Well, I know I’ve been useless at getting
the Cambodia travels put online, but I’m trying slowly. Things
have taken a turn for the interesting at work as my manager
resigned while I was away. She has been one of the best managers
I’ve ever worked with. I would propose that I do know having
worked for a total mixture of them. Some good, some bad, some
amazing and other who have umm oh been fired.

Her impending departure has meant aload of changes within the
managment and most of them I don’t won’t to write about under
this know name. Maybe I should open a different blog somewhere and
write about it. Soap operas have nothing on this. My best way of
describing it is read Dilbert.

My trip was really great. We had good
karma running with us all the time (well almost all, I had some bad
yoghurt which didn’t help the tummy for 1 night, but recovered
fast). We flew via Singapore and had a very long stop over,
fortunately I have a friend who now lives there so we stayed the
night at her place before heading to Phnom Penh for the night. From
there we went directly to Siem Reap by bus to begin Temple viewing.
We stayed in a great hotel called the Golden Banana in there
boutique hotel bit which is 7 really nice apartments all around a
pool! The pool was very important as it was very hot (about 38
degrees). Temples were just amazing and we spent an extra day there
to do the outlying ones which was well worth the time (and one
pulled calf muscle by me!).

From Siem Reap we took a river boat trip
up to Battambang. Our luck was really going well as the rains we
had over the previous days mean the boat could go all the way up
river. Its was an incredible boat trip and gave an amazing insight
into river life. It can be also upsetting as some of these people
live in deep poverty with houses constructed of sticks and plastic
bags. Out luck was really giong well as the Villa we wanted to stay
at had a spare room for us. Its a restored 1930 french villa and
was amazing. (no pool, but we got soaking wet anyway as the monsoon
rain hit and we had no umbrellas). We had booked into a cooking
course to learn Kymer food. Was really fun, going around the market
and cooking up. The have an ingredient call Prahok, which smells
like fermented rotten fish, which is an accurate smell since it is
fermented rotten fish! I didn’t put much into my soup but I do
have to admit once its cooked for a while it tastes great!

We also did a motor bike tour around of
the home industries making things rice paper, and mushrooms. And
took a trip on the famous Bamboo Railway. Our luck was in again as
we got onto the bus to head back to Phnom Penh just as the skies
opened up again. We had a great time there as well nosing around
different thing and just slowing down to relax as we had been up
very very early (like 5am) when going out to view temples. And then
it was over and time to head home, we did well again thou as the
serviced apartment we stayed in were happy for us to stay until
3pm, so we shopped, then lounged by pool, showered and were driven
out to the airport! Flight back was okay, duty free in Changi took
a hinding as we got bored at the fragrence counter!

Wow, what a trip. Back from two weeks in Cambodia travelling around and seeing things again. The trip was via Singapore with a long layover which would have been a issue except my best friend now lives there so had a wonderful tme cathing up with her and breaking into her place at 3am in the morning! opps 

There is something that I write about very rarely, and it many ways thats probably my bigest crime, as they are the ones I should talk about all the time. There were previously many insignificant reasons why this did not happen, and now there is really no excuse.

Well, I’m back now from an amazing two weeks in
Cambodia. It is the second time that I’ve been there and there is so much change
from 7 years ago. I won’t say it was a real eye opener as my eyes have already
been well opened to the life that exists in much of the world in poverty, but it
was a reawakening of a part of me that had gone into hibernation.

The
bus trip from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap was like recall to life. I’ve spent the
last 6 months doing nothing but think about me, cancer and what next. I still
don’t have the answers to what next as cancer does not give you that luxury.
However it did bring me screaming back to world reality and over the two weeks
there life readjusted itself to the real realities that many live in.

I’m still processing the pictures from the trip as I took so many, the
river trip from Siem Reap to Battambang was a total insight to river life and I
would say one of the most incredible river trips you can ever do. I had seen
something similiar in the Mekong Delta, but not for such a long journey as much
of that was by van, not boat. What you see on that river trip is spectacular and
such a slice of life that most won’t even understand it.

