Category Archives: Making a difference

Day 260 – Boy Zone

Our first day in Sohar was mostly spent using the power and wifi here. Even though we wrote a lot of the blog entries on the road, we now had to upload them. Commenting about 40 to 50 pictures for each entry took us a while so in the end, we managed four blog posts. Which isn’t bad but still not up to date.

When Lina and Michael returned from school, Flo was invited to Jorge’s place where Michael was headed to jam with Jorge and Todd on their guitars. Flo wanted to check the tank and the tank sensor of the bike and Jorge has tools and space so he offered it. Note: Lina and I were not invited…it was explicitly a boy thing. =P

Day 245 – Back to school (8th Month-i-versary)

Today, we had the amazing opportunity to accompany our friends Lina and Michael to their workplace. They both work here in Sohar at an international school; one teaching secondaries and the other a bit younger ones. We tagged along on our bike, with the chance to meet staff, visit a class and have a general look around.

Sports Hall

Sports Hall

When we left at noon, it was once again one of those times where we had to pinch ourselves to believe that we really keep on getting these amazing encounters. Being able to sit with a class and see how much better school can be compared to what we were both used to from our own time at school was elevating. On top of that, we had the chance to hear an amazing author talk.

First we got a grand tour of the school. It is relatively small, even though it covers all from kindergarten up to the A-levels. A gym, dance and music halls and even a swimming pool on the grounds. We also got to say hi to a lot of staff, including George from Spain, who passed us on our way to school on a beautiful KTM 950 adventure. Always great to meet fellow riders.

Looking towards the building for secondaries

Looking towards the building for secondaries

After that, we joined Michael’s class for a lesson. They are just old enough to transition to a more self-managed style of learning. It was so great to see these kids picking up skills that a bunch of professionals I encountered in the past struggled with. As a bonus, we even got the chance to work with some of the kids. We both got interviewed for their current long term team projects.

Pretty impressed, we joined back up with Lina after the lesson and learned that we could hang around and listen in to Lorie Ann Grover presenting to Michael’s class and another one. Lorie Ann is the mother-in-law of another teacher. We already got a chance to hang out with her, her husband and daughter during our wadi trip on Thursday. Back then, we did not quite realize how much of an amazing person she was. We were also once again impressed with the kids. The were fully switched on during the talk and with their questions afterwards.

The shadow of the safety railing on our curtain. So pretty!

The shadow of the safety railing on our curtain. So pretty!

With a full day’s worth of new impression collected by lunch time, we got back on the bike and made our way “home”. Along the way, we stopped at the local mall for lunch and more importantly shopping at Carrefour for dinner. We promised Michael and Lina to prepare dinner for them tonight and Michael opted for Nachoes.

We came back with plenty of time to get everything ready. Imported Avocados from New Zealand proved, unfortunately, much better in Gisborne that Sohar. Overall, I hope it was still nice enough. Our hard working hosts definitive seemed to appreciate the gesture.

Day 215 – UXO

Mountains, Gandalf, mountains!

Mountains, Gandalf, mountains!

Things were not half as spooky waking up this morning. We, nonetheless, hurried to get everything packed up and on the road again. The main reason was that we were not expecting to get any breakfast in this village  – or better say, the promise of baguette in the next town was much more alluring than the likely rice soup here.  So 20km later, we were at the crossroad town Phou Khoun. No baguette was to be seen, though. Instead, we settled on fried battered banana (cold and eww) from the market plus coffee and cookies in one of the guesthouses.

Although we had “only” 160 km to go today, it soon was clear that this is a whole different kettle of fish from zipping up the Mekong lowlands. I will not complain, though. Thousands of turns on a scenic mountain road made the whole thing quite enjoyable. Once the morning fog lifted, the views only got better. Before lunch, we hit our destination, the provincial capital Phonsavan. This is a good place to find a bed and use it as the base to explore the Plain of Jars. Continue reading →

Day 198 – Elephants!

Man, I was excited for this day. Getting up at 6am and chomping down our breakfast pancakes so we could go meet the pick-up van at 7am in front of Cafe Hefalump. When we arrived at 6.50am, it soon dawned on us (mostly me) that the instruction email might have had some mistakes in it. Ours stated to be at the cafe at 7am for a 7.10am departure, so please have had breakfast already…which we had. All the other participants, however, arrived at 7am to sit down in the cafe, have their coffee and a breakfast cookie/cake. Luckily, departure was at 7.30am so we didn’t have to wait too long but I was slightly jealous of the cake for breakfast.

Instruction speech in the morning

Instruction speech in the morning

A Dutch girl, Sabine, from our guesthouse showed up, too, so we had someone to talk to on the way to the Elephant Valley Project. The ride in the van was bumpy and very dusty, at least in the back row. All the dust from the 4WD seemed to be sucked up through the air vents to slowly settle down inside the car. When we stopped, I was happy to leave the dust trap and meet our guide for the day: John. He looked to be about 20 years old and is a volunteer at the project for one year.

