Quitsville

A couple of things happened yesterday which, while relatively minor, have acted as a fillip for me to leave my job. So today I quit.

The two issues aren’t worth going into here, but they confirmed that there is nothing for me here. And that, despite a healthy pay packet, it doesn’t make sense to stay in job which makes me unhappy.

Besides, I have money in the bank, have some pretty transferable and marketable skills, and the job market is picking up. A woman I used to work with just picked up some contract work that I could do with my eyes closed, and gets a tidy $100 per hour. You don't need too many assisgnments like that to crank out a decent income.

In the short term, I really want to do some more travel. My trip to Cambodia confirmed that a) I love travelling 2) visiting exotic countries isn’t as tough as I thought it might be and I need to challenge myself and d) I want to spend a decent amount of time away- 2 weeks just doesn’t cut it. So I'm gonna look at some options.

The big question, of course, is what I do with myself when I get back.

I’d like to seriously look at doing some writing, not necessarily professionally, but at least see how far I can take it. In the interim I suppose I could do some short term contracting. What else? Volunteer work, become a lawyer, professional bodybuilder?

The Killing Fields

One of the things that I’ve been meaning to write about is my experience at the Killing Fields and S-21 in Cambodia.

I won’t try to recount the history these places here, but click on the links above if you want to learn more. And I suggest you do before reading on.

I’d heard from many people how disturbing and upsetting the Killing Fields were, and I braced myself for the worst. And yes, it’s impossible to comprehend how people can become so savage that they will bash babies heads against nails embedded in trees, torture and maim political prisoners, or saw off people’s head with palm fronds. And all this against their own people, not some foreign, maligned group. Their own.

But the site itself felt quite removed from all this, almost beautiful. I arrived at the site in late-morning, just as the sun was getting to its hottest. There had been a downpour earlier, and I could feel the heat and moisture radiating from the ground. Walking across the paths of the Fields, clothes and pieces of bone had risen to the surface, but they looked so rotten and abstract that they may as well have been pieces of soil.

Among the former mass graves, which had now grown over with weeds and flowers, baby chickens flapped about looking for grubs, and in others frogs ducked into pools of water.’

From down the road (somewhere) I could hear school children singing, made more dreamlike because it was in Khmer and I could only make out a tune rather than words.

For me, the place just felt too alive. There was an almost palpable energy to the place, and that energy was one of life, and maybe even happiness. At the time I felt vaguely guilty for not feeling upset by the Fields, but this didn’t make it any less poignant.

In stark contrast, the former school turned Cambodian gulag of S-21 was every bit as chilling as I had heard. The grey stone of the building felt dirty, heavy and cold. The oppressive atmosphere was underscored by splashes of blood that remained to this day.

But what I found most striking, and puzzling, was the detailed records that the Khmer Rouge had left behind. Within the prison there were stacks of files on every prisoner that had been through, including front and profile photos of each victim (and I say victim because only a handful ever made it out alive). There was even a posing chair for the photos which held the prisoners head in a static position to ensure consistency of the photos. Despite being an army comprised of largely uneducated youth, dedicated to the ideal of an agrarian peasant society, the Khmer Rouge kept detailed, methodical records of those they killed.

In that respect, they reminded me of the Nazis- genocidal intent married with meticulous book-keeping. This was probably the most disturbing thing of all.

Double speak of the day

I received a great proposal today, which, instead of talking about the costs, refers to the "investment to implement".

That's what you get when you let comms people write business documents.

There's an alarming new trend in the workplace- and that is the increasing frequency of frivolous, inane and disconcerting emails sent to all staff. These emails include all manner of trivial, non-work related content. Over the last couple of weeks I've received emails about:

• attending demonstration action to protest against government decisions (which one might think slightly incongruous when you work in the public sector)
• invitations to attend a staff poetry competition
• requests to borrow sundry items such as tape measures

What gets me about these emails (aside from the obvious annoyance at the constant spamming) is why these people would send out an email, to ALL STAFF, which obviously paints yourself as a slacker with nothing better to do with your time? Sure, we all surf the net or send frivolous emails from time to time, but you don't include the Chief Executive and the management team in the address list when you do.

To wit:

Fancy being a Christmas Pixie?

I am frantically looking for some more Chistmas Pixie’s to help us this weekend with the decorating and so I thought before I call Student Job Search I might ask around here.

Open to anyone over 18 who doesn’t mind a bit of frantic and interesting work unloading a 20ft container filled with decorations, “fluffing” trees (yes that is the technical term) and then affixing them strategically to walls, railings and ceilings etc. It is a bit physical but nothing overly strenuous.

Pixie's? Fluffing? Really?

Video

Yet more

A few more- click for larger image.

Flooded Siem Reap. But business goes on as normal, and the kids have another reason to play.

Boy on the swing at an orphanage

Monk standing in front of Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom

Ta Prohm

Monks repairing a bridge that was washed away in monsoons

More Angkor Thom

French colonial architecture and Asian cult of personality

Former South Vietnamese presidents office- the real reason why the communists won the war? Capitalist decor in the 70s was that bad.

More

Boys playing at an orphanage.

Sunset over Siem Reap. The next night we sat in a rooftop pool, drinking beers while a thunder and lighting storm raged in the distance.

Standing on the river front in Phnom Penh trying to find a bar, when an elephant casually wanders down the street. Surreal.

