Kampuchea Crossings

Bump to baby on the beaten expat track

Travels

frequent flier? how to not shrivel up dry in that cabin

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Life is a journey, especially for expatriates. Keep the destinations coming, but traveling takes its toll with dull lifeless hair, skin and nails, after being trapped in a tiny seat with a cabinful of people literally breathing down your neck in recirculated air (especially on our 15++ hours annual leaves, uggh!). Give yourself some TLC in-flight and look glam at the arrivals gate with these quick tips for gals on the go:

DO PRE-FLIGHT
• start / keep a list of must-bring items– in purse, carry-on and checked luggage. save these lists so you don’t leave important things at your destination. it’s also a good record that can help with last-minute shopping when luggage got lost
• ask for and save samples of your fave products for travel
• take vit E or cod-liver / fish oil tablets regularly before flight for skin
• take vit C / supplements for boosting your immunity
• do a hot-oil treatment (eg warm olive oil with essential oils for your hair type) and/or use a leave-in conditioner before your flight to prevent dry hair and breakage
• a hydrating facial day before the flight (not a deep cleansing facial);
• intensify your moisturising routine
• buy foldable boxes (like the IKEA Komplement) for storing / transporting your items neatly (eg between bathroom and bed) when you get to your destination
• toiletries packed inside clear ziplocs or see-through cases have less chance of getting rifled through by security screeners (yuck)

DON’T
• wear nail polish, it chips easy then looks bad; get a buff manicure instead
• drink caffeine, alcohol, soda as they’re dehydrating
• pre-board or get on the boarding line– everyone especially in asia rushes to wait in line. let ’em all on first to minimise both your wait and cabin time.

BRING ONBOARD
For organising your things:
• a hanging toiletries bag for carry-on pampering you tote along and hang in the bathroom, and another for your entertainment (ipod, headset plug converter, notepad, pen, magazine), because there’s never enough storage space but you can always hang something– stow away if not needed

For hydration:
• water, water, water
• your favorite fragrant herbal tea blend; green and black teas are especially high in anti-oxidants and good for fighting those evil free radicals that contribute to ageing and illness!

For pampering / depuffing tired red eyes:
• eye pillows with grains inside for acupressure benefits
• eye gel or pre-moistened eye pads–ask for a glass of ice to cool it before using!
• moisturising eye drops

For keeping nails, skin, scalp and hair moisturised:
• wetwipes for oil-blotting, to moisturise, to clean dirt and make-up, as single-use masks for an in-flight facial
• hydrating mist (water-glycerin mix, hydrosol, aloe juice etc) in a spray bottle with an atomiser top, spray your face often and your hair occasionally
• rich moisturiser such as a chunk of shea or cocoa butter, mild enough for the face but for use on all skin areas prone to dryness
• vitamin E capsules, prick and use on dry lips
• to hydrate nasal passages, line with a bit of vaseline, or a nasal spray also relieves congestion
• ask the flight attendant for plain yogurt (hydrating, natural exfoliant, gentle cleanser) and/or honey (humectant, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory) and give yourself a facial in the bathroom
• those toilet-seat covers in the bathroom? excellent for blotting oil from face (unused ones)
• essential oils are indispensable (eg lavender, peppermint, rosemary): place a few drops on a tissue and breathe it in to soothe, aid in sleeping, relieve congestion and combat stale air
• aromatherapeutic oil blend gentle enough for the face– treat yourself to a hand massage after washing hands, a facial acupressure session ( on a clean face!), and afterwards as a leave-in conditioner run hands through your hair and lightly massage the scalp; essential oils of lavender, neroli, frankincense, myrrh in a camellia base oil have the added benefit of anti-ageing
• dry shampoo if you tend to get oily hair and scalp, do a dry cleanse before landing
• a good boar bristle brush to keep oils distributed down the hair shaft

(to be published in AsiaLIFE Phnom Penh in Nov 2008)
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… far from roads in rural Kampot

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This 18 year old mother was taking her baby to the health centre. This facility, built just last year with funds from a German NGO (can you tell it’s new?), is relatively far from the primary and secondary roads and can’t be accessed by vehicle.
This is the main transport option in rural areas. You can’t see the motorbike pulling this remorque (it’s basically a wagon that can hold up to 35 Khmer). It’s a horrible bumpy ride (I feel this way and I’m healthy, imagine a pregnant mother about to deliver riding this contraption up to 15km to get to a skilled birth attendant!).
Development efforts –ours and a host of others working in MCH (Maternal and Child Health)– sadly haven’t sufficiently implemented a continuum of care to respond to this access barrier.
Cambodia had the highest Maternal Mortality Rate (31st highest in the world) in 2000 at 450 deaths/100,000 live births. There was no progress by the Cambodian Demographic Health Survey 2005, when it peaked at 473/100,000.

