Page 69 - Phonebox Magazine February 2008

Cambodia . . continued
climbing behind one and getting very wet (oh and Mark slipping over on the rocks, taking out Emma and nearly the guide too). Afterwards we again hopped on our bikes, this time to a lake that had formed from a volcano crater. Emma did swim for a bit, but mainly the pair of us, shocked that the water was so cold on a hot day, decided to just sit at the side and dip our feet in.
We left Ratanakiri the next day after doing everything we could, reluctantly boarding another bus, this time to Kratie, six hours away. Kratie would break up our journey to Siem Reap and apparently was a nice place to be for a couple of days. Indeed Kratie was a surprise package and provided good times, mainly because of a boat trip to spot dolphins at sunset and also because we caught a small boat to an island in the middle of the river (running past Kratie), which had trees that had been hiding us from a rural Cambodian farming community, only too happy to say ‘’hello’’ to the rarely seen tourists.
Again boarding yet another bus, this time set for Siem Reap, we tried to make ourselves as comfortable as possible for another long nine- hour journey, this time a lot smoother than before (although still pretty bumpy!). When we arrived in Siem Reap we went to stay at a guest house with an Aussie girl we’d met who’d had it recommended to her for the cleanliness and roof-top bar. This roof-top bar ended up being a great place to meet local Cambodians and learn their views on the situation their country is in and have banter with.
Siem Reap offered plenty for the pair of us to do as it is home to Angkor Wat (used in the Tomb Raider film), now a world heritage site, which was built in the 9th Century and is the worlds largest temple. The temple is magnificent and you can easily spend a whole day walking around the grounds, which we did.
Angkor itself has some 1000 temples situated amongst farmland and forests and there is so much to see that we decided to buy a three-day pass; this money goes to a private petrol company that bought the rights to Angkor Wat, another short-term money maker for the government whereby only $5 out of $40 goes to preservation of the site.
On the last day we rushed up Siem Reaps highest point, along with hundreds of others, all eager to witness sunset from the peak which
was home to yet another ancient temple. The reason for the sheer number of people who flock everyday to this peak became apparent when the sun started to set over Angkor: the sky turning orange, blue and purple behind the darkened ruins of the temple.
We also spent time ‘exploring’ Pub Street where we had a laugh with other travellers and even met what Asia is famous for – a ladyboy!
Drinking aside we decided that we wanted to do something useful on our travels and put something back into the community. We gave blood at a local childrens hospital, as they are crying out for foreign blood as a large percentage of locals have unusable HIV positive blood. We also found out about a free school set up for poor children and young adults to teach English, so
that they can get jobs in the tourism and hospitality trade etc. We both went and volunteered to teach English, along with the Australian girl we’d met, as they needed native speakers. Between the three of us it turned into a bit of a geography lesson, between England and Australia at first, then moved on to telling the time, the Royal Family and getting the kids to structure together sentences in relation to these areas. The day turned out to be incredibly rewarding and was a great way to end our time in Cambodia.
After being in Cambodia we are surprised that the image of Cambodia isn’t more positive and can see that a lack of knowledge, possibly a fear of the unknown what with its dark past, poverty and corruption, is still making people apprehensive about travelling there. The people are positive and friendly, they are not just out to get your money which means more time is spent with the locals just getting to know each other with no alternative motives.
The country has some incredible sights and experiences to offer and with the right direction could really sort out many of it’s troubles. Unfortunately the lack of a ‘bigger picture’ outlook, by the government and anyone with influence means that the country rarely sees potential benefits, instead the corruption only serves to fill the pockets of the big cats and any action to fix the country
is usually short term, often a lack of vision or greed is to blame.
Despite the negativity, it is an amazing country with a lot to offer and we would recommend anyone travelling to SE Asia not to cut Cambodia out.
Improvements to the blood donation sessions in Newport Pagnell
The Milton Keynes Collection Team has been locally based for nearly five years and during that time we have been frequent visitors to the Lovat Hall in Silver Street. We average one visit per month, but it is always for a very few hours and always on a Friday afternoon. Which is a great shame as this is one of the best venues we have anywhere. But these are the only times that can be managed.
However, there is good news on the horizon. We are planning to visit Newport Pagnell on Saturdays. These visits will be on a day following a Friday visit so that we can make the most of the time and collect as many blood donations as possible. Our Friday sessions have always been well supported.
And this will be the first time that we have ever regularly collected blood donations on a Saturday within the Milton Keynes area. So we hope that with this extra opportunity, you will be able to give us even more support.
This year we are planning three Saturday visits, the first being on Saturday 3 May. The session times are 09:15 – 12:30 and 14:00 – 16:15. If you have always wanted to donate and never had the opportunity, this could be the chance for you. If you infrequently donate because the sessions and times are inconvenient, this could also be a chance for you. There are already some appointments booked for this day so why not call 0845 7 711 711 now and book an appointment before they all go!! Appointments can be booked 24
hours a day and up until 03:00 on the day of the particular session. You can always turn up on the day and you will be very welcome, but you will understand that we do try and give priority to those who have made appointments. If you are unsure whether you are eligible to donate, then you can obtain advice on 0845 7 711 711 during normal working hours.
This is just the first of what we hope to be many improvements made locally to make our service more accessible to new and existing blood donors. These donations are essential to saving the lives of so many patients. We are a local team, formed to serve the local community, and, at the time of writing, blood donations taken locally this week could well be being used in local hospitals. So please support us if you possibly can. K
MAN AND A VAN
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Phonebox Magazine 69