Day 98 - It's getting hot out here!

This is taking two faced to a whole new level. The left side smooth as a baby's butt, the right side hairier than Caesar from Planet of the Apes!

Day 98 - 29th September

The day did not start well as my shaver packed in half way through a shave so I ended up with half a beard. I rectified the issue by plugging it into the wall and crouching down next to it, shaving with a mirror. A couple of minor cuts told me I had a lucky escape. It might be time to invest in a razor after a two year stint of not having a close shave.

Project B brought the heat I just didn't want! It was so hot to stand out in and teach with DK that by the end of the morning sessions, I was sweating profusely.

I don't care what anyone says, that's pretty impressive for a 12 year old. I just dig holes in sand like Joey from 'Friends'.

The entire yard was being resurfaced to avoid future flooding and with that came a huge mound of sand which the kids saw as a giant sand pit. They were burying balls, tools the workman had left behind and even each other. One kid took to building a replica of Angkor Wat temple that impressed all the teachers and volunteers alike.

Those kids know how to have fun!

The afternoon sessions came with cooler weather but one was cancelled because the two classes merged into one. They loved the bib game as well as the planned session and they are really beginning to understand the rights they have as child. If I knew half the stuff they do at their age when I was younger, I would have been a smarter man. They seem to soak everything up, and although very shy, can relay it all back to you easily as if they'd always known it.

My brother, DK also told me he is going to University to study English, which is great to hear. Good luck to him on that front and I'm hope our English lessons will help him along in the last four weeks of me being here.

The evening brought a depleted Big Willy team to Samakee's sports pitches. Only Alex, Nico and I made it from the team and we had two young lads and a man fill in for us whilst Boreth's was playing volleyball out front. We lost 10-7 but played really well, Alex and Nico linking up well, with me also having a few good moments, to show some promise signs for Thursday night's game.

The one saving grace was it didn't rain for the first time in a game night since I've been here. Hallelujah! Maybe there is a God.

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Day 97 - New week, new missions

I'm rolling around Siem Reap on this new baby. She's a smooth ride.

Day 97 - 28th September

A change, I'm back on the banana pancakes for breakfast. I've missed those round waffles of magic. The side of pineapple also makes me feel better for having a portion of fruit with it (the banana inside the pancakes doesn't count because it's dowsed in syrup).

Our weekly sports for social impact meeting saw us continue with the sport of volleyball but move on to a new child right - freedom. Such an important right as well for so many kids in Cambodia.

We were given the new game by Charlie to set up a giant square with one attacker in the middle. The attacker had to spike a ball waist height or below into the other kids trying to escape. When they were hit, the kids would have to cover their mouths so they couldn't call for help. This effectively takes away their freedom to move and seek assistance when needed.

We would then introduce a person who could 'untag' them by high fiving them when they called out for help. giving them back their freedom to play. We would follow this up with a question to see if they understood the message.

More warm ups.

So in the afternoon, Project A were our test run. They handled it well and seemed to pick up the message fairly quickly in the first session. The second session was full of smaller children so we played a bib game I came up with that needed the kids to put bibs over the tops of cones as quickly as they could in 15 seconds whilst two attackers tried to prevent them doing so by throwing the bibs off.

This went down well with the kids who loved the power of throwing stuff around whilst laughing out loud. Mission success!

Love those $1.25 nachos and the 50¢ Angkor draft.

In the evening, I went out for another swim (it's part of the routine now) before I headed to a Mexican for nachos and relaxed ready for a full day at Project B on Tuesday. Please, please, let it be overcast or colder. I don't mind which, as long as the heat doesn't rise!

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Day 96 - Sunday - God rested, Dan wrote!

What can't speak, can't lie as my old mate, Del-Boy would say. A proud achievement for me!

Day 96 - 27th September

Ah, Sunday. The day of rest.

NOT FOR ME!

If I'm ever to become an author, I can't rest until the job's done. 

I woke up and had an early breakfast before I set to work to finish the final chapter of my book. And I did it. I finished it in just over 79,000 words. What a sense of achievement I felt to have finished another novel. All those long hours and all the hard work and research have finally paid off and come together to form the first book in my four part book series.

Now all I have to do is edit it before sending it to a list of ten volunteers to read for me and to give their feedback. Once I have this, I do my third draft and then send it off to literary agents for them to consider. Here's hoping this is the one! 

Love those laps!

I went for my fourth day of swimming in Bou Savy's pool and came away feeling relaxed from another 30 or so laps.

Dried off, I set to work on my niece's gift, using the spare hours I had to create something that's just a little bit different to the normal gifts I would give her.

Brilliant and very flavoursome.

