Happy Merry Christmas

Christmas isn't celebrated in Cambodia, so for us December 25th was just a normal working day.

On the other hand, Cambodians love the idea of family get togethers and presents, to say nothing of decorations and flashing lights, so on the evening of Christmas Day, Phnom Penh turned into an even bigger traffic jam than normal as everyone went off to visit each other. And throughout the Christmas period, our Khmer friends, colleagues and often even total strangers regularly greeted us with the phrase "Happy Merry Christmas". In fact, with the typical Khmer accent, what they normally said was "Happy Marry Christmas". Perhaps they meant it: the celebrations did look just like those they have for weddings.

And what did we do over the period (apart from work)? Well, we decorated the appartment with cards and little ornaments that we bought from a local community support organisation that makes them and, thanks to our daughter Kate, we were even able to include a tree.

We had Christmas Dinner the Sunday before with a few friends round at the apartment of our friend and near neighbour (and private medical adviser) Phil. Multiple courses, including the starter, seen below, of avocado filled with prawns. They were fantastic: you just can't get either ingredient of that quality in the frozen Northlands. Party poppers and crackers were also provided.

There then followed a significant feast. Next was roast chicken, stuffing, mashed potatos and gravy. Amazingly, the girls had even found brussels sprouts to go with it; however, this being the tropics, they were the size of apples. Delicious, though (if you like brussels, that is...) After that, it was steamed salmon (a whole one) with roasted veg. By this time, we were beginning to bloat. But we weren't done. Next was a Christmas Pud that Phil had brought back from UK. Sadly, every time he lit it, the ceiling fans blew it out again. Not a typical UK Christmas problem!

Phil looks pensive as Vic reviews what happens when the party poppers hit the fan.

We even had a Christmas tree - OK, it was a pineapple - and secret Santa presents. All of this in the tropical heat. Even though it's the cool season here, the daytime temperature is still around 30 degrees.

One of Christmas's scarier moments: Santa (Helen) deciding whether Leonie has been naughty or nice and which one means she's more likely to get a present.

But we still weren't done eating! Last, but not least, was chocolate cake. Done more in a spirit of triumph that we had got the oven working more or less properly than any seasonal one, it was something of a surprise that nobody burst after eating it on top of everything else.

The Norman Bates moment below is more along the lines of "not more food!" than "take that, Santa", despite the appearances.

Then it was games, chat, laughter and a small glass of sherry (honest, nothing more, we promise) and that was that. Until Christmas Day, of course, when we went out for another Christmas Dinner at a local restaurant. This being Cambodia, though, the menu included such traditional Christmas fare as curried lamb chops and squid cooked with green peppercorns. Oh well, you can't have everything.

And to close, a couple of pictures for those of you enjoying the balmy days of January back in the UK. Our orchids are flowering again.

VSO is a leading development charity with almost 1,500 skilled professionals currently working in over 34 countries. VSO's unique approach to international development is founded on volunteers, working together and with local communities to fight poverty and achieve lasting change. If you want to learn more about VSO, please visit www.vso.org.uk

War and Peace

Many of you will have seen the news in recent months about the border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, which erupted into armed clashes in October. The argument is about land around the Preah Vihear temple: acknowledged by the UN to be in Cambodian territory since the 1960s, this hasn't stopped Thailand from apparently ignoring all the official maps that go back to the turn of the last century, various UN rulings, and the actual geography, and getting out its crayons and drawing its own maps of the area which, surprise surprise, show that it has really been in Thailand all along. Oh, and all those Cambodian soldiers that moved in as a response to the deployment of the Thai army are therefore occupying Thai territory. Charles Dickens's Uriah Heep was wrong: it doesn't take two to make an argument.

As you will have seen from the more recent news from Bangkok, this rather pathetic and, sadly, probably predictable attempt by the Thai government of the time to distract attention away from internal problems by manufacturing an external threat didn't work. However, because of the continuing political problems in Thailand, the situation still remains unresolved. The disputed area remains heavily militarised, with both armies well entrenched and, occasionally, wandering into each other's territory for a little bit of a toe-to-toe. Not surprisingly, therefore, the area is completely closed to outsiders. The British Embassy also strongly advises against attempting to travel to or enter the region, which is also one of the most remote bits of Cambodia. But did this stop Perry? Of course it didn't.

