Pchum Ben

– a religious festival

In August we went to Malaysia for a holiday to escape the wet season (an account of our trip will be mentioned at a later date).  On our return there was a heavy downpour in Phnom Penh and the streets were flooded.  We were soon greeted with a reminder of why we had left.  At the airport we had quickly grabbed a Tuk Tuk attempting to stay dry on our way to the guesthouse.  However, there were people on motorbikes that were drenched and others were wading through the streets with water up to their knees.  By dinnertime the plugged drainage system had somewhat cleared and the roads were nearly back to normal to walk the streets while avoiding the garbage that had accumulated on the streets from sewers during the downpour.

Back to Mondolkiri the clinic/house next door (that took a year to build) was completed.  The landlady had moved her petite maternity clinic in her new house and  was now ready for normal business.

On our return we were faced with the fact that our landlord/lady told us that they wanted to raise the rent, despite the contract we had made for a fixed time here.  They rational:  ‘You have an extra person living with you (that’s Kevin) and we should raise the rent’ was the analogy they gave us.   As soon as they realized that we were serious at looking for other housing they quickly changed their minds and became our friends again, giving us food, inviting us to the Watt and for a meal.

We had also arrived at the beginning of Pchum Ben.  The local Watt was in full swing with chiming music and Monks chanting the Sutra’s in the background.  This seemed very fitting for this particular occasion that began at the wake of dawn (4 to 11 o’clock).   Pchum Ben is a Cambodian religious festival that lasts 15 days leading up to a 3-day national holiday.  This is a time for Cambodians to commemorate their ancestors of up to 7 generations by cooking meals for monks and making offerings to the "ghost" of deceased relatives. It is also known as "Ancestor's Day".  During the 3-day national holiday, religious rituals were held each day at the local Watt and everyone brought food-offerings to the Pagoda.  Food was mainly composed of rice, greens, and an abundance of fruits.  The end of the mantras gave rise to a different sound, to the sound of birds’ chirping  whilst building nests for their young.

This is the second year that we have experienced Pchum Ben.  Last year at the end of September 2013, we were at the tail end of our ICT and we stayed in Kep for the week.  This year we stayed in the beautiful hills of Mondolkiri to visit the Watt, have a meal with our landlord/landlady and to invite our little VSO group to join us for dinner one evening. By the way 2 more new VSO people have arrived and now we are 5.

Now that the festival is over, we have entered another cycle of another great year in Mondolkiri.   The monsoon season is currently coming to an end and the dogs are yelping louder than ever.  They are getting ready for mating.  The weather is becoming dryer each day. The illegal logging trucks are back at full speed.  We’re now getting beautiful sunsets, which we missed during the rainy season.  And, before long there will be bomb fires on every corner of town.

In terms of work, back to school programme starts November 1, 2014 due to the anti corruption exam that took place last July. 2014.   Only 25% of high school students passed while last year 86% passed.   Another set of exams has now been scheduled for October 13, 2014 throughout Cambodia to give high school students a second chance to rewrite their exams.    Kevin and I have been busy conducting a workshop together; preparing for the School Enrollment Campaign with my Khmer and VSO colleagues and arranging Annual Partnership Review for us VSO Education Sector.  Time has indeed passed quickly for us and I’m afraid before we know it time will fly faster than ever …

On that note, Kevin and I are spending our 35^th anniversary at Cullum’s place this evening for a yummy hamburger and tasty fries.

Last but not least, Esther will be coming to town for a visit from Australia

More later …