Beaches of Southeast Cambodia - Part I

Hello all! We are nearing the end of our stay in Cambodia and will be trying to post more pictures of the various places that we have visited and more activities at the hospital. We have much still to document so we will do the best that we can, maybe finishing after we get back to the states.

So, we are going to report on the beaches that we have visited and a little on the wildlife that we captured in pictures. We have covered several beach areas in southeast Cambodia (see map below). The first beach area that we visited is at the Ream National Park near Sihanoukville – see http://www.sihanoukville-cambodia.com/about-sihanoukville/ream.html for more information. 

The park encompasses 21,000 hectares of coastal area including sandy beaches, mangrove forests, the Prek Tuk Sap estuary, off-shore coral reefs and two islands (Koh Thmei and Koh Ses). Macaques, sun bear, dolphins, and over 155 species of birds and other animals may be seen in the park. We saw cranes and several birds of prey including what we thought were some type of eagle (Cambodia is home to several species). The park is marked on the map on the bottom left (map from National Geographic Society).

Here is the entrance to our guesthouse in Ream.

Here is pool shark Michelle playing our friend Amy (a SKMH volunteer from Romania). Frequent power outages made playing interesting. The owner of the guesthouse finally ran his generator to keep the power up.

Here we are at the pavilion that extends into the Gulf of Thailand behind the Ream Beach guesthouse. The rooms were tiny but cozy. There wasn’t any hot water or A/C, but our room faced the beach and with the wall fan running was comfortable (it is the center one, bottom floor). We also met the giant house gecko that was over a foot long that scared Tod out of his shoes when they met face-to-face in our room. We didn’t have the camera at the ready. Michelle stayed in the bathroom while Tod chased it out of the room.

Here is the view from our pavilion looking west towards the park entrance. This is a “postcard” picture. This beach area was one of the most clean and beautiful that we have seen while in Cambodia.

What a handsome bunch! Tod, Bob and Amy. Tod is obviously the second-tallest person in Cambodia… 

Here are two love birds in the little beach area behind the guesthouse.

This is one of our favorite pictures (that Michelle shot) of the spiny sea urchins that attached themselves to the pavilion support structure. When we swam we had to be sure to stay away from the dock and pavilion supports because YOU DON’T WANT TO GET CLOSE TO THESE CREATURES! You can see how beautiful and clear the water is and easily see the schools of small fish swimming around the urchins.

Amy making a friend at the ranger station. The poor little guy was tied up on this rock pile.

Here we are going up the Prek Tuk Sap estuary (also known as the Salt River we were told because of its brackish nature). Michelle takes great pictures.

One example of the beautiful scenery we saw the entire trip from Ream to the coast down the river.

Here is the beach where we landed in the boat. It was covered in shells everywhere as we walked it – very lovely.

Here was a surprise part of the trip where we had to hike through part of the forest to get to a new location where the boat was docked. Michelle had tweaked an ankle just a few days before, so she had a tough time, and it was very hot and humid. Tod kept a watch out for snakes and rabid bovines (well not really). But we made it without incident over several kilometers.

Next up: Sihanoukville and Kep…

Wheels for Hope Community Outreach and Health Fair

Hello folks! The SKMH along with Wheels for Hope, a charitable outreach started by cycling enthusiasts, put together an exciting day for the Kampot community. One of the areas that can make a huge difference in the quality of a family’s life in Cambodia is the ability to get to work and school. For poor families, even the cost of a standard bicycle (about $50 US) is prohibitive. In the morning on the road outside of the hospital we can watch the kids riding to school or the garment workers riding to work. Some of the bikes that they are on are barely holding together, while others you can hear the chains and bearings grind and wonder if they will make it to school or work. A new bike can enable a family to help themselves in wonderful ways. It is difficult for foreigners like us to fully grasp just what this means unless you come to a place like rural Cambodia and see it firsthand.

To understand more, check out this video by our friend acclaimed director ck Chan (www.udconcepts.com) who also organized this giveaway with Roger Singnet (both from Singapore): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Je2QgUBz7M. 

This video was made at a previous bike giveaway in Cambodia in Oudong. Take a look at the amazing stories in the video and you can see how life-changing a new bike can be here.

Here is a picture of the 75 bikes that we gave away arranged in front of the hospital entrance.

We had about 120 children plus parents attend. Here are some of them!

We also had games and workshops as part of our outreach. Here is Tod teaching the kids how to brush their teeth with the head pharmacist Kanel. Tod made up a song that he sang to the kids. Fame and fortune will certainly follow...

------------- The Tooth Brush Song ----------------

(sung to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)

Brush your teeth, up and down,

Make your brush go ‘round and ‘round.

In the back is great to start,

Moving forward toward your heart.

If you do this you will see,

You will not get a cavity!

Of course, what do they do when the guy with the homemade coconut ice cream comes? Here they are with the hospital technical director Mr. Kin.

We also had stations where we checked weight, blood pressure, and other vital signs so that every child had a thorough health screening. For this event we did not find any children that had any serious health issues (other than some that were slightly malnourished which is typical in this part of Cambodia). Below are Daniel (nursing director) and Ms. Chenda (financial manager) and the tall good-looking guy is Bob who is an ER nurse and a fellow volunteer from the US. They were part of the group doing the health screening.

Finally, you can get a really good perspective on how many kids were there with this shot of Michelle giving out the take-home treat bags that many of the folks in these photos helped to put together.