However, in my defence m'lud, I should probably point out that I was there on official Cambodian government business. At the beginning of November, the Ministry where I work decided that it should show solidarity with the soldiers manning the border by taking them gifts of food. For us, that meant fish. Our Director General (minister equivalent) decided that the senior staff should take a convoy of vehicles up to the temple site to deliver the goodies; would I like to come as part of the team? Since I was already going to be half way there, working in Siem Reap that week, and since the temple complex is reputed to be one of the most spectacular sights in South East Asia (it's just been made a UNESCO World Heritage site, which is probably what led to the initial Temple Envy from Thailand), and since the DG knows about my mis-spent youth in uniform, there could only be one answer. So at 4.30 a.m. on Saturday 8th November, the convoy set out from Siem Reap. It wasn't nearly early enough, as the rest of the day would show.

First, let's just see where we're talking about. The map below shows the location of the temple complex. It's right up in the far North of the country but, unfortunately, there's no direct road. The red line shows the route you have to follow; from Siem Reap up to Anlong Veng is a dirt road. Once you get past Anlong Veng, even the dirt stops and the roads are just mud. And, like all Cambodian roads, they're not straight: indeed, there are times when you are pointing in completely the wrong direction. So, all in all, the journey took a while. Six and a half hours. In a 4-wheel drive pick-up truck.



The convoy heads North.



When we arrived, the first thing that happened was a VIP briefing from the commanding General of the defences. This General also happened to be the deputy commander of prime minister Hun Sen's bodyguard, so it was clear the Cambodians were taking the situation seriously. The unexpected arrival of a foreigner in the command post didn't seem to phase him too much, though, especially once the DG explained who I was. Not sure it would have gone quite like that in my own days in uniform!



After the briefing, it was time to deliver the goodies. In the picture below, the DG shakes hands with the General. Picture taken by the next in line!



And here's the fish: fresh, dried, smoked, salted and fermented. The fermented fish - which I may have commented on before - is to be found in the old 5-gallon paint tins. Cambodians absolutely love it: personally, I'd rather have the paint.

Then it was time to go on up past the defences (some of which had seen rather better days) to the top of the incredibly steep hill where the temple ruins are.



At the top, we were met by the wonderful sign below. Please zoom in and read the bottom line - thank you, France.



Then another inevitable team piccy, before we all started wandering around the mine-free site (despite French grammar).



The ruins were quite similar in style and scale to those at the Angkor complex that we went to earlier in the year. Preah Vihear, though, achieves the same extraordinary magnificence at the top of an almost unscaleable precipice.



Despite their exposure for many centuries, the ruins are amazingly well preserved.

The carvings are less ornate than Angkor Wat, but still impressive for the 11th century: a time when our own ancestors were making most of their own buildings out of straw and cowpats.



The presence of the soldiers didn't disturb the tranquility and magnificence too much at all. I'm also getting quite used to the sight of AK-47s, which probably helps.



And, from the top of the hill, you can look down into Thailand. Real, genuine Thailand, not the bit of someone else's country they're trying to nick.



And now, as the song goes, we come to the tragic bit. I can't show you the scenes looking down from the top of the steps at the Thai emplacements, or the delicious picnic lunch we later had at Anlong Veng, last headquarters of the Khmer Rouge (boy, was that a weird feeling) because, just after the last photo above, it started to pour down with rain, so I made a dash for the shelter of the temple ruins. Running down the cobbled path went well and I was quite pleased by my surefootedness - I can still keep up with the soldiers. But pride cometh before a fall and so I converted my headlong trajectory down the path into a ballistic one up the steps into the shelter of the temple doorway. Luckily for me, a combination of the ground and the camera broke my fall.

Unfortunately, dropping a 100 kg weight onto a camera that is then pressed through two inches of water onto a solid block of granite apparently invalidates the manufacturer's warranty. So instead of showing you the creepy aura and abject poverty of Anlong Veng - where the Khmer Rouge kept on fighting right up until Pol Pot's not-before-time death in 1998, or scenes from the thrilling 13-hour drive back to Phnom Penh, I'll close with a few shots taken a couple of days earlier of what life in Cambodia should really be like.



I should probably point out that this certainly wasn't a VSO-sponsored trip. In fact, I suspect they wouldn't have been too happy about it at the time. No point hiding it, though: like everything else official in Cambodia, our visit was filmed. And broadcast on the 7 o'clock news the next day. At least it only showed me sitting in the briefing and nodding sagely and not the bit where the General asked me for my own personal views on the overall situation. That took some quick tap-dancing!

On the other hand, my job is to work with the people of Cambodia and it seemed (and still seems) important to me to show solidarity with them - rough and smooth alike. It was a heck of a trip.

VSO is a leading development charity with almost 1,500 skilled professionals currently working in over 34 countries. VSO's unique approach to international development is founded on volunteers, working together and with local communities to fight poverty and achieve lasting change. If you want to learn more about VSO, please visit http://www.vso.org.uk/