Letter of Thanks from Rwandan Municipal Gov't

Now that we're back in Canada, we can take care of some of the housekeeping details. Here's a scan of a document that was given to our at our last goat distribution session in Rwanda. A huge thanks to all of you who contributed to our goat project ! This is something we're going to frame and keep on the wall.

Letter from Jean-Marie who handled the administration for each of our goat distribution session.




I've also attached a scan of a list that Jean-Marie would bring to each goat distribution session. The headings on the list indicate name, district, # of children, financial status. The list would typically comprise of 20 names. He would inform each of the 20 ahead of time to be at the school at 2:30pm to collect their goat. At the school, he would then call them up one by one, we would give them their goat, take a photo and then they waited for the group photo. If someone showed up who wasn't on the list, he would take down their information and go back to the office to see if their financial status qualifed them for the program.

In this particular list, each of these people had a financial status of umukene which means these households typically have some land and shelter, but no means to save. They are self-sufficient in the sense that they live from their own labor and produce enough to survive from day to day. Their children do not always attend school, and they usually do not have access to health care.

This is an example of a list he's bring. It's organized by name, district, # of kids, financial Status

And here's a few more photos to remind you, and us, of the goat distribution experience.


Giving a goat to a very happy lady and a very happy baby.



Group picture for the 20 recipients

Unfortunately this is the only photo I could find with Jean-Marie. Very nice and honest man who managed the program really well.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

The purpose of our trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia was to see Angkor Wat which we had seen a documentary on just before we left for our trip.  Angkor Wat (Sanskrit for Temple City) was built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suryavaman II. The actually Angkor period itself was from 800 AD to about 1400 AD and was started by victorious Khmer Hindu king Jayavarman II who apparently formally declared himself to be a ‘god-king’ and a ‘universal monarch’.  I think we’ve all felt like a ‘god-king’ at some point in our lives. The Angkor period is littered with kingly battles and takeovers  so the temples reflect both Hindu and Buddhist influences.

Angkor Wat is the most famous temple in the area, however there is said to be over 1,000 temples built in the area, a small portion of which have been preserved fairly well.  Incredibly, no mortar was ever used to keep the stones together.

In terms of our logistics, our tuk-tuk driver in Phnom Penh told us that his ‘brother’ would love to be our tuk-tuk driver in Angkor Wat and the rate would be $15US per day. A tuk-tuk is required to get from Siem Reap to Angkor (about 30 minutes) and then to actually go from temple to temple as well.  The ‘brother’ Mr. Sun picked us up from the bus station and wound up recommending a guesthouse that was cheaper (by $8 a night) and roomier than the one that we had booked.  [Sidebar : In Toronto, it’s not uncommon to drop $10 for a drink, at least $60 for a decent dinner for 2 and $100 for a clean hotel.  The value of money changes in SE Asia..but the joy of getting a great deal does not.  In Siem Reap, our original guesthouse was $25 a night and Mr Son recommended a place that was $17 a night. That’s over 30% savings! We’d negotiate at the street markets from $15 down to $8. Sometimes down from $3 to $2. Yes..it’s only a buck.  And sometimes we feel a little guilty because the vendor probably needs the dollar a lot more than we do. However we justified to ourselves that we don’t have jobs and we’re travelling for 5 months so each dollar is a little more important to us than usual. Additionally, there are scores of naive tourists (those who don’t negotiate or only try and get 10% off) willing to pay the inflated prices. We resolved to conduct our negotiations fairly and if the vendor accepted our price, he did so because he was making a profit. ]

We bought a 3-day pass to Angkor Wat and enjoyed learning about the history and climbing up some of the temples.  I’m not intelligent or passionate enough about architecture to accurately describe the grandeur we witnessed, so I’ll let the photos do the talking. However here’s a few of our stories.

The Girl and the Guidebook

As our Tuk-Tuk driver parked in front of Angkor Wat, about 15 children approached us selling various trinkets and books. One particular girl, about 12 yrs old, was uber-aggressive and pushed her book towards us.

Girl : You need book to enjoy temple. Where are you from?

Me :  Canada

Girl : Your prime minister is Stephen Harper. Your capital is Ottawa.

Me: Very impressive!

Girl : Thank you. Now buy book.

Me : How much ?

Girl : $20

Me : That’s crazy talk ! Too expensive.

Girl : No ! It’s very nice book ! See all the pictures !

