The next house building team is taking shape and ground work has begun for our July 08 adventure. This is our trip diary, which will be updated daily once we depart, as long as there is internet access and time available. Read on and find out how it all goes.
September 19, 2007
November 11, 2007
June 08, 2008
June 8
Ten members of the team were able to get together for an afternoon BBQ at Yolanda's today. Irene brought a supply of garden gloves and construction aprons that were donated by Home Depot. She also brought more donations, including $2500 raised for wells by her granddaughter Kyrstin, who is coming with the team. Boehringher Ingleheim, whom half the team work for, donated $5000. We have more than met our quota of fundraising, and can't wait to get there to see the money at work. Not to mention us at work, putting up 10 houses!
Left to right in the photo:
Jo-Anne
Merla
Linda
Yolanda
Kathryn
Corinne
Kathy
Susan
Irene
Kyrstin
July 03, 2008
July 04, 2008
July 05, 2008
July 06, 2008
Saigon
Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam, populated by 6 million people on 6 million motorbikes. The name change to Ho Chi Minh City at the end of the Vietnam War is only for official purposes. It is the centre of commerce for Vietnam, and unlike Cambodia, any scars of war are long healed and relegated to the War Remnants Museum.
It is not a pretty city and rather disappointing from a tourist's point of view. I have read that Hanoi, in the north, has more charm and character, but we didn't have the time to include that in our itinerary. Food was the highlight of our day. For lunch, our guide took us for Banh xeo -- a thin pancake of rice flour folded with chicken or pork and topped with onions, sprouts, and green, a Saigon specialty. At supper time we searched for Pho bo, soup made of wide rice noodles done in a beef broth and flavored with ginger, black pepper, lemon, and shallots; and topped with thin slices of roast beef and fresh greens like basil or coriander. It's a Vietnamese staple and not nearly as tasty as the Banh xeo. Maybe because of the coriander, which I am one of those rare people that don't like it.
July 07, 2008
Cu Chi and the Viet Cong
The Cu Chi Tunnels are a tribute to the cleverness of the Viet Cong in fighting the war with the Americans. Tunnels were started by the villagers in 1940's when the Vietnamese were fighting the French for independence. In the 60's they facilitated Viet Cong control of a large rural area just 30 km northeast of Saigon. By then, 200km of tunnels had been dug. The tunnel system was protected by an array of booby traps - a disturbing sight, and against which young American boys stood no chance. Just what were they thinking? Not the boys, but the Americans in charge. I can only imagine what the boys were thinking and can sympathize with those who came to Canada to avoid the draft.
Jo-anne demonstrates the size of the tunnel entrance. We crawled through a section of tunnel that was about 3 feet high by 2 feet wide to get a feel for what it was like. Not pleasant at all, and not for the claustrophobic!
From there we headed south to towards the Mekong Delta. The Mekong Delta is split by 9 rivers and the Vietnamese name for it is 9 Dragons. In addition to the 9 main channels there are hundreds of tributaries and canals linking farmers with markets. It's the rice basket of Vietnam, with rice fields stretching as far as the eye could see. With a plentiful supply of water, the farmers can get three harvests of rice a year.
A Viet Cong base was our other stop of the day. We were taken in small boats through a series of canals in the jungle. On one hand peaceful and filled with bird life, one the other, bomb craters and spent shells a reminder of the past.
I've taken hundreds of photos and will try to upload them when we have more free time later in the week.
July 08, 2008
Moans on the Mekong
The announcement that we were to meet in the lobby at 6:15 this morning was met with moans, but was soon replaced by click of cameras as we sailed down the Mekong towards the floating market 6 km upriver. Cai Rang is the biggest floating market on the Mekong River, and the best photo opportunities are early morning when the market is at its busiest. Wholesalers boats are stocked with fruit and vegetables and smaller boats belonging to retailers are ferrying amongst them, purchasing their stock for the day.
Each boat advertises its wares on a flagpole - watermelons, pineapples, dragonfruit, pumpkins, turnips, shallots and more. Drinks boats brought us morning coffee, and we sampled sweet and juicy pineapple.
Our excellent captain then took us for a tour away from the river and through canals where farmers were growing a variety of lettuces and herbs. A walk along the riverbank gave us a first hand look into a world few tourists seem to see.