A little girl who was wandering Independence Square in Phnom Penh in ridiculously oversized jandals. Even at this age she knows to make the 'peace' sign when her photo is taken.

A Buddha at Angkor Tom. There are over 600 faces in the complex, faces in all 4 directions. So that no matter where you stand there are about 100 deities silently judging you.

Photo highlights

Here they are.

My first meal in Vietnam. Delicious pho- chicken broth with rice noodles and stacks of fresh herbs. Washed down with a Tiger beer. This set me back about $5

Wandering the killing fields. There are so many bodies lying in mass graves that clothes and bones are still rising to the surface. If you look closely you can see some teeth that have come up in recent rain.

Skull stack in a memorial at one of the killing fields.

Holding a live tarantula. Arachnophobes beware- the girls working at the spider place will casually walk up to and drop a big ol' spider on your shoulder, chest or arm. I later tasted a cooked one.

The sun going down over Angkor Wat.

Standing in the stunning ruins of Ta Prohm. The temple has been overrun by moss, trees and other foliage, and it feels almost alive. In some places the trees have grown right through the stonework.

The view as you exit Angkor Wat.

Reader poll

So, you come back from a fantastic holiday, and realise that there is so much more travel that you want to do. You also realise that your work, while well paid, is mind-numbingly tedious, and, with a couple of exceptions, the people are banal and mind-numbing as well.

Do you tough it out, hang in there for the xmas holidays. Maybe plan another 2 week sojourn in the near future.

Or, do you throw caution to the proverbial, quit your job and spend 4 months or so travelling round all the places you've always wanted. Worry about finding work when you get back.

Thoughts?

Highs and lows

Photos are coming soon, once I get some time to sit down and work my way through the 200 odd snaps I took.

Highlights:

• as impressive as Angkor Wat is, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm are possibly even more impressive. Amazingly, tourists are allowed almost unrestricted access to these sites, and you are free to climb over, through and under any part of these complexes. Stunning.
• holding a live tarantula and then eating a cooked one
• trying snake and frog
• $1 beers, and happy hours every day meaning most of the time you pay only 50c-75c
• a one hour massage for US$6. And that's from a proper hotel spa, not some dodgy knock shop.
• Being caught in a tropical downpour. You've never been rained on until you're caught in a 10 minute thunderstorm. But you're dry 15 minutes later
• At the risk of being both patronising and cliched, I was amazed by how genuinely friendly and warm the Cambodian people are.

The bad:

• scamming cab drivers, especially in Thailand and Vietnam- quoting outrageous fares, refusing to turn the meter on and so forth. #1 travel tip for SE Asia- always agree a fare before getting into any form of transport.
• feeling like a giant, pastey white schlub most of the time. You really start to notice how obscenely fat most westerners are. Even the skinnier white girls would be patted on the stomach by the locals and asked "baby?"
• being pestered by dodgy ping pong show proprietors in Bangkok, who are also keen to show you the rest of their "menu", which includes various feats involving not just table tennis equipment but bananas etc...

Back to reality

Pretty tough wake up call today- back to work with 200 emails (all dross) and the mortifying prospect of a 2 day planning meeting. So from a great holiday in SE Asia to "we're getting push back on our key learnings" (an actual quote from today).

Sheesh.

Bangkok

Have left Cambodia and headed to the big city of Bangkok. A few things change immediately- the roads get cleaner and newer, and people obey the road rules. And fast food chains start to appear, and you start seeing fat people again. (Not counting tourists, there's plenty of fat tourists everywhere).

On our first night we wandered through the gay bar street and the cluster of dancing clubs and "ping pong" shows. An interesting introduction to the city to say the least. And that's not even part of the red light district.

It's quite a change to come to a huge, heaving city like Bangkok after being in the relatively small towns of Cambodia. Might take a day or 2 to get used to it again.

Same same

There's a great phrase here which everyone uses- "same same". It means 'similar', but it has a number of variations that give it almost limitless variations, and has become a it of a conversational filler.

You go to a new market which sells similar things, then it's "same same but different"
You move to a better market with different wares, and it's "same same but better
Go to a shop with the same goods and it's "same same but not different".

Siem Reap

Arrived in Siem Reap today, to find most of the city underwater after torrential rain. The main streets are mid-shin in water, with the area around the river chest-deep or worse. Of course, the kids couldn't be happier and are doing back flips off the bridge, and all the shops remain open.

Tomorrow it's the obligatory visit to Angkor Wat. Should be amazing.

Phnom Penh

Am now in Cambodia. It is noticeably poorer and dirtier than Vietnam, but the people are incredibly amazing.

Have been to the Killing Fields and Suol Deng (former prison camp), which is as sobering as you'd expect. Walking around the fields there are piles of clothes and pieces of teeth and bone that have risen to the top from mass graves below. In contrast to all this, the area itself is green and lush, there are baby chicks foraging in the mass graves, frogs playing in ponds and the sound of children singing from the next door school. One of those classic moments of life and death contrasting.

In spite of all that's happened to the Cambodians, they remain genuinely friendly and happy. Everything is happy. Going to the toilet is going to the happy room (it is rude to say toilet, especially when eating), and giving a tip is the happy pocket.

Have had a few offers from tuk tuk drivers to go and visit the firing range. Although when you've been to the Killing Fields it doesn't seem like your next preferred destination.

Tonight we are going to Kings Palace and then free time. I think there's a $6 one hour massage with my name on it. Twist my arm and I might grab a couple of the local 50c beers.