so tomorrow a whole new chapter begins....so i must write what has been taking place until now.
the day before we left kampot we had practically decided that we were going to go ahead and rent the little bungalow that steve had found. we still had to return to phnom penh and renew our visas as well as do some other paperwork with the embassy.
the funny thing that happened was that after my tummy bug i eventually decided that i was strong enough to eat something and went to find some mashed potatoes since this is what my stomach was deeming kosher. i found a little guest house with the promising name of 'blissful'. as i had my mashed potatoes i recognised a voice in the cafe. i realised that it was the same lady that i had met a couple of weeks earlier in the russian market in phnom penh. she had been talking to a man i thought i recognised so after she left i asked her the man's name. turned out it wasnt him..although she knew the man i was asking about funnily enough...so we talked for a minute or so. and here she was again in kampot. so i went up and introduced myself. she remembered me as well and i sat down to talk to her and her husband. as it turns out they are church planting in kampot after living in phnom penh for seven years. they too were househunting.
as we packed up at the guest house i got a call from Lois saying that they had seen a really good house that we would probably like. we were leaving in half an hour but i took neshica to go and have a look at it. as it turned out the house was only a few hundred metres up on uterus road. the garden was massive. beautifully looked after with lots of flowers as well as coconut trees and pomegranate trees. the house itself is really big. two storeys. very clean and neat but no kitchen except a tap in the wall...and no toilet...just a hole in the floor. neshica was so excited because the house had plenty of space for rollerblading and so much garden to run around in. we got back to the guest house just in time to leave and told steve about the place. he immidiately didnt like the sound of the house. thought it sounded too fancy. too big. too everything.
we all stopped to have a look at the house since we were driving past it anyways on our way to phnom penh. the kids all loved the massive amount of space to run around and counted out six bedrooms. by this stage steve was calling it a white arse mansion, and not even excited about the covered area outside that would be perfect for a pingpong table.
we had a crazy ride back to phnom penh. the driver just being incredibly dangerous and again ocea on my lap in the front. i was upset with steve for shooting down the house before even seeing it. it wasnt that i wanted to move there...i just wanted him to have an open mind about it. once we had a chance to talk about it he was still really keen on the bungalow. i agreed that it was a nicer option HOWEVER...it was really really small and i had some warning bells that we would probably be getting a massive case of cabin fever if the weather was either too hot or too wet. the next few days i was really down. i realised that i didnt really want to move into to either place. the thought of settling already is just so damn unappealing and i want to keep doing the nomad thing as long as possible. HOWEVER..i was also realising that i had to consider Time in this...and its practically impossible to cater for her gluten free diet on the road.
despite my gloom...we had to make a decision about where we were going to live. as it turned out steve had actually started seeing the benefits of the white arse mansion...and that maybe it wasnt as glamorous as he first had thought...and that yes...the bungalow was very tiny and would probably not be a long term thing. and funnily enough this was now why i was being drawn to the bungalow because i figured we wouldn't last there very long and it didnt seem as much of a commitment moving there. by the time we had discussed it long enough steve realised that a move to the white arse mansion (on uterus road) was in fact the best option by far because it would mean a commitment for at least 6months and he figured by then his wife might be seduced into the kampot lifestyle. the gloom lasted longer than it should...but over a few days the fog lifted.
steve had an extra spring in his step after the choice was made... and very quickly got writing a list of things to buy to set up our new home. so since then he has been coming back to the guest house with another item purchased. wok. rice cooker etc. ive decided that since the house is too big for us im going to see it as my own little guest house and just be on a continual search for people to come and fill up the rooms.
a few days after arriving here in PP we heard that kampot had actually flooded a couple of days after we left and the whole town was now under water. in some places it was two metres deep. people getting around in boats. the guest house we were in totally submerged in water...with a couple of the cows taken by the current. they hadnt seen anything like this since 1999....(and of course this meant steve wanted to get back there asap so he didnt miss out on the action).
thankfully the water has gone down and we will now make our move tomorrow morning. weve organised for a van to go down with our stuff and a taxi for us. (and steve now knows how to say "slow down" in khmer.)
the kids are so excited about the move. they have new bikes (well second hand ones), helmets and life jackets. all set up for a slow life along the river. i on the other hand have spent my time talking to people who have mastered making their own yogurt. i intend to make my first batch as soon as we arrive. ive also managed to convince one of the volunteers here at the guest house to come and visit us this coming thursday to monday. so im pretty excited to have that happening as well.
despite steve's rolling of the eyes i want to name our 'guest house' WHITE ELEPHANT PALACE. (no, not white arse mansion).
there are so many other little stories that have outplayed themselves this past week and a half but i really cant do justice to it all right now. as ive been writing this update ive realised that ocea has a fever and im assuming that she might be coming down with chicken pox. (never a dull moment i tell you).
