Arrived Anecdotes

13/7 8:30 am

Yesterday was a true Red-Letter Day! 

We managed a last picnic style breakfast from Delis with cold coffee brewed the day before so the coffee pot could be stashed in one of the many cardboard cartons that accompanied us in the car. 

It was an absolute miracle of logistics. The load for the truck was lined up in the living room already but we stripped the bed and added the mattress. Meanwhile, the boxes, blinds, fan, rattan stools, plants and sundry miscellaneous items were on the porch as a load for the car, while we frantically cleaned the remaining spaces and rain persisted. 

Luckily we were able to load up the “taxi” in only light drizzle not the howling winds and torrential rain of the previous three days. Even more luckily the rain stopped completely half way through our journey. 

The Khmer family who we rented from have become our Khmer family, through their kindness, generosity, concern and care. That relationship was established largely without shared language but it is and will always be a strong bond. 

Our neighbours, our friends and most of all the little monks have been an enormously enriching part of our lives in Kep and it’s not easy to walk away from all that. 

As we drove out through Kep towards Kampot it really hit home that we were starting a whole new journey now. Yes, we will go back to visit and hopefully often but that chapter is closed. “Nothing remains without change.” We were both pensive and silent for a large part of the journey to Phnom Penh. 

On arrival, we raced up and down the stairs frantically in relays and managed to get everything up before the skies once again opened up. A record 34 flights for Ian with the heaviest of the goods and one set less for me. As the driver stated, we “have a lot of products!!” We dared not mention to him, those already on their way in the truck as I write. 

A quick early dinner at the local IndoPak restaurant, just a block away having waited once again for the rain to abate before venturing out again, and exhaustion set in and sleep called. 

Great bustling activity in the Kandal Market today as we joined the locals at 7am. My favourite observation for the day was watching the small vendors without licenses presumably, stash their wares and scarper as the inspectors came through. Those with legitimate established stalls simply incorporated their products into their own stalls until the threat was over. That’s a respectful sense of community and support for the underdog if I ever saw it! Yes, I know we all have to pay for the right to conduct business but times are tough and everyone needs a break and a little helping hand sometimes. 

23/7

It’s hard to believe more than a week has passed now since these events. 

The following day the rain scenario repeated itself almost exactly and via messages from our friend and neighbours in Kep we heard how everything was carefully wrapped to avoid rain damage and loaded with caution onto the removalists truck, once again in light drizzle.

The Khmer company “we love to move it” were incredible. They messaged us to say that they had arrived in Phnom Penh and were hopeful that they could off load before the rain started up. They not only roped up the heaviest items from the ground to third floor and carried them up the final flight but also placed them where they needed to be within the apartment. They were incredibly efficient, hard-working, polite and professional and did indeed get everything into the apartment with just minutes to spare. As they were walking down the stairs to leave the rain started up with a vengeance and we were thoroughly amazed at how fortunate our timing had been.

I set myself up in the apartment to direct arrivals and Ian, of course, was at the pointy end taking photos of the process and carrying things from the third floor up the final flight. I decided to get a shot of the first things off the truck and through the door and much to my amusement, I saw Ian carrying this bundle. 

When we first arrived at the Kep house in 2017 there was a plastic broom in the kitchen. I much prefer the local ones which are brush, string and a bamboo stick as they are 100% recyclable. For the next five years I referred to that broom as Muma San’s broom and never used it. When we left that house the previous morning I dutifully left the completely unused broom in its original place in the kitchen but despite the instructions that only the things in the living room needed to come, it too was loaded onto the truck with sundry other cleaning items we had used that morning and no longer had a use for. So, now despite my best intentions, I have Muma San’s broom in PP and I just can’t see myself returning it to her in Kep. I’m sure she would be bewildered if I did. 

We, of course, wrote a glowing review on their business, tipped them and sent them off mid-afternoon with beers in hand. Everyone was smiling and I can’t praise them enough.  

Since then little by little boxes have been unpacked and more scraping, scrubbing, sweeping and mopping of the floor has occurred but we have also taken time to enjoy the process of setting up a new home.

The purchase of some new items was inevitable and we decided to throw caution to the wind and buy the hall table that actually made our hearts sing. We also ordered new rattan chairs for the terrace and are anxiously awaiting their delivery. 
 

Phalla has also made a return visit and managed to adapt and put up to more of our blinds from the house in Kep just in time to provide our guest with some privacy. They went up literally the same afternoon as he arrived and just hours before we departed to meet him at the airport. The Venetian blinds that were the worst aspect of the place when we viewed it, in my opinion, are now all a thing of the past. 

At long last, we feel it is all coming together and we are able to enjoy the Aerie and not only know that it’s ours but that it is taking shape in the way we imagined.

Our first international guest arrived earlier this week and has been treated to several days of torrential rain and therefore forced confinement but we have also managed a few sorties to the market, riverside, shops and local places.

 We also went to another art exhibition and recognised both the work and the artist as there was one of his original pieces in the Aerie the first time we saw it.  

We have also hosted our first dinner party and I’ve even embraced the induction cooktop to create a few of my signature dishes although it’s the new oven that really brings me joy. 

Finally, we have spent time relaxing, chatting and simply adjusting to the new lifestyle without feeling the need to achieve more transformation daily.

 

Due to my tardiness in completing the write up of this saga, I have been hounded for a “big reveal”. It’s actually more of a slow unfolding but for what it worth this this the way our new abode currently looks. 

And we love it!