What the Khmers lack in size and skill they certainly make up for with speed, enthusiasm and aggression. They just seem to love the game both the boys and the girls. Remind me never to fight with a Khmer girls they are tough and relentless. They certainly play the harder game and in bear feet. The games were played in the heat of mid-day and running around like that would almost certainly have seen me in the mortuary. These kids took it all in their stride not giving up for a minute and throwing themselves into the game.
Some of the kids like the one above seemed content to watch the game but I suspect he was dying to join in really.
The kids seemed to love the rough and tumble but I saw no bad humour or fighting that you maybe would in the west. A great day was had by all, including me..
The King is Dead, Long Live the King. The Phnom Penh municiple dump in Stung Meanchey, Cambodia closed in 2009, and many may say thank god. This was an horrific place, where the poorest of the poor, eked a living from sifting the garbage for recyclables like plastic, glass and metals. The dump still exists but has been moved to a new location several kilmetres outside of the city and the people who worked on the old dump have not been allowed to move with it. No scavenging is allowed on the new area.
This is certainly good news, in many ways, but what happens to those people who worked as scavengers and now have no resources or skills to fall back on, is their life made better ? Where do they turn ? I am sure NGO’s such as 
Many, I understand, still live around the old dump area in Stung Meanchey. Have their lives improved or are they living even more desperate and impoverished existence ? Have those who came from Rural Cambodia returned to their former homes ? These are just some of the questions that I would like to find answers too, but, I am sure many more unanswered question will be raised during the course of my research.
