Happy Lunar New Year

The beginning of Chinese New Year was yesterday, and this is celebrated as a three day holiday. I was told shops would be closing and things would get quiet, but I was little prepared for the degree to which this occured. There were blocks of shuttered gated store fronts, as families prepared for the celebrations, gathering at home, often leaving town to go to ancestoral villages to be with extended families. Almost everyone here is a little Chinese, or at least celebrates as if they were. The hospital had no patients in the emergency room at the beginning of the day, and many patients were discharged, to go home. It was so quiet that I left early, as there were almost no studies performed for the entire day, even the CT scanner broke for the occasion. This gave us the opportunity to walk around observing the presentations of street side displays of food to welcome in the New Year.

A brisk business at the flower market

From very simple to more elaborate displays on the sidewalk

 

Tuk tuk driver waiting for business

Not really tempted

Some had to work no matter what

Children learning "high rise" construction

Me and the ultrasound tech Roth on my right, and Vipol the Radiologist trainee

Sothea on my left came from afar to learn

Bananas

The head of Diagnostic Imaging at the hospital, Vanarith, keeps extolling the virtues of Cambodian bananas. Some of his training was in Canada, and he has no good words for what he considers a bland unflavorful ersatz product compared to his home country's multiple varieties. Every day he brings up the subject of bananas, and his love for them. When his family was hiding from Pol Pot deep in the jungle, this fruit was the staple of his diet. They would dry them, cut them into rice size pellets, and use them instead of rice, as the base of soups, and all other foods they ate. I suggested that he might be sick of them after that experience, but he denied that, and maybe he associates them with survival in very difficult times. He prevailed upon my new radiology trainee, who came six hours away from Batabang Hospital for the week, just for my teaching, to buy a bunch for me and Margie. I said they were too many, but he insisted that we could each eat a few every day, and they would disappear quickly, without going bad. How could I refuse. Margie liked them so much, she had two, after our elegant dinner tonight, described below.

One of multiple local banana varieties, which does not get yellow to indicate ripeness.

Making my rounds looking for someone to help, I showed up in the department during lunch hour, to find how they spend that special time. The resident trainee on the right, Sothea who joined us for the week starting Monday, had his head down, until I startled him. He has succesfully not attended my morning presentations. I was about to ask him what the excuse was today, when he informed me that he was up all night with a kidney stone. During his training two years ago when each of the residents were practicing ultrasound technique on each other, he discovered his asymptomatic kidney stone, which took till now to manifest itself. We consulted with the Medical volunteer doctors from Oregon on the appropriate treatment, after he did a self exam of his own right kidney to find the moderate hydronephrosis that he was suffering from. A KUB and CT scan furthur documented his problem. Poor Sothea.

On our way to the Lucky supermarket, for dinner shopping, so we can eat in tonight. Typical night food street scene.

Briefly stopped by an office supply store, with a small kiosk of Chinese New Year decorations. Come this holiday all Cambodians are a little Chinese.

Who knows what time it is.

Margie reveling in the shopping experience at a western style supermaket. She is wearing her Red Sox shirt, and has never been stopped in acknowledgement. This has not dampened her enthusiasm. Go Sox.

Wine, peanuts, baguette, and a can of tuna from Thailand, passing on Bumble Bee, more expensive, round out our shopping adventure.

Returning to our hotel, where they recently posted the warning on the ouside gate.

Fine dining al fresco on our balcony, to the strains of motor bikes, horns, and smell of exhaust fumes. Margie opted for gourmet peanut butter from Cambodia, by far the cheapest.

Margie craved an upscale Western lunch at a Starbuck's like Cambodian chain called Brown Coffee.

OMG! Bagel with smoked salmon. If they only added a shmear of cream cheese.

On the wall of a Lebanese restaurant where we had an uninspired meal last night. I have been unable to capture the geckos on the hospital walls.