Please continue to pray for the people of Cambodia and the great work being done by the SKMH!

Love to all from Tod and Michelle

Sunsets, Critters, and Flora

Hello Folks,

We have been really busy at the hospital, so we are looking forward to compiling photos from our trip to Ream National Park and a couple of trips to the top of Bokor Mountain and the old (haunted?) casino and church. We also supported a children's health day where we had 120 school children at the hospital for health screenings. The hospital also gave away many dozens of bikes for poor families so that their children could better attend school. You will also get a copy of Tod's toothbrush song that he composed to help the kids learn more about brushing. But until then, here are some shots of the amazing sunsets, critters, and flora of the region.

First the sunsets - all from our bungalow:

Critters as they let me capture them. The grasshopper is our favorite shot.

First, a big beetle.

A centipede that is actually poisonous (as many are). These are common sights. They can get quite large (6 - 12 inches) and their bite is very painful and can cause nasty localized swelling.

Leap'n Lizards! This is as close as I got. He bounded away after I tried a closer shot. Not bad for an iPhone 3.

Green Mantis at night by our back door.

We are especially proud of these two of the grasshopper taken with our Nikon Coolpix.

Flowering trees in the hospital courtyard:

Lotus flowers in our pond.

We don't know these, but they bloom from a planted creeping vine

This is an iPhone shot out our front door of a downpour. Notice the amount and velocity of the water leaving the large white downspout in the lower left of the picture!

Running in Kampot

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NOTE: This blog is dedicated to the people of Boston who have suffered terribly by the bombings at the Boston Marathon. In the running community we have an expression – “we are all Kenyans”. This is to support those great Kenyan runners who must persevere through very difficult conditions to become the best in the world. Today it can be said that “we are all Bostonians”.

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Hello Runners – welcome to running in Kampot. As can be seen in our first blog post, we have the beautiful Elephant Mountains outside of our back door, where the Bokor National Park is located. Check out these sites to see some of the amazing beauty (http://phnombokor.com/ and http://www.bokor-mountain-cambodia.com/). I have seen many of these sites including a time that three other adventurers and I rode bikes up the mountain to almost the top peak (38 miles total, 3400 ft ascent). According to my Cyclemeter iphone app, we hit speeds nearly 50 mph going downhill which is a bit hard to believe. But this blog is about running…

Bokor Mountain provides a great running destination from the SKMH. It is a little more than 2 kilometers to the base and the road up the mountain may be in the best condition of any in Southern Cambodia. My standard run is about 8 km (~5 mi) which includes about a 1.5 km run uphill before I turn around to run down the mountain. I sometimes pair this run with one to the Gulf of Thailand up a dirt road which is also about 2 km from the hospital. The biggest problem with that path is the many dog “packs” barking and following me from the houses close to the road (there is no animal control in Cambodia). I carry a bamboo pole to keep any too aggressive dogs at bay, but I don’t want to deal with a dog bite and possible rabies shots. So far so good…

So here is the entrance to the hospital looking back at it from the main road outside:

Check out this beautiful sunrise looking east from a small jetty going out into the gulf. There are small fishing boats in the distance and the mountains furthest away are probably near or in Vietnam.

Here is a view back to Bokor and the hospital. Notice the very red dirt, the soil here reminds me of Georgia back in the US.

Here are the best looking shins in Cambodia! This is me on the jetty with my bamboo pole. I practice some martial arts arnis and staff moves when I run. It also strikes fear in the hearts of the pooches.

Here is the entrance to Bokor National Park. The blue sign in the distance is the checkpoint for cars and the elaborate gate to the left is just below.

The Khmere writing on the gate simply tells you that this is the entrance to a clothing factory (or so I'm told). There is a large factory on that property and the owner has erected many elaborate structures in the style of very formal Khmere architecture.

The statue below is the Hindu god Vishnu that you see exiting the park just behind the welcome sign. He is (according to ReligionFacts) "All-Pervading," is the protector of the world and the restorer of moral order (dharma). He is peaceful, merciful, and compassionate. To Vaisnavites, Vishnu is the Supreme Lord. He has been modified to carry construction tools instead of the regular conch, discus, club, and lotus. Cambodia is about 90% Buddhist so you may wonder why Vishnu is here. My best understanding is that Buddha (the sage) is the 9th avatar of Vishnu, so there is a strong relationship between the two religions. Cambodia has historically been strongly influenced by India at least since about the 7th century. The major temples like Angkor Wat are actually Hindu temples.

You can also see a small shrine for burning incense at his feet.

Here is one of the km markers that I use to judge distance. This is near the gate pictured above and marks the first kilometer heading into Bokor. We call these the "tombstone markers".

Here, just behind the fence gate is one of the little dogs that liked to come out and bark at me. However, I haven't had a problem with any of them on the Bokor part of the run for some time. I think that I now smell more like a Khmere (food maybe?) which might seem normal to the dogs. Its either that or they fear my bamboo staff of destruction!!!

Near my normal turnaround point on the mountain is this sign. It means "Do Not Litter" :^)

Check this view about 2 km up the mountain. This is looking southwest towards Thailand.

Here is a shot a little further up the mountain when I did a late afternoon run. Here I'm looking northwest as the sun sets over one of the peaks in the park. The sunsets here are just incredible with more colors than I have ever seen anywhere else.

That is it for now. To all my running friends: keep up the joy of running and remember to check your shoes for scorpions before you go out... Peace.