. You can see the girl carrying sacks of cut up mango on a stick.

The stop after the rest stop is Kep a very small village on the coast, which was my destination. I usually go to sleep on a moving conveyance. This time was no exception, when I woke I saw a sign for the Kep Lodge, where I had planned to stay. I noticed there were very few people on the bus. The bus kept on going, and there was a sing for Kampot, the next town down the road. Hummm? After a few minutes I got up and asked the driver "Kep" he looked surprised and pointed behind us, I then said "Kampot" he pointed ahead. OK, I guess I will go to Kampot.

Kampot is a slightly larger village about four kilometers from the gulf on a small river. It turned out I made the right choice. There were five or six restaurants and guest houses in Kampot. Kep has a very small selection of upscale guest houses but that is about it.

This was a good time to rest and relax. I watched the sun set and walked around taking photos of some of the vendors.

The next morning I found a moto to take me to Kep.

Kampong Cham rice fields

Gideon my tuktuk driver friend called and told me that the rice was just about to be harvested and the government was starting to rebuild the bamboo bridge. I took a bus to Kampong Cham to photograph rice fields. I arranged with Gideon to meet me at the bus station. I was surprised the bamboo bridge was being rebuilt now because the water in the Mekong is still deep. I thought they would wait until the river went down before rebuilding. We went to the river where we could overlook the bridge site. There was about 100 meters of the bridge started out from the far side. Gideon said that they would finish the bridge in the next two weeks.

We took Gideon's tuktuk to the where I had taken many photos of the rice paddies. A tuktuk is not a bad ride on a smooth road but on the dirt road in the country it is a very different ride. I felt like my head would snap off.

We reached full grown rice, WOW! I did not know how tall rice grew!

It was good timing to photograph the rice, it was just before it turned golden. I tried to take photos of the rice cornels on the top of the stalk. I would get situated with a good background and then the wind would blow. I tried numerous time but never got a good shot.

The family below was headed home at the end of a work day.

We found a young woman harvesting rice that had been blown over by a heavy rain and wind. She was using a typical rice harvesting tool. The tool allows her to pull the rice up and then cut it. She would cut enough for a bundle which is about six inches in diameter, she would then cut just a few strands of the stalk, make this into a small rope and then tie the bundle of rice with the rope. 

Farming rice is a back breaking living, it is planted bent over pushing the shoots into the ground, and it is harvested bent over cutting it off near the ground and then picked up and tied off. After it is bundled, the bundles are taken to a thrashing machine that separates the grain from the stalk.

Orussey Market introduction

For a photo walk I decided to go west young man, I crossed Monivong, a main north south avenue and headed toward the Orussey market. The Orussey market appears to be left over from the French colonial period, it is a well worn six story building with parking on top. From the parking I could see the surrounding area the streets are packed with vendors selling everything from silk to sows ears and sweets.

As I was walking around the market, I saw a lady sitting on the ground, she had a tin try of fish about a meter square, the tray was supported on four bricks. Some of the fish were in pieces. Two fish were still alive. I assume looking at their friend's demise the remaining two were trying to wriggle over the edge. The old woman picked up a large club and whacked one of the fish over the head. The fish continued to wriggle, the tray bent when the woman hit the fish, not really killing it. She attacked the fish several times. I finally moved on, the she and the fish were still going at it.

Across the alley there was a small eel on the ground, I assume it had escaped from a different vendor; now where was it going to go? There was a drain not far away but it would have to cross the foot path. I don't know if it made it to safety.

I was in the market just after noon, things were closing down. I saw a butcher with a rather unique way of keeping the flies off of the meat. She had put a sleeveless t-shirt over the meat hanging on several hooks. 

 

Whatever works. 

Cyclo drivers waiting

Being a cyclo driver must be hard work, I gave it a try when I was first in Phnom Penh. In the off moments, there seem to be a lot of those; they have a comfortable place to take a nap why not.

In the next two of the photos you can see that the parking break or should I say parking stone is set while sleeping. 

When we did a cyclo tour with VSO, it cost $6 for the half day. I am sure that was good money, it looks like the usual distance is quite short.

Juicer

In the USA and Europe you can have a juicer in your kitchen. In Cambodia they use industrial strength juicers to turn sugar cane into a drink. The operator peals the sugar cane and cuts it into about 75 cm lengths. These stand waiting for customers.

When you want a drink, the machine is switched on a stalk of sugar cane is run through the press.

When it comes out the far side it is collected, bent in half and run through the press again. This is repeated until the cane will not go through the press any more, about eight times. Sometimes the cane gets stuck, that is what the big what looks like a ships wheel is for, the leverage to really squeeze the cane through. This also works if there is no electricity.

