katja-horsch

(This text is written by Oliver Shipp)

The chocolaty Mekong oozes its way through Cambodia towards Phnom Penh, supporting riverside communities and picturesque boats. It is impressive, photogenic, even beautiful. But would you really want to bathe in it?

this is how I felt

this is how Oli felt

Daring VSO volunteers Katja, John and Adrian defied tradition, intuition (and medical wisdom) to successfully swim nearly a kilometre across the mighty, murky river.

I swam like this

our numbers

Surprisingly, they weren’t alone in this questionable weekend pursuit. No less than 164 brave souls stripped off and plunged into the muddy depths as part of this year’s Mekong River Swim.

I'm doping myself

getting all ready and pumped up!

From the relative safety of the wobbly wooden Mekong Flower support boat, Ella and Oly were watching, wondering, and waving the VSO flag. Whatever nasties coated the swimmers, all that was on the spectators’ lips was one question: Why?

Oli with Sarah's sunglasses

excitement before the start

The event was too late to be an April fool. Hardy adventurers that they are, it seems the challenge of traversing one of the world’s great rivers was reason enough.

In fairness, the swim was also promoted by VolCom, as part of its ‘events’ role to bring together the volunteer community. Katja’s bright red VSO t-shirt also provided positive publicity, as well as a useful marker for the hovering rescue boats.

can you spot me?

I'm giving my best breast stroke here

It was also a fun social event, mainly for the Phnom Penh ex-pat community, but with a sprinkling of local support too. And it was for a good cause – proceeds this year will help rebuild a school in Ofunato, Japan, destroyed by the recent tsunami. It is an interesting turn of events that funds are being raised in still-developing Cambodia to help one of the world’s richest countries. (There has been no confirmation of the rumour that next year proceeds will help Britain’s cash-strapped health service).

putting on my visibility cap, just in case i drowned, they could identify me with it

Happily all three brave volunteers made it across intact. Hopefully the chosen crossing point from Prek Leap Agricultural College was far enough upstream to avoid the worst of the city’s unregulated drainage – certainly at the time of writing their consumption of Mekong water has not been definitively linked with any subsequent hospitalizations.

apart from swallowing a lot of brown water, I felt fine!

Whilst the swimmers gagged and gurgled, conversation among the spectators turned to the future of the Mekong. It’s a challenge, as communities in no less than 5 countries depend on the river, as it flows from China, through Thailand and Laos into Cambodia, and finally out into the South China Sea from Vietnam.

the VSO Mekong River Swim participants, first, second and third - I came second though

Of particular concern are plans to build more dams upstream, which will change the river forever. Admittedly the developments could provide significant, lucrative and (crucially) clean and renewable hydro-electric power.

the VSO boys

John and Oli

Adrian, myself and Sarah in the Tuk-Tuk on the way back

However, critics complain plans are being pushed through without consultation or assessment of the environmental impact. Ordinary river-dwellers are unlikely to see the benefits (reserved for government officials and foreign economies), yet will be greatly affected, being forced to change crop irrigation and their present fish-based diet.

Fortunately the organizers must be confident of the river’s future, in the short-term at least: the 16th annual Mekong River Swim is scheduled for early April 2012. Fancy a swim?

with the official Mekong Swim T-shirt

Afterwards, Oli had his first Cambodian shave on the street.

someone had a proper shave there...

everything will be fine!

careful on the throat there!

song ha nah!

first time Cambodian shave

And we celebrated Danny's leaving do in Phnom Penh together with other volunteers.

good red wine!

John was in top form that night - what love does to you...

Oli and Emily

The last out of 3 glasses full of mixers for John, with Danny, Sam and Oli

at the 'elsewhere party' in Phnom Penh

knyom srolaing nek!

boys and their idols...

Text written by me and published in our local VSO volunteer magazine:

What's love got to do with it?

I never thought I would write an article about food. But now I think about it every day!

I don’t want to lecture or sound like someone who knows it all. I just want to share my thoughts with you, and perhaps it will trigger something in you that will affect you for life.

When my sister gave up meat I remember making fun of her. When she was grumpy I said it was because she needed bratwurst! Now I feel ashamed of what I said, especially when I hear similarly ill-informed comments made by my family and even some of my friends.

