..it has been a while...

loads of work , guests, computer trouble and trips to phnom penh and kratie kept me busy.

The formerly green countryside has turned brown and clouds of red  dust accompany every and each action.

Nice customers in the restaurant these days and it is quite fun to cook for them. Although for the last few days we have hit one of those inexplicable waves of cheapos, let's hope the next load of tourists will turn out to be better.

the main street is still a holy mess: they dig and they sand and dig some more. the river is supposed to get a new bridge: they destroyed the old one and then- stopped. as there is not even a sign to say that there is no bridge, just, well the river, quite a few vehicles have landed in the sink.

the dogs are doing well; , a little mutt- black and white has joined our household to be an outdoor watchdog when she grows up: she wants to sleep inside is not allowed to do so and howls half the night if the spirit moves her.

 Elvis sat in an anthill the other day and did not enjoy the experience at all, poor fellow.

In the last few month it rained only once but quite a bit: somehow the keyboard of my laptop took a load of water when the roof leaked and the  e, the o , u and w and t did not function anymore and writing would turn into the inevitable gibberish. finally a new keyboard arrived and now the frustration of forced silence is finally gone.

..a cow made it into the garden and ate half of the bathrooms straw walls, and half of my favourite bathtowel.

...a few days before the chinese new year my dogs started barking around midnight and would not quit. On the road, about 60 meters from the restaurant quite a rackett was going on and on and on. The dgs kept barking and insisted i come down and open the dor. finally i did relent, turned on the garden lights and found two scared backpackers hiding  behind a banana plant. They  asked to come in and looked pretty harmless so i let them in. close the door quick they are coming after us  they insisted.   as they were pretty clean cut and my dogs did not object to them  i did. 

When they caught their breath, they told me the story; the had dinner and a beer of two at a street stall. next to them were a few police officers having beers too.  one thing let to another and soon the two tables were chatting- as far as possible with the language barrier and buying each other beers. when the tourists decided to go  to their guesthouse the police offered to drive them there in their jeep

they went, and the police drove quite a ways and asked for their room key presumably for the name of the guest house written on the labeled key hanger. then they would not give back the key and pulled a gun and a knife on the tourists. the tourists two rather fit american young backpackers had it and jumped out of the   jeep ran into the dark and somehow landed in my garden.  the police were not yet ready to quit and started chasing them. . indeed they did; stomping down the garden path, shining flash light and banging on my door. i did hide the tourists upstairs, just in case. Then i did my best 'angry granny'  - imitation: how dare they wake me, anger my dogs (who were groweling spectacularly by now)- and no i had not seen two tourists in the middle of the night etc. so they left. . but one stayed behind shining his flashlight around my garden. at about 3am he quit too.  ( the next morning we found that the police had not been  .able to raid their room: security at their guest house just pretende to sleep very deeply, and they had to give up.

still a pretty hairy situation ; armed police drunk and far out in the country. what can one do; call the police? ..