Shadow host Friday show

The absolutely adorable Chamreun, from the COFCO dance troupe

In case you are in Siem Reap on any Friday evening and enjoy a spot of Cambodian folk and classical dance demonstrated by some talented youngsters, then get along to the Shadow of Angkor guesthouse, along the riverside and around the corner from the Old Market. My friends at the Shadow are giving a platform to the orphans from COFCO to perform each week at 6.30pm, with a BBQ buffet if you fancy it, and donations are gratefully received, going direct to the orphanage for the benefit of the children. I recommend you join in the fun. I saw them in March and the COFCO kids are pretty talented.

Catch-up

Today was spent making my way back on the Mekong Express bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, which kept to the schedule but I must say the buses are looking a bit worse for wear these days. For quite a while now they've been regarded as the best of the local bus companies but I think they need to overhaul some of their stock before the other companies overtake them on the comfort front. However, their timings on my two trips this week have been immaculate. I got back in at 2.30pm and went straight to the office for a catch-up. I also popped into the Phnom Penh Post offices to chat with Dan the sports editor before a meal at the new Fish restaurant on Sisowath Quay and some of their red snapper in batter, which was simply divine. Thoroughly recommended. I've decided against going to Kompong Cham for Pchum Ben over the next 3 days as much of the area I want to visit has been under water due to recent flooding, so I'll have to leave it for another day. Instead I'll stay home in a likely-to-be deserted city. Yesterday, after my guests left, I visited a few friends including Thanet at Tara Angkor - thanks for the lunch Thanet - and Sarah at The Sothea before Now and I joined the owners of the Shadow of Angkor guesthouse for a gorgeous meal of Khmer chicken curry, my favourite. After a drink in the 4Faces it was back to the HanumanAlaya for an early night.

Arrival in Reap

A side view of the unfinished Shadow 2 guesthouse in Siem Reap

Not much to report from today as most of it was spent on the bus getting from Phnom Penh up to Siem Reap. Six hours all together, after leaving the Mekong Express office at 7.30am this morning. On arrival, I was welcomed at the Shadow of Angkor guesthouse by Kim, whose smiling face has been missing from the reception of the Shadow for a year now, but she's back home on holiday from her studies in Australia and brightening up the place with her infectious enthusiasm for just about everything. We went to see their new building just over the river and Shadow 2 is not far from completion. Give it a month or two and the 20 rooms of Shadow 2 will be welcoming its first guests. It looks pretty swish too with lots of wood in evidence as well as balconies, air-con and fitted showers. Next to be completed will be a small swimming pool. Kim and I called into have a nose around the Soria Moria Hotel a couple of doors away before returning to Shadow 1 where one of my best friends Kim Rieng was waiting to whisk me off to see his brand new house. In fact the official house-warming ceremony is tomorrow when a few monks will be invited to bless the house, which is a 1-storey building with three main rooms. It's taken Rieng a while to get his own place but the look of pride on his face when he showed me, was clear to see. I also hope it will be a pick-me-up for his wife Sovann who lost her new-born baby last month because of a weak heart. Then it was back to the Shadow for dinner with some Aussie friends of Kim and an early night. Tomorrow I'm booked for the house-warming and a wedding party in the Roluos area, so looks like another full day of meeting and greeting and enjoying the company of friends.

The imposing frontage of Shadow 2, looking more like a hotel than a guesthouse

Kim Rieng's pride & joy - his brand new family home