More later

I had to return to the hospital (yet) again for the results of testing. I’m not sure how doctors do it, but they always make it sound like there is something they are not telling you, like giving you the good news first leading upto the bad news!

I’ve learnt something really interesting
in the last week or so. Some people really perceive themselves as
being seen by others by what the own. This concept has fascianted
me during this period as I’ve never really come across someone so
totally orientated towards this concept. Thinking back I had friend
and university who thought that way, but back then I never really
processed it properly.

Now looking at the world I guess most of the west is driven by this
having to own more expensive things than the next person. Cars seem
to be the big thing. Interestingly I’m watching a discovery
channel program about car shops that produce cars for people who
what the ‘car’ to be seen in. Its fun watching the program to see
what happens, but the end result leaves me rather dry.

Not that I love a great looking car, and I’vd driven some
wonderful rentals in my time, but they dont’ define me. I don’t
own a car and haven’t for years. The ones I did were second/third
many hands before me.

What expensive toys to I own. Well my Bose headphones and they were
a treat so I could listen to my music and tv programs in hospital
with lovely comfy headphones. (ps they are comfortable and have
great sound).

Next most expensive toys are my computer equipment as I use them/it
all the time for many things, phone, DVD’s radio, and an actual
computer. Then I guess the next thing would be my kitchen ware. odd
huh.

Now ask me what are the most valuable things in my life. Well thats
easy. My photos, and books that I’ve collected from around the
world. My journals of where I have been are ireplaceable. Why
because they define where I’ve been, how what I saw and how I
felt.

I guess at the end of this little revelation I realised I’m not an
asset person, I’m a where/what person. I would rather be defined
by where I been, what I’ve done and how I see the world than any
tangible item that I own. My most precious items are the small
reminders that I have of these things.

If you want to own a Tag Heur watch go for it. I would rather spend
the money and go see Borobudur in Indonesia, it totally timeless so
who really needs a watch.

I wrote this a few weeks back, but after
another reading it seemed appropriate to post it.

I am sure I mentioned that the transition between treatment of
cancer and then after is something. Welll I had read up on the
‘stage’ and feld that it was not going to affect me.
Well how wrong was I, its just not that you have had cancer and
then come back to the real world. Its more like you have had cancer
and lived in a totally different world then have to switch back to
the world of everyone else who has not been through this. Some are
very understanding, others nice, but none really understand.

I think part of it is that for a period
you are spending so much time and energy in the battle with this
disease that many of the ‘normal’ world concerns pass
you by as you are so wrapped up in what is important,

When it starts to become all over the rest
of society want you to be the same as before, but that’s
really not possible. They have not been through the choices that
must and have to be made, quite simply they really just don’t
understand.

Well I’ve spent a good part of the
weekend upgrading my PC from Windows XP to Vista, which I’m now
nick naming blista, cos thats what my mouse finger has. What a pain
in the next upgrade its been. 

Would I recommend going to it. Well only if you have a certain
tendency towards pain. Nothing about this operating system is
designed to make life easy. Quite frankly having played around with
Linux desktop for a while I’m having some serious thoughts of
using that as my permenant workstation. Not that Linux is easy, but
the hoops you have to jump through with Vista are bringing it upto
the same level and at least with Linux you have an established
support base.

The irony is that its supposed to be the best windows ever, well
its certainly not going anywhere near my parents computer. I can
just support them on XP from a few thousand miles. I can barely
support this installation of Vista and I’m sitting right in front
of the screen.

What a strange weekend its been. Its supposed to be spring now with the Sakura in full blossum and weather sunny. Japanese people are supposed to be sitting under the tree’s drinking Sake, at Haname and probably composing dreadful poetry. Actually I think they have been doing that regardless of weather.