Hee hee hee

The NDP

The seas in Ireland are getting rougher. A couple of fishing trawlers sank in bad weather and at last count seven crew members were killed. The reason given relates to global warming. The trawlers are too small for the rough seas which has only recently become a problem.

In the recently release national development plan a grand total of zero euros has been promised to build costal defences for rising sea levels - way to go Bertie - yet €17.6 billion is going to upgrading roads. The major routes are already clogged and traffic in the cities is appalling. Public transport in the form of urban light rail running on electricity might be the way to go eh?

Harry Potter - evil?

Check out this nutcase. Apparently God has been talking to other people besides George Bush Jr.

Friends in Cambodia,

Want anything from Ireland / Europe? Now's the time to ask!

Kerry and the future

The waves were so violent that the foam was half a metre thick. My sister crouched down and it looks like she was enveloped by it. Herself and the boyfriend had to run to avoid drowning by the freak wave that attacked them. Otherwise the weekend was very pleasant. Myself and the siblings went to West Kerry for a long weekend and enjoyed the harsh scenery and the bitterly cold Atlantic weather. Myself and the brother found half a boat in pieces on the shore and a wreaked GPS device. It may have been parts of the many trawlers that have gone down on the Irish coast in the last few weeks. The weather is becoming more violent to the extent that the Irish Navy has to invest in bigger boats that can withstand the storms.

Global warming is a pain.

Wake up Politicians - it's your time to shine. Show the world your initiative, your daring, your ability to think beyond election day. Prove to the electorate that there is still a heart in politics. Be the person that history remembers as a daring realist or risk being remembered as a shyster and the corrupt individual who profited from the global tragedy. As they say in Cambodia, "It's up to you".

Jungle book

'Wild Cambodia jungle-girl' found.

Is this for real? It just goes to show that an eight year old should not be tending buffalo. The story is a little fantastical though.

The scar would have to be pretty damn big to be so evident after 19 years. I wonder where she got so large a scar to begin with.

It's bloody freezing here!

I'd forgotten that after a shower here, I have to run to the bedroom and dive dripping wet under the covers because of the brass monkey weather. It's quite the experience reliving my youth!

Travel

Well I've finally arrived in Ireland after quite the journey. I left the Penh on Tuesday at 8am local time and 33 hours later I arrived in Cork. I arrived in Bangkok without issue and wandered around the terminal admiring the "design" and wondering at the thought that went into it.

The flight to London was delayed - mechanical failure - but I would still have enough time to catch the connection. I confess to boredom while waiting the extra two hours to board. Bloody twelve hour flight and they showed appalling movies, of which the latter beggars belief. So I'm bored and restless and there is still six hours left in the flight and I await the next glorious piece of entertainment which was this. Of course the subject was interesting and informative but it was so overacted and full of sentimentality that I got bored early on.

We land at 10pm - three and a half hours late - and I miss my flight. I don't know where my luggage is and I'm tired what with the activities of the night before. Thank you Thai Air - posh hotel room and two meals and a booking on the next flight out. That turned out to be 9.50 next morning. So I was in heaven staying at a hotel I couldn't afford and thinking that few airlines would do that for passengers nowadays with the low cost revolution.

Amazingly my luggage survived Heathrow and I am once more at home in a cold country.

Everything is damn expensive.

Me and my moto

Oh how I love my moto. It's little bigger than a scooter really. In fact I've been thinking of trading up to a proper motobike but not the dirtbikes that expats look like losers on. Since I have to bid adieu to my beauty I'll be in the market for new wheels. After having a moto I would never go back to the hurly burly of riding with a motodop. It's not worth the hassle. Many have remarked that my attitude has improves since riding my baby.

Alas as this is my last day of work I have to give it back. I'm leaving for Ireland tomorrow but will be back in the Penh in two weeks to start anew - new job, office, and bike!

It's Friday

As my penultimate week in this job draws to a close I feel tired. I'm glad that I only have next week to work in a rat infested office and then *holidays* secure in the knowledge that I have a job waiting for me.

It's too hot here during the day but the evening is nice and pleasant now. Cambodians are wearing fleeces and the expats are strolling around in vest tops. Quite the contrast.