The rest of the morning was spent over a late breakfast, some speed shopping or just relaxing before getting on the bus for a four hour drive to Chau Doc from where we will board a high speed boat to Phnom Penh in the morning. Once again our driver amazed us with his hair raising skills. Driving in Vietnam is not for the faint of heart and neither is watching the bus driver drive. Best to keep your head down or look out the side windows.
July 09, 2008
Chau Doc to Phnom Penh
It was a tough day for the team today. After another early start and 5 hours on the boat coming up the Mekong, the hot and humid Phnom Penh environment set off a few meltdowns as we trekked about 2km through back streets to the Royal Palace. Our guide, Fin, wanted us to appreciate what life in the city was really like before seeing the oppulence of the Royal Palace. Fair enough, but we were not prepared for the heat. Merla was smart and stayed in to chill for the afternoon. I have made him aware that we have to be more cognisant of our group's limitations - we are not a bunch of 30 somethings with boundless energy, even though we'd like to be.
Phnom Penh has changed by leaps and bounds since my last visit. The Golden Gate Hotel has not, but fortunately we're only here for the night before departing for Siem Reap in the morning. The most obvious change is that back streets have been paved and the roads belong to Toyota, Lexus and Mercedes Benz. There are fewer people begging and living on the streets in the centre part of town, and beautifully manicured parks were teeming with young people enjoying themselves at the end of the day.
We also made a quick pit stop at Tabitha so that some of the ladies could order bedding for pick up on Tuesday when we return for orientation. There are quite a few new products on display that I think will sell well in the autumn sale.
Traveling by boat up the Mekong is something that I've always wanted to do. Along the Vietnamese section up to the border there was industry along the banks, slowly becoming more rural as we headed further upstream. Houses became poorer and eventally after the Cambodian border the river was lined with fields of corn, beans, and fruit trees. Small villages clustered on the banks sprouted tv aerials and a communication tower.
...more to come...got to get some breakfast and get on the bus for Siem Reap....
July 10, 2008
Siem Reap bound
Another early departure! You'd think we'd get used to the drill, but as we adjust to the time zone, it's not so easy getting up at 5:30. And then there's tomorrow - a 4 am wake up call to head out for the Angkor Wat sunrise.
Most of our day was spent on the bus travelling Hwy 6 north-west from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. We stopped along the way to stretch our legs, have a break, and see something of interest. In the village of Skuon, deep fried tarantulas are their specialty. I think Dave was the only one in the group that could get past the legs to eat the body. The legs were okay, but the thought of a squishy body in my mouth...well, enough said. No way!
Further along off the main road there were ruins of a small temple surrounded by a gaggle of children who found us as interesting as we found them. We phoned our lunch order ahead to a restaurant on the shores of Tonle Sap Lake so that we could keep heading north on schedule. The last leg of was ahead of us. Linda won the pool as we arrived in front of our hotel at precisely 3:10.
After checking ,most of the group headed for a refreshing dip in the pool. Susan discovered that her luggage somehow didn't get on the bus and a frenzy of phone calls ensued. There was a group of people with Habitat for Humanity checking out about the same time, and it was likely that her bag was put on their mini-bus. Several hours and many phone calls later we got the good news that indeed they had her luggage and it would be delivered up to us tomorrow.
Before dinner we headed to the temples of Angkor to get our passes and see one of the temples. The temperature had cooled, and we enjoyed a beautiful ruin almost all to ourselves. A great end to another long day.
Temples of Angkor
Everyone was ready to go at 4:30 this morning, smiling faces on, and anticipating a coffee upon arrival. The dawn did not disappoint us today, and neither did the coffee.
Everyone is chilling out as I write before we head out to visit the Bayon Temple later this afternoon.
July 12, 2008
Herding Cats and Internet Frustration
I just spent an hour writing this blog only to have it disappear into cyberspace. I am not in a good mood. However, I moved down the street a couple of blocks to a different internet shop and have my fingers crossed that it won't happen again.
Now I can't even remember what I wrote. We've been pretty busy since arriving in Siem Reap and there is a lot to cover. I do remember a wonderful massage that I had yesterday afternoon. It was our first real break from being on the go since Saigon, and I wasn't the only one to take advantage of the spa at the hotel. Nothing fancy, nothing expensive, but so rejuvenating.