Here’s another form of transport, but only if there’s no rush!

Go to Hanoi for the food and Halong Bay

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I swear everyone is an entrepreneur in Vietnam. There’s a palpable sizzle of business-orientation in the air. If you want to get a vibe of the Asian economy in real-time and see what the emerging markets buzz is all about, come spend some weeks in Vietnam!

That said on the individuals level, overall Hanoi wasn’t as interesting as I expected (granted, I was there for a workshop, and spent just a few days exploring the city). It’s most definitely progressing at a rapid clip, but it remains unapologetically provincial. Old temples and historic sites seem either non-existent or not yet identified, restored and put on the map. It gave the impression of an architecturally simple, culturally uncomplicated and unpretentious city– despite the high energy– almost as if it’s settling for claim as a Halong Bay stopover, totally disinterested in tourists. The North is completely different from the rest of the country, and is completely ok with that.

Give the food trail a shot, it’s worth the effort.

We’re big foodies, and we try as much local fare as is possible whenever we visit a new locale. In Hanoi, the cuisine is more simple and isn’t as spicy (chili hot or tasty good) as the royal cuisine of Central Vietnam or the fusion-ed fares of South Vietnam, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good in its own right! We found a huge variety of offerings, that we just couldn’t fit enough meals in a day. Actually we had to settle for sampling numerous meals without finishing any one, both of us sharing just one dish! (thank goodness food was cheap!) In the evenings it was a feast: all sorts of food shops open in the tightest of quarters, squeezing as many customers into every crack of open space on the sidewalk.

This is a very popular seafood grill corner. Stacked to the ceiling in one corner are many small plastic seats (like for children) and tables as is possibly needed. The a la carte dining choices are spread out over a large bed of ice. Customers point at the raw seafood preparations and they’re brought to your small plastic table grilled.
This is one of the seafood food shops in the Old Quarter. The food sits on beds of ice all day waiting for customers. One particularly amazing preparation is the oyster. These oysters were at average 8inX6in HUGE. They’re brushed with a special hot vinegar sauce, put on the grill, an egg broken over it, and served with hot sauce and dried garlic and onions. It’s mouthwateringly, amazingly good. In May 2007 one of these was $1.50. We cleaned her out every time we walked by!
Bun-cha is a must-have for any visitor to Hanoi. This very large spread of a meal has such varied textures (soft noodles, crunchy fried spring rolls, tender meats, chopped vegetables..) and flavors (sweet, hot, herbal, vinegary, bitter) tossed together in a curious combination. One of the major bun-cha food shops is listed in the Lonely Plant. It is a Hanoi staple and only available at lunchtimes due to the labor-intensive preparations.
The Vietnamese like their meats– anything that moves is game. Civets, field rats, snakes, bats, they all make it onto the famous grills. No one eats alone. If you’re sitting by yourself, a group will invariably join you. These guys offered a taste of their meals to Keith, who looked on in curiosity as their orders were brought. They were happy to share, and by the time the various attempts at communications arrived at a semblance of understanding, he found out he’d just eaten dog meat.
It is a healthy eating culture. Everyone eats a lot of raw foods– fruits and vegetables. There are fresh vendors everywhere you turn. Sellers who rent a space at markets sell at a higher price than sellers who plant themselves on the sidewalk and spread out their items on the ground. And sellers such as this one, who walk around with a pole and baskets of fruits hanging from each end, often sell for even less.
Markets are one of the first places I love to check out when I’m new to an area. The environment and wares and goods are so telling of a people. Here are some grains sold at the market near Old Quarter, and prepared foods just outside a pagoda near the hotel.

See more photos at Keith Kelly‘s flickr page.
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Vietnam: Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island in three days

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Halong Bay on the Gulf of Tonkin, as with other popular destinations, isn’t without the attendant scams and traps awaiting travelers. Getting the most out of any trip is a matter of arriving with an open mind. Expect to haggle and stay flexible; you’d be surprised how far patience and good humour goes. I normally avoid package tours but it’s unavoidable here, unless you have the luxury of time and nettle to dicker your way onto a private boat with the locals (it’s legally not allowed).