The project offers different deals on seeing elephants; Flo and I had decided to go on a full day of elephant spotting instead of volunteering in the afternoon which would have made the whole thing cheaper but we would have seen less elephants. Continue reading →

Day 189 – Privilege

It is hard for me to fathom, and is actually getting harder as we get on with our trip, how immensely privileged we are. The insane randomness to be born white and male, as a German in the most peaceful and prosperous age Europe has know in its existence. To have had all the opportunities that I have and all the doors that are open to us.

How? Well, let’s start with the obvious. Yesterday, we basically ran out of money. What we have in cash on us is pretty much all we have, and it may last us a month. For the majority of people we interact with daily, heck, for the majority of people, that is an existential everyday issue. But not for us – we are privileged. We have a network of friends and family that will support us, lend us money. Understand that there is no existential issue here – we do not need money to survive or get out of a dire straight. We are able to peruse happiness as we see fit, due to the incredible friends and families we are lucky to have.

More important, we grew up not knowing the realities of real large scale violence and war, yet we got to grow up not fully ignorant to such things. As it is a remarkable thing Germans do. I have stood in the field of graves at Verdun and have been terrified by the silence that lies over Buchenwald as part of my publicly funded education. Glimpses of horror and chances given to us to become weary without ever really being threatened to suffer any such things ourselves.

High school turned torture prison turned museum...it looks so innocent from the courtyard

High school turned torture prison turned museum…it looks so innocent from the courtyard

Today we went to visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum located in what has become known as the S-21 prison of the Khmer Rouge. Once again, we got a glimps of horror into a world that we will never have to truly understand. But we have to try. Because the perpetrators, in all these cases, from the Mongol rider to the KZ prison guard, are not some other beings. These were all humans, just like us. It is in us to commit unthinkable acts of violence. A shift in morals or ideology can happen any time, any where. All individual steps to insanity are … understandable in some way.

Rules for "interrogation"

Rules for “interrogation”

The horror lies in the ordinarity with which atrocities are committed. For me and in this place, it is the obsession with the confession. Most vile acts were committed by the Khmer Rouge and millions of people died. The machine soon ate its own children as well. Yet this insane system could not just be OK with killing the prisoners or “enemies”. Everyone had to confess first. People were tortured for weeks, to get the confession. Confessions were obviously bullshit, full of lies. Heck, most of the time people would not even have anything to confess to begin with and just not know what their tormentors wanted from them. Everybody would be killed in the end anyway, but so much pain was induced to just “follow the rules” and oblige to the internal logic of this devilish farce.

I am privileged without end to be able to learn in these places without ever having to suffer anything remotely close to the horrors that happened here. I feel deeply for the Cambodians and am utterly impressed with how positive and lovely everyone is that we encounter.

Random tourists in a roadside eatery =P

Random tourists in a roadside eatery =P

Right there and then though, we got reminded once more how we are privileged in a whole different way again. We were somberly making our way through the former high school turned torture camp turned museum listening to the very well done audio guide. Then, I see someone wholly unexpected. Right here, of all places, we ran into Celia and Tig, or hosts from Darwin again. It was the strangest of moments that can only really come from a trip like this. To see someone else we know and care for, admit the horrors that surround us was elevating and humbling at the same time.

We chatted a bit awkwardly over the first surprise of reunion and then agreed to meet after we were through with the audio tour to hang out a bit more. So we did, and it became a lovely evening of reminiscing, catching up on travel plans and some engine talk.  If both our plans go as we think, this will be the last time we see the two of them before Germany (the invitation to stay with us is already issued). Never say never, though …

So yeah, we are privileged. No point being ashamed of it, same as there is none to be ashamed of being born into less privilege. We try to make the best of it, seize the opportunities that we got and stay as humble about it as we can.

 

Day 188 – Capital times

The harsh cuts are sometimes rather weird. outside a developing country, inside cosmo posh.

The harsh cuts are sometimes rather weird. outside a developing country, inside cosmo posh.

Phnom Penh caters well for European tourists…they have bakeries so you are able to get a “continental breakfast”. We went to the “Blue Pumpkin” which is also an ice cream parlor and a training cafe. The upstairs seating area with a view over the riverfront was lovely and we got a mix of “continental breakfast” with a pain au chocolate and a “healthy breakfast” with muesli and fruit to share. Full and happy, we were ready to start the day.

First on our list of sight-seeing objects for this morning was the National Museum of Cambodia. I, particularly, was hyped for this one. But we were a bit disappointed: After having been to Angkor Wat already and also spending time in the Angkor National Museum, this one didn’t offer much that was new. In my opinion, the history of Cambodia needs to be researched more and treated scientifically. At the moment, the great focus is on religion as the temples give a good foundation to base work on. However, with no history texts surviving in Cambodia itself and the frequent mentioning that all information about the early periods comes from Chinese accounts, one would think that a translation of those accounts is available. But no. At least not for the visitors of the museum. All you get are the names for the eras in Chinese which is probably a butchered version of some old Khmer name.