At 3:30 we headed back to the temples to visit The Bayon and the Terrace of the Elephants. The sky was a clear blue which made for great photography. There was a refreshing breeze so just sitting in the shade and looking at the smiling faces on the temple towers was wonderful.
The food in Cambodia has been excellent for the most part, especially if you stick to Khmer cuisine. On our first night we ate at The Red Piano, and last night our tour leader, Mark, recommended his friend's restaurant Amok. We arrived, got our drinks, ordered our meals and the power went out. Just in that restaurant. As the ceiling fans stopped we started sweating. Cold beer and cold towels got us through the meal. All the other restaurants on the street were fine - why us?
This morning we toured the temples on bicycles. Well,half of us did. Heading off from the hotel bright and early to beat the heat we cycled to Phnom Bakong, the highest hill in the area. The climb no longer goes straight up the ancient steps, but winds gently around the hill through the jungle forest. The first group (bus people) saw a deadly pit viper who was quick to get out of their way. The second group (bike people) saw a cute toad. Atop the hill stands the oldest temple from which you get 360 degree views of the area. On such a clear day we could indeed see forever.
Temple #2 was Preah Khan, a further 5 km down the road. Temple #3 was Ta Prom, an endless 10 km further. This was my limit and I was happy to put the bike back on the truck and hop into the air-conditioned van for the ride home. Linda and Corinne just couldn't get enough exercise and headed back to the hotel top speed, arriving only 15 minutes after the bus.
Right...back to the title. Just imagine two fellows trying to keep a group of 13 women tourists focussed and together. The slightest opportunity to shop and well....need I say more. And a couple of our keenest photographers tend to lag behind. We do indeed feel like we are herding cats a lot of the time.
Siem Reap has again changed by leaps and bounds since I was last here just over two years ago. At that time there were many hotels under construction and now they are up and running. Lots more restaurants have opened catering to the masses of tourists coming through every year. High speed internet has come to Cambodia, although not as high speed as I would like. Hotels offer WiFi. More motorbikes and cars than bicycles are on the road. Things are looking much more affluent than they have ever been. A middle class is emerging here.
Well, mission accomplished and I can head back to the hotel with news of the latest dancers to be eliminated from So You Think You Can Dance and treat myself to a cool drink before dinner.
July 13, 2008
Half Way
I flew to Phnom Penh today from Siem Reap, a comfortable 45 minute flight compared to our long drive up earlier in the week. The scenery driving up is amazing, but time constraints prevented us from spending another full day on the road. The rest of the group were spending the morning on Tonle Sap Lake, visiting the floating village and the afternoon at Banteay Srei, one of the most amazing little temples. They have promised to provide me with an account of their day at some point. Perhaps not for a bit as they had an evening of Kareoke planned with Mark (our tour leader) and Fin (our Cambodian guide) in Fin's favourite hang out. I understand that there is a video of Christopher (my son) and his buddy Mike singing Hotel California in this same place this past May, which I am not likely to ever see. I hope Irene brings her video camera along.
I had the pleasure of having lunch with Janne Ritkes, her daughter Miriam, her helper Tuit, and Jude and Doug Quarry. Jude and Doug are Tabitha Australia, and it was so good to finally meet them after years of email correspondence. We had a lovely lunch in an upmarket restaurant somewhere in Phnom Penh. Another change in this rapidly changing city.
I am now in Tabitha mode, as will the rest of the group be shortly. July has turned out to be Tabitha's busiest house building month, with 27 teams coming from all over. Janne has orientation for three teams on Monday morning, and another for our group on Tuesday morning. I am excited about the start of why we are here.
July 14, 2008
Tabitha's Community Development Program
I spent this morning with Tabitha staff, Srey, Thary and Da, visting two villages in Kandal Province outside of Phnom Penh. Our mission was to take some photos for promotional materials back in Canada, and that was easily accomplished. It was wonderful to see the Tabith Community Development Program at work.