Today I celebrate having been veggie for a year. This is largely thanks to Oly, who quit eating meat and fish as a rebellious teenager, and who finally helped me to do what I always wanted but didn’t know how.

So why have I chosen to quit eating meat and fish? You know why: for love!

Dragon-fruit anyone?

Firstly, I love animals. I love the calm cows, the pink pigs, the fast chickens, the beautiful creatures who live in the Mekong and the sea. And I don’t kill things I love (or get someone else to kill them for me). And I try really hard not to cause pain to those I love and not causing pain is the biggest issue for me. Do those pig screams when they are slaughtered not make you feel something? We live in a Buddhist country, so we should be familiar with respect for animals, and I wish even more people would put such precious beliefs into practice (including the restaurant which just opened in front of my house, where they tether a young cow to a stake each morning, later to kill and roast him on a spit by the road – it breaks my heart every day).

Secondly, I love my life, and I feel far healthier as a veggie. As a health worker I am now very aware of the growing body of evidence connecting diet to health. Human beings don’t need to eat meat or fish. I am very happy to be avoiding meat, with its links to heart disease and cancers of the bowel and stomach. Interestingly, even the most recent issue of Medinews from MEDICAM Cambodia reported that meat and fish are linked to bowel disease. I am also pleased to have a lower risk of food poisoning and worms, improved digestion, and better breath! And I am delighted to be eating more healthy food, tasty tofu and nuts. I am now much more food-aware, and enjoy buying, sometimes cooking and eating delicious dishes. I live with a Cambodian family, and I’m thrilled to say that they started to cook and eat veggie food with me, with mouthwatering results!

Thirdly, I love the planet, and I am convinced that stopping meat-eating is the single most important thing most of us can do to reduce climate change. I understand that a veggie diet is hugely more energy efficient, a meaty one much more wasteful. I want my children to have children to have children to have children. If we don’t dramatically cut demand for meat we will destroy our future.

Over Christmas I was reading a moving and gripping book by Jonathan Safran Foer called Eating Animals. It is brilliantly written and full of great stories – but it is not fiction. If you are brave and honest enough to read it, it may well change your views and your life.

For example, do you think it is wrong to eat dogs? Foer explores this difficult issue, asking how it could be morally different from killing chickens or cows. He exposes the terrible cruelty which is inevitable in producing meat, but which most of us (me included) try to pretend doesn’t happen. And he concludes, like me, that for many many reasons the right thing to do is to go veggie.

Maybe I can compare giving up eating meat to giving up smoking. It is very hard at the beginning. The temptation to lapse back to the bad old habits, to give in to peer pressure. Sometimes people seemed almost scared to see me do the right thing in case it left them exposed. Often people want to find a reason to justify their habits, rather than having to change.

Here in Cambodia it’s actually quite easy to go veggie. There are good supplies of delicious fruit and veg, cereals and nuts, even in most rural areas. If you want to eat eggs they are everywhere, and you can often find milk or soya products like various tofu if you want.

And you won’t be alone! I have never met as many vegetarians as here in the VSO community in Cambodia. I love to go out to eat in lots of meat-free restaurants in Phnom Penh and Siem Riep. My friend from home also posts me trashy women’s mags and it’s reassuring to read that so many celebrities are role modeling by being veggie.

This photo shoot took place in Carols house.

But as I say, I don’t want to preach, and I don’t have all the answers. For example, I love animals, most of all the gorgeous kittens I adopted. But cats, unlike us, can’t live happily without flesh. Yet if I feed them meat or fish, I will be part of killing another creature. It makes me sad and uncomfortable, but I don’t know what else I can do. This is an ongoing dilemma for me.

Fortunately, we humans don’t have that problem – we can choose what we do. And all of us make a choice, every day, even if we try to ignore it – either we eat meat, or we go veggie. For our love of other creatures, of ourselves, of our planet, it’s clear to me that I made the right choice. Why don’t you join me?

2 Weeks, my Oli and I spent in South Africa at the end of December. It was a family reunion with my sister and brother in law and my adorable two nieces as well as an interesting insight to Africas most popular tourist destination.

view onto Cape town city from the bottom of Table mountain

Cape Town (Afrikaans: Kaapstad) is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the largest in land area, forming part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality.

