bamboo train

Yesterday was a day of travel and sightseeing.   We had a very interesting ride on the bamboo train - single bamboo solid "mats" sitting on 2 axles.   A petrol little engine like a boat inboard drives a belt that spins around the back axle and somhow propels it.  Dad would understand how it all works.  On a single track, if we met another one coming from the opposite direction both stopped, and whoever caved in first hopped off their mat, took the axles off the track and made way for the other one.   The edges of the track were overgrown and quite steep so finding a spot out of the way while the other "train" passed was a challenge.   This happened several times and was quite an adventure.   The train took us to a brick works - the only automated part of the operation was the mould that the bricks were formed in.  A very tough man hauled 20 kg clay blocks on his shoulders from where it had been dug up.   He then fed it into the press to make the bricks.   The chaff left over from rice production is used to fire the kiln. Lena commented that David Graham would be fascinated by the whole process.

We arrived at Phnom Penh at 6.30 pm and hit the town.  Having been to Thailand I was prepared for the horrible old western man/young asian beautiful prostitute stuff, but it is still awful to witness and was quite shocking to us.   Nevertheless we managed to party on a little with some dancing and relaxing before heading to Sunrise Childrens Orphanage for the day today.   Miriam and I are providing dental hygiene sessions to 3 groups of 3 children.   Lesson no 3 for me - be very flexible with the plans for lessons.  We have been told that the children are 11-18 and speak no english. But when we arrive they may be 5-10 years old and speak good english based on our experience so far!  

So over and out from me.   And look forward to sharing more of our adventures soon. 

 Bronwyn