Me: No. Too expensive. And I don’t want a book now. I’ll buy a book tomorrow.

Girl : But I’m not here tomorrow. I go to school.

Me : Ok. What’s your best price ?

Girl : Ok ok ok.$15.

Me:  This is Cambodia! Nothing is $15!

Girl : Ok ok ok. $12.

Me: $10 is my final offer. [It was a moment of weakness on my part. I was sure I could get it for $5 but the Harper thing and her school threw me off my game. Damn you, Stephen Harper]

Girl : Ok. $10

I opened my wallet and she sees I have Thai Baht currency. She wants Thai Baht instead of US, so I give her 1000 Thai Bhat (about $33 US) so I expect about $23 US in return. She gives me $10. I look at her and tell her to give me $13 more dollars. She gives me $3 more dollars. I ask for $10 more and explain to her that I know exactly how much 1,000 Thai Baht is worth. Her face falls a bit. She says something about having no more US dollars. I give her the change back, take back my 1,000 Baht bill and give her $10 US for the book . She looks a little disappointed and walks away.

This whole exchange embodies the good and bad of Cambodia.  Amazing sites and friendly people but poverty-ravaged hoping to make a buck anyway they can, honestly or dishonestly in some cases. BTW, 2 days late we saw some kid selling the same book for $2. D’OH !

Adult and child hawkers ready to pounce on tourists

After-hours at Angkor Wat

After walking around for a bit just past sunset, the security guards informed the tourists that visiting hours had come to a close. We lingered for a little bit longer at one particular spot because the views were breathtaking. A guard approached us and asked if we wanted to get even better views. Intrigued, we prodded him and he offered to take us to a higher level for $10. Again, I was a little stunned by the security guard making such an offer so I didn’t even think to negotiate down to $5. We followed the guard into an area undergoing construction. We stealthily climbed a couple sets of stairs, navigated through some scaffolding and walked on a wide ledge until we were at the top. He was right..it was an marvellous view. The security guard then offered to take photos of us. So we gave him our camera, although I watched him like a hawk ready to chase in case his plan was to ditch us and steal our camera. In fact, he took photography quite seriously to the extent that he would lay on the ground to achieve the best angles. It was completely surreal..but we’re happy with his photos.

So this is safe right ?

Photo courtesy of the friendly yet corrupt security guard

Sunrise at Angkor Wat

We heard that sunrise at Angkor Wat was a must-do, so we abided by a 4am wake up call, which was a challenge given that our usual hours were 9am-1am.  Strangely enough, the guide that Mr Son had arranged for us that day informed us that he had 2 Red Bulls for breakfast because his sister was married the evening before and he had gotten very little sleep. I actually thought this sunrise experience was a little overrated as there were a lot of other tourists chattering about so it wasn’t exactly one of the euphoric moments where a bolt of clarity reveals itself upon you as you sit in amazement at the wonder before you. It was more of a moment where I struggled to maintain focus while the Chinese tourists beside us yapped at full pitch and our guide tried to overcompensate for his stupor with some fun-facts that weren’t that interesting.

Unfortunately this was the best shot I got. I wasn't kidding..I was half asleep.

Running into the Slowboat crew

We had traded Facebook messages with Ed and Maria (2 Brits we bonded with on the 2-day slowboat trip from Thailand to Laos. We discovered we were both in Siem Reap but prior to getting a chance to organize a get together, we actually ran into each other at a temple ! I LOVE when that happens. It also happened to us with our other slowboat friends Jeff and Christiane when we were in Phnom Penh. Dal and I were at a restaurant and somehow she spotted them walking past.

The slowboat crew debating the socio-political philosophies of 12th century Indochina.

Overall, Angkor Wat is simply splendid. It’s definitely worth the trip. However don’t feel obligated to spend 3 full days looking at temples. There are about 7 main ones and after that, they all somewhat blend together.  Dal and I spent one full day and 2 half days and that was more than sufficient for us to get our fill.

This group of musicians are victims of landmines. They were near Ta Prohm temple.

Ta Prohm

I was able to hold that pose for about 4 seconds before it hurt.

Ta Prohm. One of the coolest temples because it's been left the way it was discovered in the 19th century, with trees growing through the temple.

Mr Son, our Tuk Tuk driver catching a nap while we're temple hopping.

Climbing Ta Keo

Ta Keo. Notice the lack of hand railings and general safety.

Someone's obviously not using a moisturizer.