As of May 2007: 2day-1night boat trips ranged the gamut of $30 for a small junk to $180+ for an Emeraude cruise. Know your traveling style and philosophy, as there are benefits to all options. For example, the bare-bones trips offer a glimpse into local life that luxury cruises do a very good job of sheltering patrons from. Being no-frills, guests are allowed to haggle with vendors who float by, towing anything from Oreos to locally-caught seafood from boat to boat. They even have the equipment necessary to make a very tasty local meal for you. Guests can ask for an informal cooking lesson in the galley, request a special itinerary or stops not advertised by the booking agent. This interaction with locals and flexibility is limited with the higher-end cruises. Because they have more offerings, guests are charged for bringing purchases on-board, and the advertised schedule is strictly adhered to. But they also offer more comfort, have better amenities and an array of entertainment options. It’s really quite up to the traveler’s comfort needs.

It was the start of the rainy season in May, but the downpours were predictable and short.

That said, words can’t capture the beauty of Halong Bay.

Interesting activities at dawn…. dynamite fishing. It’s illegal, as it doesn’t just kill fish. The sudden underwater shock indiscriminately pulverises the underlying habitat and destroys the surrounding ecosystem.
Typical of a longer itinerary is a stay overnight at Cat Ba Island. No white sand and surf here, and no entertainment– there’s a floating village, some swimming and short hikes. Getting invited to a meal is great and isn’t hard to do, as locals are all very friendly and eager to meet visitors–as well as earn some extra cash! Otherwise hit up one of the floating restaurants for a seafood treat that isn’t so hard on the wallet.
Birders might find this is a good stop as the fish farms and constant churning of the water from the junks offer easy meals. There were a dozen black kites and red-whiskered bulbuls, some of them in aerial combat over territory. It’s always interesting to watch fierce smaller birds chase off birds of prey ten or more times larger than they are.

These amazing boats look like they’re barely skimming the top of the water, they’re so buoyant. This woman is cutting some bamboo to strips to repair another boat. Doesn’t it look like the boats are floating just right on the surface of the water?

To see more Halong Bay photos see Keith Kelly‘s Flickr page.
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beyond Phnom Penh.. in Kampong Cham

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Photos courtesy of K Kelly

We just wanted to go for a walk to get some air, after two whole days indoors through several ceremonies. We attended a Buddhist ceremony in Kampong Cham for a friend’s grandmother who passed away 10 years ago. This is the province with the beautiful women, according to many Khmer men in Phnom Penh. It might somewhat be validated by the recent legislative crackdown on weddings to foreigners, to prevent trafficking of women. Apparently Korean men looking for a nice obedient wife tend to look for one to buy/marry in this province, until several miraculously escaped abusive relationships in S Korea and reported it upon return.

But I digress. This couple were guests at the event, and we inadvertently followed them home. When we indicated through various gesturing and mimings that we wanted to walk around the village a bit, they wouldn’t have that– “dangerous”, they said. “Come with us to our house.”


There they served us up some tea and cashew fruits. The lands to and around Kampong Cham are dedicated to farming cashews and rubber plantations. The soil is particularly good for growing very high quality cashews, but they are mostly grown for export to Vietnam and Thailand. The Khmer in turn imports Vietnam’s sub-par cashews to sell to its own people. Rubber is exported to China. It fetches high prices, but not high enough to compensate for the damage it renders the soil after a few years of high yield. The agriculture policy is still not effectively implemented, and besides, there’s very little regulatory capacity not to mention intense corruption when it comes to land and land use. Small farmers are pretty much left to their own devices and vulnerable to the demands of neighbors and subsequent market imbalances.

They eat the flesh of the cashew fruit here, not just the nut. The older folks especially love it (maybe cuz it’s soft?) dipped into a sauce of palm sugar and water.


We walked back to my friend’s house in the sunset..

A common sight

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Photos courtesy of H. Prytherch

This is a common sight along the roads of Cambodia– a patient riding on the back of a moto on the way home, hooked up to an IV. There’s large demand for IVs and injections in the country, and people seek it out whether or not it is medically necessary. The problem of overuse of drugs/IVs is more prevalent in rural areas where educational levels are much lower.

We asked some people in the communities when they typically get IVs, and we were told it’s good for making the body strong again after many days out fishing or working in the fields. We’re told they can be bought at any pharmacy or clinic, and the colored IVs are better because the medicine in it makes it more potent. (Unknown to them, oftentimes it is due to food coloring by unscrupulous drug vendors capitalising on the poor knowledge of drug use.)

…I can almost see the image of this in the bas reliefs of Angkor Wat!