My first thoughts of going to Africa where, that I wanted to see it considering our future plans, to work there at some point. But what we saw and experienced was actually no poverty, no littered streets. It felt very cosmopolitan and nearly european.

mmmhh, where is the way to the pub?

Located on the shore of Table Bay, Cape Town was originally developed by the Dutch East India Company as a victualling (supply) station for Dutch ships sailing to Eastern Africa, India, and the Far East. Jan van Riebeeck's arrival on 6 April 1652 established the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. Cape Town quickly outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope, becoming the economic and cultural hub of the Cape Colony. Until the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the development of Johannesburg, Cape Town was the largest city in South Africa.

We've stayed with Antje and John and the girls in John's grandmothers house which was absolutely beautiful and so relaxing.

This is in the stunning garden.

... and this too!

That was ideal. It was based a little outside Cape Town City Centre, in Constantia, a suburban area. We had nearly all meals in that garden when the weather allowed it.

and now a cup of Roibush tee...

and everybody is asking, where are your socks, Oli?

Hallo Oma und Opa!

We had mostly warm sunny weather, but compared to Cambodian weather, it was changing every day. It was a nice change actually, although I still very much prefer the warmth.

Capetown is the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa.
Today it is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, reflecting its role as a major destination for immigrants and expatriates to South Africa. As of 2007 the city had an estimated population of 3.5 million.

at the "Cape to Cuba" Restaurant in Kalk Bay

The city is famous for its harbour as well as its natural setting in the Cape floral kingdom, including such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point. It is hailed as one of the most beautiful cities in the world as officially recognised by Forbes. National Geographic has also listed Cape Town as one of the most iconic cities on the planet and "Places of a Lifetime".

sorry, forgot the name of this beach, but it was stunning!

And we've seen it all.

with the Table Mountain in the background

we're going to the beach!

the cold of the water was cutting into my feet

picknick with the sunset

real surfers!

unfortunately, also this moment didn't last forever

I think we must have visited all of Cape Town's beaches, which are popular with local residents. Due to the city's unique geography, it is possible to visit several different beaches in the same day, each with a different setting and atmosphere. Though the Cape's water ranges from cold to mild, the difference between the two sides of the city is dramatic. But still, the water on both sides was freezing!

sorry, name forgotten, but it was beautiful!

that sun was hot!

yes, definetely a dolphin man!

Both coasts are equally popular, although the beaches in affluent Clifton and elsewhere on the Atlantic Coast are better developed with restaurants and cafés, with a particularly vibrant strip of restaurants and bars accessible to the beach at Camps Bay.

We were very active, no problem when you are with John, and they showed us the most amazing places.

I can't decide who's cuter...

After a lovely morning spending time walking and talking, they saluted us off from the waterfront to take the boat to Robben Island, which is 10-kilometeres from the city. Here, future President of South Africa and Nobel Laureate Nelson Mandela and future South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, alongside many other political prisoners, spent decades imprisoned during the apartheid era. Including current South African President Jacob Zuma who was imprisoned there for ten years.

Nelson Mandela's cell

In one of the most famous moments marking the end of apartheid, Nelson Mandela made his first public speech in decades on 11 February 1990 from the balcony of Cape Town City Hall hours after being released. His speech heralded the beginning of a new era for the country, and the first democratic election was held four years later, on 27 April 1994.

Oh we had lots of fun with the kids!

baking Olis favourite chocolate cake..

pulling the "sleigh" down the hill and pretend that their is snow..

Of course South-Africa is also very famous for their wines!There are hundreds of different wines, all produced in different locations of the winelands. We visited two of them. One was Constantia and the other one was in Stellenbosch.

The day in Stellenbosch was very special,because one of Johns friend took us all and drove us around. First of all we went to a bird rescue centre where we also saw cheetahs.

Then we had a marvellous picknick at a river nearby one of the wine yards.

John and the kids cool down in the nearby river.