The juice runs into a collection pan. When the cane is wrung out the juice is poured and served.

The juice is very good, not nearly as sweet as I had expected. 

Street cleaning

In the USA a large machine comes by periodically and sweeps the streets. In Switzerland street sweeping machines are smaller because the streets are narrower. In Cambodia, labor is cheap and streets are swept by hand. In Phnom Penh some of the sweepers have uniforms.

The cart is pulled by hand, no motorized machines like the vacuums used in Brussels.

Picking up the sweeping is in Phnom Penh done very much like in Fez, the sweeper has two thin boards, he builds a pile and then skillfully holds the dirt between the boards while moving it into the cart. In the Fez medina they don't use cats, the streets are too narrow and rough, they use trash donkeys.

Lock it up

When I moved into my apartment my landlord told me I needed a second lock for my moto. The moto comes with a steering wheel (handle bar) lock. With this someone can easily wheel the bike away.

I needed either a lock on the front wheel to keep it from turning or a padlock that kept the large stand in place. The padlock for the large stand would go on the very bottom of the bike which would be hard to put on and take off. I opted for the lock on the front wheel.

I found a shop that had a lock; the young guy tells me $8. Ok, I will look around, that sounds expensive.

There is a moto repair shop every 100 meters in Phnom Penh. I stopped at ten or more, none of them have the lock. I found one that had the lock but they wanted $12. That's way too expensive. I kept looking. I did not know the name for lock either which made things a little harder.

I went back to the fist shop, they young guy was there and his mother. I asked the price, this time it was $12. I should have purchased it when his mother wasn't there. I kept looking.

I finally found a place that would sell the lock and put it on for $10.

Here is a photo of the shop that had the lock, and the boy who put it on.

 

Taking the race photos

My last post was photos from the Water Festival. How did I get the photos? I believe the best way to make a good photo is to be up close so you can connect with your subject. I have also learned if you ask to go into what looks like restricted places you can sometimes get in.

The boat race starts very close to a city water pumping station. There is a walk way around the pumping station that put me out over the boats. This gave me some of the very colorful shots.

Several of the other shots were taken down on the water's edge. The banks of the river are cemented and not very steep so walking down to the edge is relatively easy. 

Where the VSO boat was launched there was a sewage drain, I found an area that was filled with rocks and stood on that, not having to get into the boat.

For the photos of the start of the race I worked my way out onto the construction barge where the announcer was.  I was able to work my way up onto the yellow crane and have a very good overlook. The pontoons were quite stable but when someone went the other way they did roll a little.

You can see from this following photos, this was a working barge, it was littered with junk.

After the barge set, I went back and got onto the tugboat. The tug is on the other side of the barge below.  I would have done that first but there was a long line of people walking over the planks and they were under water.

Tragic end to the Water Festival

Monday night about 10:00 a large crowd was on the bridge from the mainland to an island. The bridge is a short suspension bridge and it began to sway, according to reports, the police fired water cannons at the crowd on the bridge trying to force them to leave the bridge. In the ensuing panic over 300 people were killed, some were crushed and others were electrocuted. The bridge was covered with electric lights and the water from the water cannons possible caused the electrocutions.

One of the operators that works at Digital Divide Data and his wife were on the bridge, they escaped with only minor injuries.

CNN has several articles on the stampede.

I was had been in Kampong Cham photographing rice fields and did not participate in this part of the festival.

Cambodian Water Festival and boat race

While volunteering with VSO I told another volunteer I would photograph the Water Festival boat race, because VSO had a crew paddling one of the long boats. Check this post for photographs of the practice session.

Last Saturday was the race, I went to the VSO office to take the group photo and to the start.

Then we piled into two vehicles and went to the start. This festival is definitely a draw in Phnom Penh, it was early and the crowd was already starting to grow. Each team has a colored t-shirts, with teams in their boats side-by-side the colors made an exciting photography.

The race is run on the Tonle Sap River, which is unique, it switches directions each year about this time. This year there was still a good current and luckily the boats were rowing with the current. There are three types of boats in the race; the boat VSO was racing was a long boat, with a crew of about 55 people. VSO had 36 foreigners, which is a rarity; I did not see any other foreigners as crew members. In fact I only saw a handful of foreign tourists.

The boats race in pairs, they pull onto the river in pairs,

Head for the start point at a slow pace, and when about 50 meters upstream from the start marker they accelerate.

Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to the finish to see the VSO boat finish. When you want a moto, there is never one around.

Here are some boats that were really fighting for position at the end of the race.