Physio Overboard : Cambodia.... week 2

A second week in Cambodia..... a new hotel, exploring the inner workings of a hospital and site seeing

Our lovely water lady

- During the weekend we got sick of the hotel booked for us..... there continued to be rubbish piles on every landing for days at a time, mice and possibly bed bugs..... So it seemed high time to go hunting a new hotel!
This basically involved just walking down our street, there is a never ending supply of hotels to try, and climbing endless seeming stairways.
Hotels tend to be 4 stories upwards..... and we didn't encounter any with lifts!
Happily, for a whole $1 more we get lovely, clean rooms, with a shower that actually works, fridges in room, air-conditioning, and no piles of rubbish or evidence of rodents or bugs.

The sad part of moving hotels is that we are no longer right across the road from this lovely water-selling lady. She is so friendly and happy every day! She also teaches her foreign customers basic Khmer. Starting with thank you, and when she discovered that we were back everyday moving onto numbers. She taught me to count up to 5.... then, before taking this photo I impressed her by counting to 10 (which isn't too hard.... seeing as it goes 3,4,5, 5-1, 5-2, etc)! We have discovered a 3 for 2 water deal in the little hotel shop.... but every few days I still walk down the road to visit and buy the water from her. I should be everyday.... but we have been so busy this week that walking down the road seemed like climbing a mountain some days!

We also checked out the palace and silver pagoda. The silver pagoda is home to a crazy amount of gold, diamonds and includes silver floor tiles throughout. However, I presume to protect against damage and wear and tear they are mostly covered by rugs, and the view-able tiles aren't polished up. But once you actually realise that it is all gold and silver it is pretty impressive! Plus a gold buddha weighing 90kg and covered with over 2000 diamonds! A large jade buddha and cases and cases of smaller gold and silver and bejewelled buddhas. pretty incredible!
Unfortunately we are not allowed to take photos in the silver pagoda, but here are some from the palace!

Bonus monkeys hanging out in the palace grounds

The amount of ornate carvings and gold is pretty mindblowing

The pagoda gardens

During the week we focused on giving some lessons in our new improved classroom and health promotion! Mainly getting the kids to wash their hands every time they come into the clinic. They are already starting to do it automatically, and telling other kids to go wash hands before playing. This has to be an improvement on kids with snot and filth covered hands playing with the blocks.... that other kids then put in their mouths or play with.

The kids decorating the when-to-wash-hands poster

There was a lack of space for all the kids to trace and colour their hands
on the actual poster.... so we had 2 going!

We also saw our village kids with disabilities. Discovering that the teenage boy we see (I believe his name is Sila, but not really sure of spelling!!) actually has an exercise machine and walking frame donated to the family from somewhere. Unfortunately, because of the way his mum helps him to walk, he tends to lean backwards and so is unable to use the walking frame safely. The exercise machine also seems to strengthen the pushing-backwards type muscles.... but we have been practicing balance standing on his own, and standing leaning forwards on the frame. He has actually stood without holding onto anything at all a few times now. I think he and everyone around thought that he could never do that!

We also work on balance for this young girl. I haven't yet been able to establish her name sadly, but she is always happy to play! Lots of kicking balls and standing on one leg!

We have also been visiting Fatima (the double amputee) in hospital. Lots of stretching her tight little hamstrings, trying to get some strength back into her legs, hoping to mould her stumps into a good shape for prosthetics and trying not to cause too much pain during this whole process! Translation difficulties add a level another level of complexity to this already mighty complex situation... for example Lucy "is this hurting her?" "translator immediately replies "no." Lucy "Can you ask HER if it is hurting?"

Maybe I don't give him enough credit..... perhaps he is actually a mind reader :P

We are also becoming more and more terrified of Cambodian hospitals after seeing photos of Fatima in surgery when she arrived, fact a side that people were just hanging out taking photos in what should have been a fairly sterile environment - she didn't appear to be ventilated. So presumably was either barely sedated, or was sedated with no assist to breathing. Then, as we left on Thursday the woman in the bed next to Fatima looked like she was going to get traction on her leg, but in walked a series of doctors in surgical scrubs and masks with a box of stuff and a makita drill. It looked like they were going to drill into her leg to do the traction right there..... we confirmed this today. They drilled rods into her thigh bones in the ward room. Which had 2 patients who are unable to move out of their beds and their family. Apparently no form of curtains or screens were used. This, is horrifying!

Weekend adventures

For the weekend we ventured down to Kampot.
Staying in lovely bungalows next to the river.... well, basic bungalows next to a lovely river!
We went on a strange day tour. It was meant to be a trip to the local mountain and national park, see the "black palace" visit a waterfall for lunch and swimming, then a relaxing sunset boat ride up the river.

This was possibly one of the summer villas,
the guide was confusing

The national park tour was more a tour of deserted buildings. Turns out the french and the kings of Cambodia had a series of hotels, casinos and summer palaces.... which were all abandoned in the 70s for about 30 years. Now they seem to be the main attractions. I saw no evidence of nice walks, like you would expect of a national park.... but that might be because of the distinct possibility of landmines in the area!

some cool graffiti in one of the buildings

view out a window

View of the ocean from the top of the mountain

This is an old french casino/hotel. It is actually in quite good
nick, just completely gutted of any fixtures.
I think with some wall papering and fixing, this building would be amazing!
Instead they have built a giant tacky looking casino and hotel not far away.

the balcony of the french hotel

We then went to the waterfall for lunch. Turns out, there is no water because it is the end of dry season. So no swimming. I went for a walk along the rocks and found a beautiful ledge to hang out on and watch the world go by. Lots of nice butterflies (who seemed to be confused by my pasty white skin and think my feet were flowers) and the sound of the little bit of water in the river, birds calling, general rainforest noise. It was quite a blissful, relaxing place to sit!