Tuesday - I arrived in Siem Reap for 4 days of R&R on Sunday. Gwen and Pat arrived on time and were in the hotel in time for dinner. They are now enjoying a shopping frenzy - even I have joined in and bought a pair of shoes for work. This week is Khmer New Year so decorations are going up every where - including the hotel swimming pool. It will be interesting to see how it is celebrated around town. I am celebrating by having my nails done, a facial and a c...

It's the dry season so today it rained so hard that the football pitch in front of the office flooded and Bunthorn took this photo of Marc (he is the one with the helmet on the mirror - it was wet when I had to put it on later!!) Saturday - Since writing the above it has got wetter and wetter. I am now in PP waiting for Gwen and Pat to arrive for a holiday in the sun listening to the best thunder storm I have heard in ages. The rain is hard, the lightning ok but...

Order what you want, enjoy what you get describes Cambodia. Yesterday I went back to the cafe in the photo. I have been there several time before and confidently ordered omelette and iced coffee. I got fried egg and hot coffee. I did ask for tok kuk (ice) but just ate the eggs which were absolutely great. So in the end I enjoyed what I got. Congress is over and I am now enjoying a weekend in the big city so this morning it will be a swim and relaxation. This eve...

Yesterday, today and tomorrow is the National Education Congress. I am one of well over 1000 people, who are all involved in education, attending the congress. It is a celebration of the past year and a chance for each division to talk about plans for the future. The photo is of the Minister of Education along with POE and othe chiefs. All had got up and sang in front of us all at yesterday's dinner party. This party had been really well organised. As I said the...

This week has been busy. The POE has approved my annual plan and I have written 5 different training/coaching programmes that I can offer. One on management, one on planning, two on monitoring (one on monitoring plans and one on monitoring schools) and one on data. Armed with an individual work plan for each district off we went. District 1 was Chbar Mon so the journey wasn't bad and I saw part of the city that I hadn't seen before. They were so welcoming and lo...