O Glorious Rain
Last night at about 2 am I was lying in bed at my guesthouse up in Kampong Chhnang watching the Discovery Channel when I realized that an odd noise was coming from the window. At first I thought it was one of the guesthouse workers doing something, but when I looked, I saw that the ground was wet. I grabbed my flip flops and ran outside in my underwear and couldn’t believe my senses. RAIN! And not just a little sprinkle, no, a serious downpour was underway. The last time I saw rain was Thanksgiving Day (November 25 for all you non-Americans) during the Phnom Penh Water Festival. I stood there for a few minutes until I was sufficiently wet and cooled off. For the previous 5 hours I had been laying in a pool of my own sweat on the bed as my ceiling fan tried in vain to relieve the stagnant air around me.
I have mentioned before that Cambodia is in the middle of its dry season (January to June), but a significant portion of SEA is also suffering from the worst drought in 10 years. Certain areas of the country have been hit particularly hard as the rains ended a month earlier than normal. The Prime Minister has gone so far as to ask Thailand to extend its cloud-seeding flights up to 10 km into Cambodia.
I fell asleep to the steady rain drops landing next to my window. The next morning I woke up to go teach. The ground was still wet and a faint mist hung in the air. It was cool enough that I didn’t immediately start sweating and that post-rain, musty sent was a welcome relief compared to the dry dust I have been breathing for the past 4 months.
On my way back to Phnom Penh, the bone-dry, brown rice fields punctuated with Palm trees faded into the same surreal mist. I hit a few patches of rain on the way home, but it was not significant enough to cause much discomfort. As I rolled down my street I saw that Phnom Penh had seen a good bit of rain. The backpacker ghetto in which I live has a single, narrow dirt road that has to accommodate many tuk tuks and motorbikes that constantly harass any foreigner who comes within 5 meters of them. I smiled while I drove through some sizable puddles as many travelers were trying to dodge the mud and moto drivers in their flip flops and white skirts.
Tags: Cambodia
Neil
April 5th, 2005 at 7:35 am
Afternoon Neil.
Found your diary a few weeks ago and it’s been interesting reading. Thank you.
I will be travelling to PP myself in 2 months to stay with a friend and would like to ask your advice.
To make ends meet there I am planning to find employment as an english teacher.
I’m studying for a tefl qualification at the moment, but have no direct experience of teaching english. Im 38 and an English native speaker.
What is the job market like there….and how would you rate my chances of finding work?
Rob.
April 5th, 2005 at 1:57 pm
you captured the reader in that piece neil-
April 7th, 2005 at 2:48 am
Rob,
You could easily find a job with your qualifications here in town. $8 to $10 an hour would be pretty standard, though you could get as much as $15 an hour with some experience. Your age would also probably be an advantage. Good luck.
April 7th, 2005 at 9:24 pm
That’s nice to know, many thanks neil.
rob.
April 10th, 2005 at 3:40 pm
did you mean to say white shirts?