Cambodia for a week!

can you spot the strange-looking monkey that is about to attack from behind the stone pillars? You'd better watch out, this is a vicious kind...

climbing the roots... we visited Angkor Wat for a day, and what a day! (or should I say Wat a day!?) There was so much to see that my little legs could not handle biking around that massive area any more in the hot sun by the end of it! We looked at all the main places (Jo had been before, so knew the most interesting spots), and made it back by nightfall stopping on the way for a burst tire on Jo's bike. Luckily there was a bike-fixer not far from where he broke down, just hanging out on the side of the road waiting for people like us. He changed the inner tube and tire and charged us 6 dollars US for the job, half of which we got back from the rental guy later. Sweet!

 

Monkeys near the temples that were swinging on these roots and branches and jumping off into the water below. This one was tourist-curious...

At the top of the temple on the top of a hill with very very steep steps (not recommended for the elderly or the pregnant), and if it was in NZ, it would have been a health and safety hazard. You couldn't fit your whole foot on a step, so you had to turn it and walk up sideways and hold on at the same time, as each step was about a foot high. Those monks must have been fit!

Can you spot Miriam with the hat on? This is at Angkor Wat itself, late afternoon.

One of the many flights of stairs up to the towers of Angkor Wat.

Monkeys sculpted into the walls

Dusk at Angkor Wat before heading back to Siem Reap via our bicycles, tired and hungry yet happy :)

Riding on the back of Thy's bike to one of the many famous new 'bars' across the new Diamond bridge

Jo, Thy and Morn drinking Angkor beer by the jug and nibbling on tasty cow (there was a carcass rotating behind us), and banana flower dipped in fish sauce. Apparently these guys all used to work together at an internet cafe where Jo used to hang out and they've been friends ever since!

Nearing the end of the evening when many beers had been consumed. L-R: Vissal, Miriam, Morn, Jo, Piseth

Next day at the markets for breakfast... green jelly noodles in coconut milk. There are some weird but delicious desserts to be tried!

Another night of beers with Thy and Sokla.

Our trip to visit Thy's home-village. this is on the ferry that crosses the lower Mekong

Houses on stilts for protection in rainy season, as well as to catch the cooler air flow by being slightly higher up. As you can see it is pretty flooded at the moment. Every afternoon it pours down for a few minutes or a few hours.

We found these chickens newly hatched in a rice-sack under their mum's wings, inside the farmhouse. They now live outside and the unhatched eggs have been eaten for someone's lunch!

Jo and Thy talking on the bridge over the river on the way home. We went this way instead of taking the ferry back. Those clouds don't look too dark yet...

The rain is about to come! And it did! We spent a good half an hour huddled together on the back of Thy's motorbike, trying not to let the heavy rain into our thin ponchos that we bought on the street when we felt the first drops coming. The rain was hard and sore when it hit our face and the road was bumpy with potholes the whole way, so it was a bit of a grueling experience. Needless to say, we enjoyed a warm shower and some hot food when we returned to our guest house in Phnom Penh!

Tacomepai

Miriam and I are back together in Chiang Mai after I came back from Tacomepai on Monday. It's great to have lots of things to share again after doing our own thing for the last two weeks...
I took a lot of photos with my own camera but for some reason my memory cards are playing up and pretend there is nothing on them. Seems like I have to do some serious data recovery when I can get the chance. Meanwhile I have a few photo impressions of my time in Tacomepai courtesy of Mansaku, Gurushabd and Sarah, cheers guys! (P.s. If you don't want these photos on the web let me know...)

For those who I haven't told; I spent the last two weeks at Tacomepai doing a Permaculture Design Certificate course (yep, I'm qualified now ;) ) with a bunch of great people from all around the world. Our course teachers included Stephen and Damien from Australia and Sandot, the owner of Tacomepai, as well as some other Thai guys who's names I can't remember (I won't forget your faces ;) ). All in all everyone had something to teach everyone else and it was a thoroughly enjoyable learning experience!