the day before we left kampot we had practically decided that we were going to go ahead and rent the little bungalow that steve had found. we still had to return to phnom penh and renew our visas as well as do some other paperwork with the embassy.
the funny thing that happened was that after my tummy bug i eventually decided that i was strong enough to eat something and went to find some mashed potatoes since this is what my stomach was deeming kosher. i found a little guest house with the promising name of 'blissful'. as i had my mashed potatoes i recognised a voice in the cafe. i realised that it was the same lady that i had met a couple of weeks earlier in the russian market in phnom penh. she had been talking to a man i thought i recognised so after she left i asked her the man's name. turned out it wasnt him..although she knew the man i was asking about funnily enough...so we talked for a minute or so. and here she was again in kampot. so i went up and introduced myself. she remembered me as well and i sat down to talk to her and her husband. as it turns out they are church planting in kampot after living in phnom penh for seven years. they too were househunting.
as we packed up at the guest house i got a call from Lois saying that they had seen a really good house that we would probably like. we were leaving in half an hour but i took neshica to go and have a look at it. as it turned out the house was only a few hundred metres up on uterus road. the garden was massive. beautifully looked after with lots of flowers as well as coconut trees and pomegranate trees. the house itself is really big. two storeys. very clean and neat but no kitchen except a tap in the wall...and no toilet...just a hole in the floor. neshica was so excited because the house had plenty of space for rollerblading and so much garden to run around in. we got back to the guest house just in time to leave and told steve about the place. he immidiately didnt like the sound of the house. thought it sounded too fancy. too big. too everything.
we all stopped to have a look at the house since we were driving past it anyways on our way to phnom penh. the kids all loved the massive amount of space to run around and counted out six bedrooms. by this stage steve was calling it a white arse mansion, and not even excited about the covered area outside that would be perfect for a pingpong table.
we had a crazy ride back to phnom penh. the driver just being incredibly dangerous and again ocea on my lap in the front. i was upset with steve for shooting down the house before even seeing it. it wasnt that i wanted to move there...i just wanted him to have an open mind about it. once we had a chance to talk about it he was still really keen on the bungalow. i agreed that it was a nicer option HOWEVER...it was really really small and i had some warning bells that we would probably be getting a massive case of cabin fever if the weather was either too hot or too wet. the next few days i was really down. i realised that i didnt really want to move into to either place. the thought of settling already is just so damn unappealing and i want to keep doing the nomad thing as long as possible. HOWEVER..i was also realising that i had to consider Time in this...and its practically impossible to cater for her gluten free diet on the road.
despite my gloom...we had to make a decision about where we were going to live. as it turned out steve had actually started seeing the benefits of the white arse mansion...and that maybe it wasnt as glamorous as he first had thought...and that yes...the bungalow was very tiny and would probably not be a long term thing. and funnily enough this was now why i was being drawn to the bungalow because i figured we wouldn't last there very long and it didnt seem as much of a commitment moving there. by the time we had discussed it long enough steve realised that a move to the white arse mansion (on uterus road) was in fact the best option by far because it would mean a commitment for at least 6months and he figured by then his wife might be seduced into the kampot lifestyle. the gloom lasted longer than it should...but over a few days the fog lifted.
steve had an extra spring in his step after the choice was made... and very quickly got writing a list of things to buy to set up our new home. so since then he has been coming back to the guest house with another item purchased. wok. rice cooker etc. ive decided that since the house is too big for us im going to see it as my own little guest house and just be on a continual search for people to come and fill up the rooms.
a few days after arriving here in PP we heard that kampot had actually flooded a couple of days after we left and the whole town was now under water. in some places it was two metres deep. people getting around in boats. the guest house we were in totally submerged in water...with a couple of the cows taken by the current. they hadnt seen anything like this since 1999....(and of course this meant steve wanted to get back there asap so he didnt miss out on the action).
thankfully the water has gone down and we will now make our move tomorrow morning. weve organised for a van to go down with our stuff and a taxi for us. (and steve now knows how to say "slow down" in khmer.)
the kids are so excited about the move. they have new bikes (well second hand ones), helmets and life jackets. all set up for a slow life along the river. i on the other hand have spent my time talking to people who have mastered making their own yogurt. i intend to make my first batch as soon as we arrive. ive also managed to convince one of the volunteers here at the guest house to come and visit us this coming thursday to monday. so im pretty excited to have that happening as well.
despite steve's rolling of the eyes i want to name our 'guest house' WHITE ELEPHANT PALACE. (no, not white arse mansion).
there are so many other little stories that have outplayed themselves this past week and a half but i really cant do justice to it all right now. as ive been writing this update ive realised that ocea has a fever and im assuming that she might be coming down with chicken pox. (never a dull moment i tell you).
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