The mad, the sad and the just plain daft!

 A day on an assignment abroad with AfID always flings a whole variety of challenges and emotions at you in one day. Some of which are mad, some of which are sad and some of which are just plain daft. I certainly had all of them today!

The mad: as Jon the director had given his car to his wife today, it was decided that Chantha, the accountant, would give me a lift back in to the centre to get some lunch.  Pretty straightforward until I realised it was on the back of her motor scooter!  Like, seriously? Have you seem how they drive in Cambodia?  I am way to be old for that sort of thrill seeking, especially with a dress on.  It was suggested I ride side saddle….. again, like seriously?  At the risk of causing offence I succumbed, but refused on the side saddle bit, going for the more secure hanging on for grim death with every free body part position!  Now, it is only a short journey but it seemed like a real long time.  I couldn’t decide whether I should shut my eyes at the worst bits so I didn’t need to see what was happening or to look, just so I was prepared for the worst should it happen!  I went for a mixture of the two and am glad to say survived both journeys unscathed and even managed to keep my lunch down on the way back!!  Although it was touch and go at one junction!!!

The sad:  a rather ironic sad note given my comments above and one that justifies my fears!  In a general chat with Chantha about her home life I asked if she had a boyfriend.  She said she had a fiancé but he died three months ago in a motor bike accident with a car that didn’t stop.  The poor girl is only 26 and should have married in January.  We talked things through a bit, she cried, I nearly cried, I gave her a hug and we talked some more. Her English is not so good at times, but it didn’t need to be for this conversation.  A lot of grief for one so young to deal with.  Cambodia does apparently have a high mortality rate for road accidents…not a difficult one to sort really!

The plain daft:  The obvious award for that would be any Cambodian who drives up the wrong side of the road or parks their car, bike or tuk tuk on the pavement so that pedestrians have to walk on the road at times. Having decided to walk back to the hotel, after declining Chantha’s kind offer of another lift on the back of her scooter (!), I spent much of the walk mutter, mumbling and shaking my head at the general antics of the Cambodian drivers. However, the daft award for tonight has to go to my escort…..a dog who started following me, almost from when I left the office, tail wagging happily, looking for all the world like he was with me.  Which was fine, until we started to get in to busier and busier traffic, not sure dogs really get the green cross code, and not sure the drivers in Cambodia have heard of it either, so a bad combination for a dog!  Despite several attempts at scolding him and pointing him in the direction we had just come from he was not having it and just kept on following me.  I guess he didn’t get the Scottish accent!  Eventually as we approached the busiest area I snuck in to a supermarket in the hope of shaking him off.  The plan succeeded, and I truly hope he headed back home. Which if he did, I guess I will see him tomorrow!  Which will be ok for the walk in but I may need to disguise myself for the walk home!