The village of Saang has been in the program for 3 years. There are 1600 families enrolled in the Savings Program. No matter how poor, each family generates some kind of income. They start small, saving $2 over a 10 week cycle. Tabitha staff collect the money each week, and return it at the end of the cycle with 10% interest. Families usually begin the program by either buying the simplest items like pots and pans, or paying off debt. Their next purchase is most often a battery, so they can have light during the evening. They move on to a bicycle, or chickens or piglets to raise, all of which allow them earn more money. Some families spend their cycles buying building materials for their homes. The most destitute qualify for a home built by volunteers like ourselves. In Saang, volunteers have built 136 houses, and donors have sponsored 120 wells. The village is making a good start at working its way out of poverty.
The village of Svay Prei has now completed the Tabitha Program after 8 years. Srey pointed out the good houses, plenty of cows, as well as motorbikes. 2140 families participated in this village where 346 homes were built and 280 wells were dug. Srey also pointed out that having a well to provide clean water for home use and irrigation speeds up the process by a couple of years. Tabitha's distinctive green tin walled homes lined the roads as we went.
This afternoon I spent in the Tabitha shop selecting crafts for the autumn sales. There are so many beautiful silk items now that it's hard to know when to stop! What we can't carry back will be shipped. I also picked up sandwich fixings at the Lucky Supermarket to take with us to Kep.
Travelling around Phnom Penh, I am truly amazed at the amount of progress that has been made since my last visit two years ago. Elections are being held later this month, on July 27th, and for the first time no violence is expected. It will be interesting to see which party will win, and how it will affect Cambodia's future.
The rest of the team is spending the afternoon learning about the genocide at Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields. It is a sobering experience.
We will be off to Kep in the south of Cambodia tomorrow. It's a small seaside village where our hotel is and there is no internet access down there. You will have to wait until we return on Friday evening to hear about the house build. I trust that Corinne, our excellent scribe, will also share her report later today.
July 18, 2008
Nails Suck
The one thing all house builders coming to Cambodia have in common is the nails. Actually, we have concluded that it's not the nails but the wood. Cambodia has some of the hardest wood in the world! And it takes all your energy to get that nail through the tin into the wood without bending it. We persevered and conquered and built 7 houses in our first day, and 4 in our second. 11 houses means 11 families have a solid roof over their heads and security at night. They will be dry when it rains.
Srei also had a chance to show us how the savings program works. A volunteer in each village collects the savings from the families in the program. In this particular village, there are 30 families each saving 5000 Riel (approx $1.25) each week. After 10 weeks their savings are returned with 10% interest, and they have three days to buy the item they were saving for. Srei also pointed out that the staff don't mention houses until they are well into the program and have saved for items which will generate income for them. They don't want them to become so focussed on saving for the houses that they don't do anything else to further their ability to generate an income.
In order to get a house, the families are selected by the village and still must save at least $30 towards the cost of the house themselves.
We had a chance to revisit the houses that I built with a team in 2006. They were about 5 km down the road from where we were building this week. The area was virtually unrecognizable. Several of the houses had been stained, and were surrounded by banana and other fruit trees. Plus the old houses had been taken apart and the thatch walls and roofs used to make extentions onto the new houses. Four of the houses no longer stood where we had built them. They wanted the land for growing peanuts so they litterally picked up the houses off their cement foundation and moved them to another location. Srei said it took some 15 to 20 people to hoist and carry them.
Other than the nails frustrating all of us, the house build was smooth sailing. We had a few bruises and blisters, and I heard about a scratch. Some of the young men in the families were studying English, so some of us had a chance to spend time speaking with them, and working along side them. Others sang songs to the younger children and had a good laugh. It was a fitting climax to our trip. I can't wait to get the photos uploaded so that you can see us at work, but it will now have to wait until I get home.
I had the chance to go into the town of Kampot yesterday afternoon. Kep is know for its crabs and Kampot is famous for pepper. Twice we ate a a great waterfront restaurant whose specialty was, you guessed it, crab with Kampot green pepper. Green pepper is unripe pepper that is much milder than ripe peppercorns. (Not bell peppers). They also had a lot of other seafood on the menu like squid, prawns, shark, fish, and more. All delicious!
