Some of the students on the conservation Masters course that FFI facilitate at Royal University of Phnom Penh are off to do their dive training next week so they can do coral reef surveys. Problem is - they can't all swim. So I've been at the Olympic Stadium early in the mornings trying to help them learn.
I've really loved going to the Olympic Stadium each morning. It's such a Phnom Penh experience as it is a hotspot for Cambodians who like to come here before it gets hot and play tennis, jog round the track, swim, walk, do dance aerobics or martial arts classes and generally move around (in their gentle Cambodian way of exercising). By the time I get here (which is still pretty early) there is already evidence of the earlier action wrapping up - people buying their breakfast from vendors who've set up on location (fruit, pork and rice, noodles, fried insects); the detritus of palm sugar juice that's been squeezed and served; discarded plastic cups and bottles that will be collected and sold for recycling, providing someone's livelihood.
It's also a stark reminder of what happened to the country - the fact that in the 60s Phnom Penh was so wealthy and fashion-conscious that they built a world-class Olympic Stadium for public use. It may not be in all its former glory, but it is still a national treasure and one of my favourite places in Phnom Penh.
I've really loved going to the Olympic Stadium each morning. It's such a Phnom Penh experience as it is a hotspot for Cambodians who like to come here before it gets hot and play tennis, jog round the track, swim, walk, do dance aerobics or martial arts classes and generally move around (in their gentle Cambodian way of exercising). By the time I get here (which is still pretty early) there is already evidence of the earlier action wrapping up - people buying their breakfast from vendors who've set up on location (fruit, pork and rice, noodles, fried insects); the detritus of palm sugar juice that's been squeezed and served; discarded plastic cups and bottles that will be collected and sold for recycling, providing someone's livelihood.
It's also a stark reminder of what happened to the country - the fact that in the 60s Phnom Penh was so wealthy and fashion-conscious that they built a world-class Olympic Stadium for public use. It may not be in all its former glory, but it is still a national treasure and one of my favourite places in Phnom Penh.