Hi all

This entry is going to be a bit jumbly - I know they probably all are!

Thurs am - a pleasant morning sitting on the sandbags listening to the water lapping against them, however the tide is only one way, it is still flowing in but not going out! A slight receding here yest but it is higher again today but not up to Tues level. If you sit with your back to the water you can forget that it is very thick, chocolate brown carrying a great variety on its way and imagine a beautiful blue ocean inviting you to swim in it! We are awaiting our truck to take us into town so that we can do our Khmer cookery class. After the weather forecast for Sun I think more food supplies need to be purchased too.

Apparently yesterday an escaped crocodile ate a dog - this was downriver on the way to Grace House. After dropping us off in town the truck is going out to GH to see what life is like for the families out there. According to news reports much of the rice, maize and casava crops are decimated so food is going to be an ongoing issue, although it is a major problem all the time anyway for so many people. I have just found this news report but it is just the tip of an iceberg as the gov do not know what is happening in most villages. GH's villages are suffering badly with shortage of food and damage to their homes, Dani is still out there doing what she can and the money we have raised since the appeal is now only a drop in the ocean as rice crops are ruined too. The road out there is still very bad, so we do not know whether we will be able to open on Mon or not.

Flood waters that have killed nearly 100 people in the Kingdom are set to recede in the worst affected areas of the country, but concerns over food security remain.

Spokesman for the National Disaster Management Committee Keo Vy said that as of yesterday the death toll from the floods that have inundated Cambodia this month now stood at 97 people - 34 of which were children. "Floods have seriously affected about 90,000 families. More than 10,000 families were evacuated and about 83,007 houses, 500 school buildings and 1,200 kilometres of roads were flooded, while 238 houses were completely ruined," the spokesman said.

Thousands of families around the country could face food shortages with tens of thousands of hectares of rice paddies thought to have been ruined by the flood waters.

Director of the Ministry of Agriculture's rice seedling department Ngen Chhay yesterday expressed concern over food security, emphasising that paddies cannot produce if they are flooded for long periods of time.

"We are concerned about a food shortage for the next year because rice paddies will be ruined if they are flooded for more than 10 days," Ngen Chhay said.

He said that figures from Prey Veng, Kampong Thom and Kampong Cham showed that more than 60,000 hectares - in the three provinces alone - could potentially be destroyed due to prolonged flooding.
"This year's flood is bigger and more serious than previous years," added Sang Yern, Kampong Ko commune chief in Kampong Thom province.

"More than 1,700 families in my commune are facing a food shortage."

Him Seoung, a 50-year-old farmer from Prey Veng province's Peam Chor district, said that several hectares of his plantations and rice paddies had been ruined, as water levels have had reached the
rooftops of most houses in his village.
"My family will not have enough to live for the next year if the flood persists," said the farmer. Sun: Gh has now distributed 25kg to every person on the poverty list of our three villages, so much of the 4000$ people have very kindly donated has been spent. The majority of the flood water in town has gone, but the river is still level with the top of the banks, but has yet we have not had any of the tail end weather from the two typhoons - long may it last. The road out to GH is still too dangerous for tuks, bikes, motos etc so we will be travelling by truck again, a difficult, bumpy ride but it will allow us to get back to normal. I have been out and about around here on my bike, but it is not good, however, it is great to have our independence back and be able to choose if we want to go out and when. The roads are bad for tuks so we are not keen on using them after dark. The cookery course was very enjoyable, we all made different starters and main courses so the girl who taught us was very busy, but very organised. Unfortunately, when it was time to eat it none of us felt like it, so we took some of it home in doggy bags - I ate my fried shrimp spring rolls cold the next day and I haven't suffered. After it Jen and Ric bought their tickets to leave Siem Reap for Phnom Penh the next day so it was goodbyes when the truck arrived to pick us up. It has been such a shame that I have not been able to show them anything much and they have certainly missed out on local life, sites and rural life and don't think the night life was a sad miss for them. Hopefully their clothes will recover from the wading through the revolting water of Wat Bo to Globalteer. Whilst J and R were leaving for PP on Fri we took the truck into town and whiled quite a few hours of a beautiful sunny day sitting on the side of and swimming in Prince d'Angkor pool - Sian rather red at the end of it. There is tremendous banter with the tuk drivers who are desperate to earn a dollar or two and they cannot believe that we need a 'truck truck' and not their tuk tuk! Yesterday was another lazy one, I wandered the market - they were desperate, so they did accept low offers for goods you wanted to buy. Sian and Lindsey went for a three hour pampering session, I just had one hr reflexology and then we went to watch England beat Scotland in a bar. At night we went to hear Dr Beatocello at the Children's Hospital - the talk very similare to last year, but a few updates. Now only 90% of the 5 hospitals' running costs are paid for by donations. Today it is Sun and back to preparing lessons for next week - hopefully the weather will allow us to work. also all the children should go back to their state school after a break - but that will depend upon whether teachers etc can get to them and whether their homes are still flooded. It will be interesting to see how many children are at GH. Because I talk to everyone whether they understand me or not I am well recognised about, so I often hear my name being called by someone. I have bravely taken my computer in to be repaired - I have no receipt, no nothing - am I a fool or very trusting? Time will tell! They couldn't speak English andI couldn't speak Khmer - a lot of pointing and nodding. The crocodile being very proudly driven around town on a moto was caught on Thursday, apparently there are nine more escapees from the croc farm on the edge of town. Just heard from Jen, they are leaving PP tomorrow for a flooded Vietnam, so I hope all will be well for them. I think that's all for now from a dry Siem Reap, but all the countryside is still badly flooded, so more water will be a disaster. Take care, love to all, J x