Oops, spoke too soon

5kg of prahok, 100kg of uncooked rice

So Sunday was cool enough for a walk, but today and yesterday afternoon were horrible and hot. Too hot to play outside in the afternoon and everyone was tired and grumpy. So glad I was able to go for a morning ride both days.

On the up side, we have a large containter of prahok! Wait... is that an up side?

It will be if we have another lockdown. We aren't expecting one, but feels like we need to expect the unexpected. (Something unusual did happen in our village yesterday morning, but we don't have  details.) 

Just read this blog post about a foreigner getting a vaccine in Phnom Penh! 

Hot season is over.

The start of rainy season means the start of when I can go for afternoon rides. Husband and sister in law don't need to water the garden every day so I can sometimes leave the kids at home at dusk. Yesterday rode around Ta Prohm and back via AT/Bayon. So fun! 

 No ride today, but some afternoon walks, including one with our daughter. She walked almost 3km and was rewarded with an ice chocolate, popcorn and a blister. We caught a tuk tuk home. First time she has been out since March 9th.

81 cases so far in our province

HUMID day, late afternoon was hard, glad to be able to go for a ride. MIL left this morning and made it home safely. I didn't try to stick to our homeschool routine this morning but both children ended up doing some English and Maths in the morning.

76 in Siem Reap

Things feel kind of a bit normal for us at the moment, after all the events of March and April. Homeschooling, bike rides, internet speed all seem to have returned to pre hot season normal. We are still mostly staying home and case numbers still climbing. I read here the covid strain that transformed in India is bad news, and it is in Cambodia now. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/who-designates-india-variant-being-global-concern-2021-05-10/

75 cases in our province now

Things feel a bit calmer for us this month, although we are still planning to stay stocked up on food.💧 Of course once Red Zone people were free they wanted to see family so they are now travelling all over the country.💧A quick glance at the news might lead youbto believe it is a crime to be sick.

Why pay for a trainer when you can just break the law?

Children requested hamburgers. Its been 2 months since they last went out.

First proper ride since lockdown. I haven't been able to go more than 10km until today. Went to Srah Srang and walked IN it. Looks so bizarre empty.

63 and no quarantine for coming into province

So the new rules I read about yesterday are already old. Our province said people coming in would have to do a covid test and 14 days, but today I read the Prime Minister said no mandantory quarantine for province travel. Meanwhile, over the last few days I've been reading about Aussie who aren't allowed to travel to Australia (those who are in India right now, they face a huge fine and up to 5 years gaol time) as well as Aussies in Australia who aren't allowed to travel out, even to see dying parents. And it seems Red Zoners are out and about...and the last few days of numbers reporting has been lacking the usual detail...

61 now, and 14 days of laziness

Rats in the roof, hornets in the house, and some ill health. Just in a week SR has jumped from 19 to 61, and now there are new restrictions. If you want to enter our province you need to have a covid test and quarantine.

54 cases altogether in our town

For ages we were sitting on 19, but in less than a week its gone up to 54. I've started riding again, although I can only seem to ride 10km max. The photo is from yesterday's ride to Angkor Thom. Meanwhile 3 digit numbers are still coming out of Phnom Penh but today was supposed to be the end of lockdown. I haven't figured out what this means, it seems Red and Orange zone still can't go anywhere. Although the curfew changed from 8pm-5am to 8pm-3am. We're well back into our Maths and English routine. I'm now learning about what I think we will use as our long term maths program. What I'm using as the backbone at the moment is for preschool to aboit year 2 I guess. Not that we really have grades in our homeschool.

At least 47 today

So our province has 41 cases now. It doesn't sound like a big number, but for weeks now its been sitting on 19. More than doubled in a few days. They were mostly imported cases due to the travel ban between provinces being lifted, tested at the border, so that feels safe.

Finally our nearest supermarket was accesssible. Between our lockdown and then their lockdown it had been over 3 weeks. I was planning to go sometime in the next few days bit ended up rushing there this.morning when lockdown 3 felt like it might be upon us. Also, now that travel between provinces is possible, trying to work out what it is actually like. What happens at the checkpoints? A recent article makes it sound like you might end up with medical care.

More cases in our town

For weeks we had 19 cases, now suddenly 36.

A new case in our town, friends stuck in the wrong places

A man from another province is in the government hospital here in SR for reasons unrelated to covid. Last night they found he has covid19. Im guessing that will mean more bans etc. Hundreds of people will need to be tested. 🌼 Everyone has been looking forward to today, the last day of 3 communes being shut. But now there are other road closures happening. I was hoping to access a supermarket and a hotel for internet but it feels uncertain now. 🍄 Meanwhile some from our village are stuck in the worst effected areas- Phnom Penh and Poipet. They went to those places to look for work as the main industry of our town doesn't exist at the moment. Until last year millions of international tourist would visit our town to see the temples. 🥑 Also stuck in Phnom Penh are some expats who were only there for errands or passing through because they had to use the airport. They expected they would be back in their homes with their families in their respective provinces by now, but were prevented by the April 7 KNY travel ban. It has been lifted for most of the country but not Phnom Penh and other covidy places. 🍯 Some tried to get permission to leave but it didn't work out. Finding a taxi driver was impossible as the driver would have got stuck in their destination province. And even if they had permission woukd they be let theough all of the province borders? A risk of getting stuck somewhere a long the way. 🦀 One family decided they didn't need to waste weeks cooped up in the captial and looked in to visiting their passport country instead! Crazy times! 🍋 And still other expats outside PP who want to leave the country face te big hurdle of getting into Phnom Penh. On top of all the normal hurdles of pandemic flying.