A brief intro to Tacomepai: Sandot took over this land 20 years ago from his grandfather and decided to plant the 5 acres with a mono-crop of Mangoes. After 5 years of this he realized he wasn't enjoying the stress and fluctuating mango prices (also with relying on a single crop for income) and decided to slowly reforest the property and take it a little more easy. Today, the farm is run in Sandot's own unique way often allowing nature to run it's course. Chickens and ducks roam free throughout the property, fertilizing and scratching the soil and two pigs (Crispy & Bacon) take care of excess leftovers. The rice paddies supply enough for Sandot's family and other guests who come to learn and the mango trees and other fruit trees provide yummy snacks. It's not exactly self sufficient but rather an experimental playground for people from all around to come and learn how to grow things in a different way. Sandot's mission is to teach other farmers and foreigners who come to learn, how to make better use of their land and to avoid relying heavily on outside inputs. He creates a calm and tolerant atmosphere in which it is easy to be inspired to learn!

New land, a separate piece of land nearby, at the edge of the national park, has been taken over by Sandot and other sponsors. Originally it was natural forest but much like many other areas around Pai it was illegally cut down and turned into farm land. After the second or third crops failed on damaged soil the land was sold cheaply and it is now to be a model for reforestation using permaculture ideas.

Our first bamboo craft project; cut a bamboo walking stick ;) We then proceeded to stomp the plants that were coming through back into the rice paddy, to be decomposed. Never a wasted minute around here :) 

This is Shen's hut (blue shirt), Shen is a bubbly malaysian girl full of gardening knowledge who is currently staying longterm at Tacomepai. Here we were digging the foundations for a new outdoor kitchen to be attached to the house. 

Rice planting the easy way; grow rice seedlings in nursery trays with a clump of clay in the bottom and throw onto the field. It's like playing darts!

Classroom Tacomepai style; here at Mansaku's house at the new land.

New land as seen from the tree line

Our first earthworks project; we had to dam a small tributary stream on the new land property. Note for next
time; don't fill sandbags with wet mud ;)

Team " Angola Dam" (named after the rice sack) 

The finished dam after the first decent rainfall. There was a lot of erosion coming off the corn and soy bean fields which will probably fill up the dam in a very short time, however the water will still stay for longer underneath.

One afternoon at the new land, we created two new rice paddies and planted them. Even the traditional method is fun! Tadam and I enjoying a breather.

Sandot always had some local fruit or herb to show us. This one was the flower from ginger i think... 

Mansaku, Julian and I trying out the bamboo technique of starting a fire; i hope i never forget my lighter... 

Tacompai busking band; my only opportunity to have this experience since a solo performance would not be very entertaining ;). I switched between the gong and the gourd.

On the weekend we were lucky enough to go into the forest nearby for an overnight stay and bamboo workshop. Here we were having lunch which included a delicious mix of wild mushrooms with rice steamed inside bamboo. Ingenious!

Good thing the locals knew which mushrooms were good to eat; i would have thrown away the edible (but poisonous looking) ones and cooked the harmless (actually poisonous) ones. Well at least now I can tell a few good ones. 

How to turn this into...

...this. In three hours. And an hour later it was finished. Here in the Thai forest the saying; "leave nothing but footprints" turns into; " leave a complete bamboo hut for the next guy that comes along." 

When Sandot told us we were going to build our own shelter in the forest, this wasn't quite what i expected...I thought we would be building something like a simple bamboo bivee, much like stretching a tarp over a rope and sleeping under it. I guess I was wrong. We split up into teams and went out into the forest in search of bamboo and teak tree leaves (for the roof) and carried it all to the ridge site to build our bamboo hut. 

Hanging out next to the kitchen hut and enjoying some lunch.

I couldn't help myself, I had to try out the mud and straw baking oven :)