Guardian, concrete, 21st century.

Guardian, concrete, 21st century.

In the end, we didn’t stay too long. Walking to the royal palace, we already knew that it is closed to the public at the moment/that time of the day. We still took some pictures from the outside before heading to an early lunch. So much food today!

The afternoon was spent in our room, blogging, checking out a route for the next couple of days and booking accommodation in advance. I am very keen to visit an elephant sanctuary here as we have skipped elephants on Sumatra, Malaysia and Thailand so far. However, since it’s the high season, we only got a free date on the 17th of February. That’s a bit later than we wanted to but not too bad. We just have to plan what to do in the meantime.

In the late afternoon, we managed to have a long Skype call with friends of ours in Germany. It was well overdue. Having friends with kids means that you are acutely aware of how much time must have passed between calls as half a year makes such a big difference.

Not wanting to spend much money on food again, we had a look at the street food outside of our guest house. One the square next to the market was a night food market including music and a big stage. Obviously this was part of the Chinese New Year’s celebration. Anyhow, it was amazing as a food source. 🙂 We ordered our food from the stalls around and sat down with the locals on the big patch of mats on the ground. Not any less comfy than ale-benches and much cleaner!

Day 187 – The road leads to Phnom Penh

No trouble for the K60 scout

No trouble for the K60 scout

Battambang has been a relaxed stop but now it was time to go to the capital: Phnom Penh. As we had already experienced hostels being booked out due to the high season, we had booked ahead. Our room was secure for three nights (so we would get two full days in the city) and we “just” had to get there…it is about 300km to the southeast.

Starting early-ish to take the pressure off the day, we cruised along the main road for an hour and a half. The only annoying part was that the GPS kept crashing; we had put a new audio book onto the SD card and it couldn’t cope with the format. So, we only had each other’s company for the day. Woe is me. =P

After 1 1/2 hours, we stopped at a roadside shop to get a cold drink and sit somewhere more comfortable than the bike. Again, Cambodia blew us away with its friendly people as the shop owner asked us if we wanted to join into his lunch. So short after our own breakfast, we were not up for it but it was very nice of him to ask. His family, including kids and elderly people, was around, probably living in or behind the shop. An old lady sat down in a hammock after lunch and dipped her baguette into her milk coffee with visible pleasure. Some old colonial habits die hard.

Back on the road, we continued to cruise along at 80kmh. Rocinante approved muchly of the speed as the temperatures didn’t rise as high and fuel consumption was at an all-time low (as we discovered at the end of the day). Overall, temperatures have been amazing lately, dropping a bit under 30 degrees with a wind so that it feels nice and chilly on the bike.

One of 140 floating villages on Lake Tonlé Sap

One of 140 floating villages on Lake Tonlé Sap

When we made it close to the shore of Tonle Sap, the largest lake of Cambodia, we decided to take a detour and actually look at it, instead of just passing by. As soon as you turn off the main road, the seal disappears. A road of red dirt lead to the horizon but it wasn’t even a challenge for the Heidenau tyres. It will be a totally different story in the wet season though…

The further in we got, the poorer the people and the houses got. There is no deluding yourself that Cambodia is not a very poor country. At the end of the road, basically before it leads into the water, longboats are tied to the shore. Some are used to ferry tourists to the floating villages on the lake but they all look like fishing boats as well. A bit of a fair was being constructed, too, which gave the whole place an even more depressing touch.

The road will be cool once the 4 lanes are sealed ...

The road will be cool once the 4 lanes are sealed …

Lunch was unspectacular; afterwards, we continued our ride. Close to Phnom Penh, the whole road turns into a construction site. Everything was red dust. It flew everywhere from all the cars and trucks using the road…the bike and us were covered in a layer of red when we arrived at our guest house. The guest house is on the cheap end of the spectrum but close to the riverfront and the middle of town. When we walked towards our “dining for a cause” restaurant a bit later on, we realized that “the middle of town” is also “the middle of the red light district”. Sex tourism must still be a big thing as there are so many bars and clubs catering to it. Also, the house rules of our guest house have some disturbing points listed from “no child molesting” to “no kidnapping”. 🙁

National brew - and finally cheap again. 1$ for a draft

National brew – and finally cheap again. 1$ for a draft

Dinner was lovely in the not-for-profit restaurant Veiyo Tonle which is another training restaurant; this time, it also supports 24 children with food and school supplies. Wanting to spend a bit more here as it is for a good cause, I ordered “chocolate lovers’ tea” as dessert. Unfortunately, due to Chinese New Year, the company who makes the cookies had already closed down for the holiday and didn’t provide the fresh cookies so I couldn’t have it.