Disaster strikes

On such an auspicious day as the first of the 3-day Chinese New Year celebrations, I have to report the sad demise of Lucky, the two-month old blind shiatsu puppy belonging to Ara and Lee. I visited the couple at their new home on the outskirt's of Phnom Penh last night to enjoy a meal with their extended family, to watch the video of their wedding from November - and to see how badly I attempt to dance the Khmer Madizone - and to catch up on the gossip. Throughout the evening, I kept hearing a thud as Lucky, blind since birth, bumped into the wall, the door, the legs of the furniture, the tv cabinet and so on. It was both comical and sad. I'm not an animal lover by any stretch of the imagination and when he positioned himself for an unscheduled toilet break, Lee grabbed him and put him outside the front door. That was the last we saw of him until early this morning, when we found his lifeless body floating in a nearby sewage canal. His brilliant white coat had turned black from the chemicals in the smelly sludge. The family had spent a couple of hours late last night frantically searching wasteground in front of their house but feared the worst. This morning their fears were realised.
Yesterday, I mentioned that the Chinese New Year was celebrated at the Hanuman office with a spread of goodies at the reception area of the building. Below is the proof with a glazed baby pig taking pride of place between two chickens and a selection of food, fruit and drink. The papers today have been full of how much prices have risen over the last few days. Inflation is hovering at around 10% here in Cambodia but with Chinese New Year celebrated by a large slice of the population, prices for food, especially pork and chicken and bananas have risen dramatically.

The Hanuman New Year offering