Restrictions lifting- province borders and SRcommunes

A few days ago we heard the travel ban between provinces is over for most of the country. I didn't expect that as the daily tally is still going up. It only made sense when I remembered it was put in for Khmer New Year. Mid April is when everyone travels to see family, the biggest holiday of the year. In a few days time the 3 communes in SR that are closed for this fortnight will open. Thats 2 lot of restrictions lifting at once, it feels like there will be more cases here soon. Delayed KNY spike plus first post lockdown for a large part of the town. We ve been locked up for 2 weeks and I realise I gave up following whether we have curfew and alcohol bans. It seemed so important to know before, but irrelevant when we were stuck in the village.

More post lockdown surprise emotions

So as I wrote yesterday I found I was scared to go past the checkpoint, and then surprised and something like angry when I saw people had been going about their normal life the whole time. And since then I also found I feel like we need some time at home together. Even though we just did that for 2 weeks! But with our whole village locked in together, with no option for anyone to leave, it felt intense! It wasn't actually that different to usual in some ways. Except that normally I can go for a ride, and Soeun and boys can go and play soccer. Doing a big shop today, in case we have lockdown again. Can not access my usual supermarket, so going a bit further. This one has good prices for somethings but does not seem to sell some products I would normally get. Couldn't find any oats, granola, bran, kidney beans,peanut butter, crackers etc. Dairy was limited too.

Lockdown 2 ends; not as carefree as I imagined

6am ANZAC day & end of lockdown

 It had been a weird and hard 2 weeks, people around us had no market, no work, no food. Surely our village needs to open again soon, how will people survive?

So it was exciting when we found out the lockdown was over and the market would be open again....

Except then we realised it wasn't real..

But then we realised it was!

So then we tested it out and turned out not to be true.

That all happened around lunch time, then later in the day we noticed something which made it seem like they had let people in.

So we tested it again and this time it turned out to be true!

Unfolding alongside this was news that someone we know has Covid19. They only just finished school last year and moved away to another town to work. After being taken from their workplace they are now being held in a makeshift medical facility, in normal times it is a restaurant.

The parents are distressed.They are also are away from home in search of work, but instead of money for food they found Covid restrictions. 

So now the family is stuck in 3 different town without income or ability to travel. All to the backdrop of increasing virus cases.

But back to our village lockdown. When we realised we were free I quickly got ready to go out, which took some effort as I hadn't done it in 2 weeks. I have a long list of things I want to buy at the supermarket! I found out from friends which shops I can get to, some are in lockdown communes.

 By the time I was ready it was too late to go, and we realised we will probably still have freedom the next day. We just dont know how long it will last though, with cases going up and up. Out of the last 4 weeks we were in lockdown for 3, and we guess we will be spending more time at home. So the idea is to do a big shop while I can. Hopefully soon, although there is nothing urgent.

My last bike ride was 17 days ago, so this morning I grabbed my helmet while the kids were still asleep and the sun wasn't too hot. 

It was not as awesome as I thought. 

For one, I didn't check my tyres. 

And two, I had some emotions I didn't forsee. 

After having officials there keeping us all out and in, I felt a bit scared to leave the village. Was I going to get in trouble? What if they don't let me back in?

And then, once I was in the park I saw lots of people riding around as if it was normal! I realised they had been going about their normal life the whole time we were locked up! For some reason I felt surprised and kind of angry at them.

It was a fleeting feeling, only noting it as it felt so bizarre. Somehow I had forgotton there was life beyond 700metres away.

 Whirlwind day, will explain more later. 

Two different pieces of news seemed to be with us all day. Confusion about our village's situation. Sad, stressful news from a family we know. Both were overwhelming and happening at the same time.

But Day 5 of homeschool feels like we are starting to get used it again. They both did both a little maths and a little bit of English.

Some headlines from this morning, and news of 10 deaths by late in the day. The first death only happened on March 11th, now up to 71.

Others locked down without food

 

Sharing some screen shots of morning and aftenoon headlines today. I don't think I really ever read the Khmer Times before but now I check it everyday. They post the covid stats up the top.

A workmate of someone known to us tested positive and their whole company has been shut up and they all have to stay there for 2 weeks. 

Hopefully they will be given food, but it sounds like she will have no access to her clothes, bed, money etc, only what she had with her at work today (or whatever day it happened).

Its happening in a town about 3 hours from here and Im only hearing it 2nd hand so Im not sure of details.

Her parents are stuck in another town, unable to go to work and with no money to buy food. 

In a 3rd town her other family members are together, also with no work, school or income.

My last ride- 2 weeks ago.

Maybe day 12ish of village lockdown, although its 14 days since they found the case here and closed the market. 

Our hopes we would be let out after a fortnight don't seem realistic. Some say we have 5 more days, other say 2 more weeks. Our bans and curfews keep being extended so Im not surprised. 

And even we we so get let out, I dont want to risk getting stuck away from family, like Ive seen happen to so many people.

Also I might not be able to access the supermarket anyway, if its in a lockdown commune.

🌞

Day 4 of our new year in homeschool. I started printing maths worksheets on the back of old used worksheets, thus getting around the lack of printer paper. Lucky we bought a printer recently, I had been going into town to get school work printed.

We haven't started maths yet, all they want to do is write and draw in their journals, since we watched Anne Frank. Miss likes copying songs, her own idea. Master seems to write about WW2 and my nose.

A few online maths programs were the backbone of maths before, but atm they aren't interested. Perhaps thats good as the internet isn't fast and stable enough anyway.