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At the National Museum

At the Royal Palace

Weekend/Holiday

When I returned after work on Friday Sorya at the hotel front desk asked if I was now on holiday. Aftern explaining this was my weekend off, she acknowledged that yes I was on holiday. Most employees work six days per week.

Since food is such an important part of our experience, please excuse the incessant documentation, but it does take up much of our free time. 

Pop top beer bottle on the most common and cheapest brew, tastes fine, usually served with a glass with ice. No ice by special request.

This restaurant served Thai and Khmer food. I opted for the Tom Yum soup, delicious, familiar, and loaded with shrimp, mushrooms, ginger, lemongrass, and leaves (curry or lime I'm not sure). Margie got a coconut soup with chicken. Not sweet and also wonderful. Overloaded with chicken, too much for her, but a cultural staple. Mixed vegetables with cashew nuts, and rice complemented the meal.

The money bag dumplings appetizer came half way through the meal, filled with ground pork and a spicy thick dipping sauce, maybe palm sugar syrup. More than enough food for $13 for the two of us.

So far the only picture I "paid" for. She came around to the tables selling candy. I bargained for gum including a picture, 25 cents. She seemed used to this gambit, and as soon as I took out my camera struck a practiced pose of ingratiating poise.

Walking home following dinner is the Chabad Center, just a few blocks from our hotel. Whether the nearby deli represents a cluster of Jewish diaspora I don't know, nor was it clear what foods they offered. Will have to check it out when they are open.

One of the resident doctors I work with offered to give us a tour of the city. He borrowed his parent's Toyota Camry, a real treat, as we were expecting him to come on his motorbike, and a subsequent tuk tuk ride. He is 25 years old and lives at home with his wife,  two sibs, his brother, a 21 year old medical student, and his sister who is 13, and likes KFC too much, thinking it is fine to eat there every day. The neighbors think the parents are derelict, despite their admonitions that this is not a good diet. Western culture creep.

After circling we found street "parking". This is usually in front of another vehicle, and cars will have placards they carry, here displayed in the rear window, giving the owner's telephone number, so they can be called to move their car if needed. I had to remind him that he left his phone in the car. He was sufficiently concerned with the space he found that he returned shortly to move it. Sometimes cars get towed, although I have never seen a tow truck.

School on Saturday

Vipol my host on the far right next to his wife. I didn't know of his marital status until he casually mentioned it. She lives with him at home too. She is also a doctor, now doing an internship, and they met at medical school. They married after 6 years of his meeting her. It is considered improper to have a long term relationship without marriage. Here the family was on a recent vacation to Siem Reap. His sister is on the left next to his mother and father, both nurses, and his brother. His maternal grandparents are living in the United States in Long Beach. He has and uncle who lives near Seattle and there are cousins there. Visas to the U.S. are now hard to get, as our government is wary of those coming to stay for the obvious reasons.

Craving home food we came across a pizzeria which opened last October. Skeptical but curious we made the venture, and were rewarded with excellent pizza by any standard. The owner, Jay Miller, grew up in Williamsburg, subsequently moving to Long Island. A peripatetic traveler by way of Paris, Barcelona, Greece, Crete, Turkey, Thailand, and undoubtedly others, he now lives here, and opened this restaurant, which serves his signature pizza, hamburgers, and barbecue. He showed a picture of his "baby" which we thought would be one more beautiful Khmer child, ready to be spoiled. Instead, his three tiered pizza oven, from Taiwan is his pride and joy. His pizza has been named one the best in Phnom Penh, and was reviewed by the newspaper, involving a phantom diner who called in the film crew half way through the meal. His establishment has been a great success, and he is already planning to expand the restaurant, and start up a few more locations. Like all successful businesses, he is hands on, has not had a day off in three months, and cooks or supervises everything, from making his own tomato sauce, to his exquisite cheese cake. His plans include bagels and bialies in the future.

Margie and Jay reminiscing about the old days in Brooklyn. He said he would give his eye teeth for sable from Acme fish, if we came again.

Following a delicious meal we returned for a good night's sleep.