We had to do a wine tasting to compare with the wine from Constantia.

at the end, we bought a bottle of delicious Delheim Rose wine

together with Etienne, Sally and Francois.

in the morning, we decorated our christmas tree

Bescherung war am naechsten Morgen

We had a fantastic day on the 24th of December, which is our german christmas. Firstly, we went to see the Cape Fur Seal colonies on Seal and Duiker Islands.

can you see the seal already?

all of them made a very happy impression

Then we picknicked for lunch

what a nice picknick spot this is!

and then went on to see Cape Point.

Cape Point is recognised as the dramatic headland at the end of the Cape Peninsula. We drove along Chapman's Peak Drive, a narrow road that links Noordhoek with Hout Bay, for the views of the Atlantic Ocean and nearby mountains. It was beautiful. We stopped at another beach,

before we finally reached the Cape of Good Hope.

ostriches along the coast

hey, there is a Baboon in the way!

There, we enjoyed the sunset in beautiful surrounding.

Someone was paricularly keen on the Pringels...

English Christmas Day we spent with Johns family at Betsy's Bay.

It was a lovely relaxed slightly tipsy day.

Boulders Beach near Simon's Town is known for its colony of African penguins. I think going there was one of my defenite highlights.

Finally, Antji and me had also some time together and we spent it wisely.

Then we split up for the last 3 days. Antji and John wanted it more rural for New Years Eve while me and Oli stayed and discovered more in Cape Town City.

The city has several notable cultural attractions.

The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, built on top of part of the docks of the Port of Cape Town, is the city's most visited tourist attraction.

It is also one of the city's most popular shopping venues, with several hundred shops and the Two Oceans Aquarium.

Nobel Square in the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront features statues of South Africa's four Nobel Peace Prize winners - Albert Luthuli, Desmond Tutu, F. W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela.

Since 1994, the city has struggled with problems such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, a surge in violent drug-related crime and more recent xenophobic violence. At the same time, the economy has surged to unprecedented levels due to the boom in the tourism and the real estate industries.
In the 1948 national elections, the National Party won on a platform of apartheid (racial segregation) under the slogan of "swart gevaar". This led to the Group Areas Act, which classified all areas according to race. Formerly multi-racial suburbs of Cape Town were either purged of unlawful residents or demolished. The most infamous example of this in Cape Town was District Six. After it was declared a whites-only region in 1965, all housing there was demolished and over 60,000 residents were forcibly removed.
Many of these residents were relocated to the Cape Flats and Lavender Hill. Under apartheid, the Cape was considered a "Coloured labour preference area", to the exclusion of "Bantus", i.e. blacks. We visited the District Six museum, which was very interesting and very well done.

Cape Town is noted for its architectural heritage, with the highest density of Cape Dutch style buildings in the world. Cape Dutch style, which combines the architectural traditions of the Netherlands, Germany, France and Indonesia, is most visible in Constantia, the old government buildings in the Central Business District, and along Long Street.

Very unfortunately, the Green-Point Stadium was closed that day...

people from SA call this cloud "Table cloth", laying on the Table Mountain

We found an amazing Ethiopian Restaurant which was a great experience to eat there.

it looks strange but it tasted delicious!

we had a coffee ceremony with popcorn!

One day we even took the train into town which was exiting. Before that, we had breakfast at the lovely Olimpia Cafe at Kalk Bay.

This beach is very popular and found on many postcards. It's St. James Beach

This man claimed to have 25 kg of eggs on his head. And he had a telephone...

But I tryed to call home and it didn't work. Instead he wanted money for the picture we took of him.

I really wanted to see some Whales and do a bungee jump, but both were not possible at the time. Southern Right Whales and Humpback Whales are seen off the coast during the breeding season (August to November) and Bryde's Whales and Killer Whale can be seen any time of the year.

Heaviside's dolphins are endemic to the area and can be seen from the coast north of Cape Town; Dusky dolphins live along the same coast and can occasionally be seen from the ferry to Robben Island and I have seen them at least from the distance.

Oli and John climbed up Table Mountain and had a great view. We wanted to meet them on top but the Cable Car wasn't going because of strong winds. We tryed it another time but it was again too windy.

we had a nice picknick though at the bottom of table mountain

So I haven't made it up the Table Mountain, but I don't mind. I had a fantastic time and had amazing new experiences. And that was it. Happy New Year 2011!!!!!!