Just down the road from our hotel was the summer home of the Prime Minister. Yesterday I noticed some sort of delegation walking down the road along the beach. It appeared to be the American Ambassador, the Prime Minister, photographers and a security entourage. At least I think this is what it was, and I hope to see a newspaper to confirm it.
We are all now dispersing to other destinations and heading home. I am off to Tokyo tomorrow evening and I am looking forward to catching up with Diane Sasaki, whom I knew in Singapore, and meeting up with my godson and his Japanese financee for dinner. Others are spending a few days in Bangkok and one is heading to Singapore. Then it will be back to work and back to reality. Hopefully one will start to think about a future visit with a new team.
CORINNE'S NOTES ON HOUSE BUILDING:
So the beginning of day 10 - we are in Phnom Penh (waking up at my not so favourite hotel the Golden Gate). That morning we began our look at life through Tabitha Foundation. Our group by this point expanded by 3 newcomers and we lost one Melissa (she was only there for the tour). The 3 newcomers were Jayne and her daughter Tasha (2 New Zealanders now living in Brunei) they were well travelled, and Dave the builder from California. Dave was an American - with a Cambodian girlfriend who had never ventured outside of the US before). We began our briefing at 10 am that morning. Janne Ritskes is the founder and managing director (an extraordinary hardened Aid worker). She founded Tabitha back in 1994 just after the departure of the Khmer Rouge. Jane began our house build with a briefing of the do's and don'ts. She was very hard-lined about not destroying the Tabitha reputation by coming into the regions with our western need for self-gratification - she really focused us on why we were there - for the Khmer people.
After the briefing the we all went shopping in the Tabitha store. This is a store front (to the main offices of Tabitha) where many fine Cambodian silk items can be purchased. The items are made on site by local workers - these are all ladies who have suffered and survived through the reign of the Khmer Rouge and their brutal leader Pol Pot. Many if not all of the women suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. As a good ambassador of Canada I proceeded to buy gobs and gobs of silk items - purses, bobbles and bedding (oh the bedding - when I return home I will be sleep on Silk bedding can you believe)! I MUST help the Cambodian economy - as a good Canadian consumer.
We loaded the van with and then headed off. Like the queen that I am, I secured the catbird seat in the van - right next to the driver. It was the best seat in the house! Our build was in the southern part of Cambodia in the Kampot Province ~45 minutes outside of Kep. However the trek to Kep itself was a long one about 3.5 hours most of it through roughly paved roads however we did venture off to a dirt trail for the last hour of the journey. Boy was I happy to get off the bus a that point!
When we arrived at the Kep Beach House we found ourselves in another little piece of Shangri-La (I know wrong country - but you get the imagery). This was a small villa/inn nestled in the mountain overlooking the beach. The view was majestic and only a mere $35/night (it would have been a small fortune at home). The beach house had a pool and air-conditioned rooms! Every room had a beach view. The sunset that evening was a sight to see. Linda has the photos thankfully. After cooling of the in the pool (that was 90 degrees - just the way I like it... almost bathtub like in temperature) we lounged around for a few hours before dinner. An early dinner (at a beach side restaurant) was in order as we prepared for the next days of house building.
Dinner was like the many before... orders placed and there seemed to be no rhyme or reason as to how they were brought to the table. We learned early on in the trip not to wait for everyone to be served before you began your meal and this evening was no different. Many of people who had ordered 2 and three courses received their full set of meals before others. While a handful of others waited patiently for 30 - 40 minutes until their meals came.