So tired zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

WOO HOO

*does the dance of joy*

Elsewhere and aftermath

Well I had a relatively eventful weekend what with the Elsewhere party, being bitten by a German and losing my clutch.

1. Elsewhere was Elsewhere. It's always the same same. I wasn't drinking due to antibiotics and I can say with authority that drunk or sober it's exactly the same.

2. While ordering a Diet Coke I started chatting to a half-Irish lassie. Her German friend passed me by and went to put her head on my shoulder. Instead I was treated to her teeth in my right breast. That's never happened at Elsewhere before.

3. I was driving home from Elsewhere, completely sober, and turned into my street and wanted to downshift from fourth and quickly discovered that the downshift peddle was missing. Naturally I was quite panicked as it is a work bike and they tend to prefer that we return the material in the same shape as it was received. I stop in the middle of the road to verify that the clutch is gone. I'm fucked. I start the bike in fourth, with difficulty, and make it back home. Upon arrival I realise that I was searching for the clutch on the left instead of the right side.

Award for "Idiot of the Year" here please.

Thanks

New Years in Snookyville

Return to Phnom Penh

Getting up was hard.

My head hurt.
My hands hurt.
Everything hurt.

Went to meet the others at breakfast. Felt somewhat better after orange juice, water, eggs and paracetamol. Everyone was feeling a little rough. Nevertheless we screwed up our courage to have a final swim in the sea before heading off. C bought some BBQ shrimp from a beach vendor and for the entire journey back to Phnom Penh was vomitious. Perhaps the two events were connected.

The journey back took ages. Hours went by like minutes and we were still not home. Odysseus had nothing on us. Eternity stretching out to grasp my throat. Obviously I made it home but it was a struggle. B called over with gf and introduced us. She seems lovely. I M*A*S*Hed out till about midnight.

New Years Eve

I woke up to an empty room. M and all her stuff was gone. What had I done to make her leave? Am I that terrible a roommate?

The explanation was somewhat simpler. She decided that now that the aircon was fixed we could move back to the old room. Since her stuff was all gone I conceded. And grumbling a little, repacked and moved back to the original room. Met up with the others and hit the beach. Ate, swam, slept, said no to a thousand vendors.

Then it was time to get dressed up for New Years. I wore my black corset top and black pants and was quite happy with the effect. In an interesting reversal of gender roles, the girls were ready hours before the boys. We consumed many cans in our impatience.

Again cocktails, dinner, dancing, drinking and then some more drinking.

At midnight I was standing on a large rock. Hugs all around. No kissing for any of our group this year. I haven't been kissed this yet this year! Perched on the rock with me were C, Doc, M and assorted Aussies. In attempting to get to the bar I jumped off the rock, wreaked my flipflops and cut my hands. I am wearing bandages as I type. However, it wasn't just me - M and C both fell off the same rock - I am not alone in my disgrace. I also have two parallel cuts on my back but I've no idea where they came from.

Ah well, I'm fine really. You know friends shouldn't let friends text when alcohol has been consumed. Luckily not all of them went through ;-) Of course if D was here she'd be encouraging me to text rather than preventing me.

It was a good evening. I finally made it back to the guesthouse at around 3.40. It was time to go to bed. So I did.

Journey to Snookyville

Just as well that I told everyone the taxi was booked for 9am because everyone was late. After arguing over who would get to sit in the front it was conceded that Doc should get it because nobody wanted to face the possibility of being regurgitated on. And off we set.

We sang. We bitched. We gossiped. I even read two chapters of "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" to C and M as a "bedtime" story. Eventually we arrived, half starved with the hunger, checked in, ate and set off for the beach. I'll post photos tomorrow. The water was the perfect temperature. The sand was white and the company was excellent. I would have liked if one other had been there but that was not possible.

Dinner, drinks, conversation...

followed by "we have to change rooms - the air con doesn't work". I must admit to being pissed off at changing rooms - repacking and reunpacking. I fell into a disgruntled sleep.

Temperature party

So it's Friday night and New Years is coming up and I'm young and free in Cambodia and yet I'm lying on my couch feeling crapola. B drops in to tell me of his crappy state too. A friend M left a whole of his things with B before returning to the States and among these was a thermometre. B and I spent about two hours taking our temperatures, drinking modified hot toddies, texting doc and bitching to each other about how crappy we felt. Misery sure does love company.