The rest of the day was spent eating - Lamb Curry and rice and garlic Naan bread - and Skyping my family back home. Everyone is healthy and well so I can't have any complaints.

The evening brought more rain and thunderstorms. It made me retreat to my room as I refused to repeat my experiences in Shanghai and end up with a stinking cold for a week. You're not going to get me this time rain, you relentless git!

Back to volunteering tomorrow, I can't wait. I tend to miss it when the weekends roll around! Just four weeks left! I'm going to enjoy every minute.

Day 95 - Phomn Bakheng Temple and sunset

One of the many picturesque views at Phomn Bakheng Temple summit.

Day 95 - 26th September

Saturdays are always a funny one. I always wake up here thinking I've either a. work to head to or b. breakfast to get up for. To clarify, neither are necessary to get up early for on a Saturday, yet every week I've been here, I've been up between six and six thirty am. I know, I sound crazy but it's annoying!

Deciding to make good use of my time, I sat down and worked on my book and too my surprise, I finished three of the four chapters I needed to add before it was completed, completed. 

What a beaut!

The Sun was a nice stop for lunch, even more so because I found out they had a BBQ pulled pork sandwich. Cha Ching! I was as happy as a pig in slops.

Almost at the top!

In the afternoon, a favourite Tuk Tuk driver, Mr Barang picked me up and took me back to the Angkor Wat sight for me to scale the heights of Phomn Bakheng Temple so I could see the sunset over Angkor Wat's main temple.

I had to have a selfie!

The sun was beating down as I ascended and I was glad to have had two shirts on (one to soak up the sweat, one to look normal). There were hundreds of people heading up at 4pm. I thought by arriving two hours prior to sunset, I'd be beating the queues. How wrong I was.

A poxy place to put and leave a crane! You can see Angkor Wat just to the right of my left ear though.

Anyhow, I climbed up the temple steps on the summit of Bakheng and looked out. Despite the 360 view being spoiled by a couple of cranes, the Cambodia landscape stretched beautifully as far as I could see.

I'm pleased with this one.

I found a good spot with which to take my sunset photos and I waited. Yep, two hours, I sat and did nothing. Well technically it's not true, I did some more writing of my book, but I sat in one place for the two hours whilst I did it.

Despite cloud cover, I managed to get one of a clear sun.

Stunning!

In keeping with my luck at The Great Wall of China, the clouds came and began obscuring the sun just as it was setting. The cloud coverage ceased ever so slightly so I could get a few good pictures but in the end, before the sun had even set, I abandoned post and headed back down.

What is this golden sphere? We don't have this in England.

The queues to still get in were incredible. People we lining the base of the temple in the hopes of getting after the five thirty cut off. It was now six and I didn't envy their chances.

I met Mr Barang back at the Tuk Tuk and we headed back to Bou Savy. He is such a great guy and was telling me about how grateful he was that I was using his services outside of Globalteer hours that really helped support his family. I thanked him for taking me when he should be with his family.

I stopped at my favourite noodle stop for dinner and set to work on my book again. It's almost finished and then I send it to people to review for me before the submission process to agents begins.

Day 94 - That Friday feelin'

Trying to explain in Khmer and failing miserably!

Day 94 - 25th September

After the public holiday break, it was back to business as usual.

The eight sessions ahead of us needed a good breakfast and the noodle soup was the perfect start to the day.

DK talking Khmer to our first set of students for the day.

The warm up demonstration.

We headed to Project 5 and began work. The first three groups were really understanding the message we were trying to get to them. They laughed as DK did his usual jokes and great coaching techniques. 

Getting involved, it'd be rude not too.

DK loves a selfie.

By the time the fourth group came out, we had a well oiled routine with my warm ups and DK's lesson. What we didn't know was that we had younger students. As everybody knows with young kids, the attention span is short so we had to do mini games to keep them interested. It worked well but it left us thankful for the lunchtime break.

Even the teachers want to get involved in the warm ups. 

Back at Bou Savy, I was drinking down litres of water, ready for the hot afternoon.

Such a great place to volunteer.

Everyone is always laughing, including me!

Back at Project B, we had the familiar scenario of three classes of more senior students followed by the young kindergarteners. The fourth class was out late due the boys playing around (boys will be boys) and then we let them run free in the yard, playing tag and generally having fun. It's virtually impossible to get them all to stand in a line and follow instructions, so why fight it I say.

The urge to go down that slide is so strong. So far, I've resisted. Let's see how the next four week fare.

Simple but so effective.

The evening was very much chilled, with a 30 lap swim, working on my book and reading a little more Papillon. The book is starting to pick up pace now which makes it so easy to read so much of it in one go.

It's a sweet life, sometimes!

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