So now the morning of the build - we arrive at the site full of trepidation and excitement. What do we do? How does this work? Well we were given no instructions - REALLY not one word of instruction. The frames of the homes were in place and the floorboards were in place. At first it looked as though all was done for the floor. Upon closer inspection it was clear that our job was to start nailing in the floor boards. So we just divided up into groups and began nailing in the floor boards. The morning was cool (by Cambodian standards) and there was a breeze - even with the cool air the task at hand seemed quite daunting. Our goal for the day was 6 houses (with 5 more planned for Day 2). As the walls started to go up... it seemed that we could quite possible get the job done! Oh the walls - they were made from corrugated metal (aka Zinc for all you Jamaicans reading)
So from the floors we moved to the walls - well this is when things slowed considerably. Tabitha had hired a crew of tradesmen to help with the task. Their skills and precision left much to be desired. But with all our knowledge or lack there of... we fit right in. The first 3 buildings were erected in no time. Dave the builder though was shocked at the quality of the job and when he approached our building he started off by ripping down a half-completed wall. He made us start again. This time to code (who's code, I'm not quite sure). We continued on now building with a builder (perfection was his goal)... but not to be achieved with the crew on this site. Now let me tell you briefly about the wood that was used - it was the toughest wood in the world - able to bend small nails in a single smack of the hammer. The nails also were not very compliant - resisting wood with every blow. Achieving the ultimate goal of hammering in a nail without bending it was a quest sought by all but achieved by none (not even builder Dave). I honestly think we pulled out more bent nails than were actually used the complete the final structure. As the day wore on, it got hotter and hotter but we forged on - completing not 6 houses but in fact 7 houses by the end of Day 1. We were elated and so were the new home owners!!!
After the homes were completed, there was a ceremony before they were handed over to the new owners (some of whom actually helped construct the houses along side our team. Srei, the Tabitha General Manager and Janne's right hand staff members (a Khmer Rouge survivor) said a few words (in Khmer) to the home owners and then thanked us in English. After that we handed over a quilt from Tabitha to each family followed by the group photos! Wow!!!! We Did it. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped off at another small settlement in the area where Yolanda built houses with Tabitha some 4 years earlier. You could see where the home owners made advances with their homes. Putting on expansions, awnings, landscaping and cultivating the land. Now get this... even a few families moved their homes - yes picked them up with the aid of about 20 villagers and literally moved the buildings to a new spot on their land. This was done as the houses were built initially on spots that were barren but they determined after the fact that it would be good for growing certain crops (like peanuts). These houses were made of wood - how they managed to move them was beyond me. Good old Khmer ingenuity.
That night we went back to the hotel exhausted and feeling fulfilled! We had an early night as we knew there was more to be done the next day - Day 2, four more houses to be built.
Day 2 of the house build came and with breakfast served (for the first time all together) - we headed off to finish the job. Well schooled by the experience of yesterday - Dave the builder sought to improve the standards and quality of our work. I was on his team with Yolanda and Kathryn. You should have seen the tools he pulled out for this one - a level, yes a level. He was hell bent on ensuring that his final house was as perfect as could be and so it was. We had precision corners and each wall was even all the way across! Before he considered the job done, he went around ensuring that each sheet of Zinc was rattle proof. You'd think he was moving in himself. None the less, I was quite proud of this quality building. We finished these houses in record time - before lunch. After lunch we had a similar ceremony to the first day and handed over the houses to the new families.
Thanks to all that gave in support of this build - it is great to erect something that you know is needed and will be longstanding in this community!
Winding Up
It's been a great journey and a great adventure. We accomplished our goal and then some. We met wonderful people and adopted three new house builders along the way. Dave, a contractor from California, contacted me about two months ago. He did his share of fundraising and met up with us the night before our orientation at the beginning of the week. Mother and daughter, Jayne and Tasha, who live in Brunei, contacted me soon after we arrived in Vietnam. The team agreed that they could join us provided that they bring their fundraising goal of $1000 per person with them. They agreed and also joined the team in Phnom Penh. Jayne is hoping to start house building trips from the international school in Brunei that her daughter attends. My rough guess is that our team's fundraising total now stands at $30,000. THANK YOU to everyone who helped changed so many lives.
We built houses for 11 families. The extra house was a donation received by Tabitha and assigned to our team to build. (Total house cost $1000 each x 10 = $10,000)
We bought 10 sewing machines ($250 each = $2500) for Tabitha to train and employ 10 women who are HIV positive and need to provide for their families. In addition we paid for 100 quilts that these new ladies made ($60 each = $6000) in their training. The quilts were donated to orphanages, like the Mission of Charity (Mother Theresa's group) that we took some of the quilts to.
We funded 25 wells @ $120 each - providing 75 families with a clean supply of water for the first time.
And the balance of our funds went to supporting the Savings Program, the crux of Tabitha's success in helping the poorest of the poor build a life of dignity and independence. As of last month, Tabitha is working with 35,199 families with 281,592 dependents.
Thanks for making their dreams come true.
