The thing about long term volunteering here in Cambodia is that you soon settle into a routine. I find I get up early and work from my guest house for a couple of hours before breakfast, then I amble in for a 9am start, knowing as the heat of the day gets up I can take myself off somewhere cooler and finish off any loose ends later.

I therefore get back to my guesthouse around 4pm and catch a cold drink in its tropical garden before anything else. The waitresses are quiet then and come over for a chat and to practice their English. This can lead to comedy conversations, here are two from this week -

Waitress: ‘John you believe in goats?’

JP: ‘Yup, we have them in England. Don’t tend to eat them though.’

Waitress: ‘Goats.’

JP: ‘Yeah, furry things with beards.’ A look of opaque mystery envelops our waitress.

Waitress: ‘Ghosts’

JP: ’Got it’ There then follows a haunting 10 minute conversation about why so many properties lay empty here. Too many bad spirits. Poor girl is terrified of them, and proceeds with how she hates living alone.

The very next day, with a different waitress -

JP: ‘One beer Lao and one lemonade please, with loads of ice. I will teach you how to make shandy.’

Waitress: ‘Ooh thank you, but I have to work Shandy.’