Gracehouse: The School It seems I have been amiss in not writing anything about the school where Jenny is working. So this is a short piece with some photographs. You will also have read the bit I inserted called propaganda about Gracehouse and Globalteer. The school is out of town and serves a samm community of people who live on the edge of the river. On the day we visited the river was in flood, most homes were flooded and we only made it through the flo...

Street Life: Thoughts from Siem Reap This is a hard thing to write because it has to cover a wide variety of experiences and places. It may be easiest to start with the tourist sites. Just north of the town lay the hotels. These are not just ordinary small hotels. They are, as the pictures show, large and somewhat pretentious 'palaces' built to sustain the wealthy of the world. They do seem, outwardly to look fitting in that their appearance and style are what ...

Dr Beat and Aki Ra: Giving hope Last Saturday night together with Jenny we attended a cello concert at a local children's hospital. The cellist as Beat Richner, or to give him his full title, Dr Beat, who runs the hospital. The performance was extraordinary for many reasons. Firstly, he plays very well and has a limited repertoire of mournful, solemn Bach but music perfectly suited to the occasion. He engages his audience, who have paid nothing for the concert,...

Ankor Wat…..Dollar!Dollar! Dollar! Ankor Wat is the reason many people come to Siem Reap. It is a vast complex of temples and shrines that date back as far as 10th Century, maybe longer. Today we spent a few hours visiting 4 sites in the complex with Jenny and Linny, Jenny's Australian friend who goes home on Friday. Apparently, one of the best times to visit the site is at dawn so one can see the sunrise over the temples. Getting up at 0415, however, is the ...

To Siem Reap So today we left the comfort (relative?) of Bangkok and flew to Siem Reap.After worrying about checking in and the web not working properly, once at the airport all went well. Suvarnabhumi is new, very airy and with plenty of wondering space, unlike Terminal £ which is a nightmare of noise, overcrowding and buy! buy! buy! usually stuff that is too expensive and you don't really want. No cabin bag check so all of our worries about weight were was...