My eyes hurt

FEVER!

Had a bad fever (tue-sat) which kept me in the house all last week. Chills, sweats and a headache that didn't go til sunday night (with the help of a couple of beers). Not sure what it was (dengue?) but seems that everyone here gets it at some point. Cue much hilarity as i'm sitting around in jeans and a sweater (cheers andy!) while all around are in shorts and t-shirts.

All better now apart from a slight lingering headache so have been back at work the last couple of days.

Today (monday) is our day off so me and a couple of the other volunteers went to Ream National Park; opened by the King way back in 1993, it's a large area of river, mangroves, primary forest, coast and islands.



Took a fishing boat down the river for an hour or so with our 'guide' Mr Song; not the most informative man in the world, but he did point out 2 kinds of sea eagles (big), a couple of kingfishers and a load of storks.



The kingfishers are big, about a foot long from beak to tail and brightly coloured, but not as iridescent as the UK version.



Saw big flocks of storks, wading and on the wing on the way down the river to a small village (villagers that were already there have been allowed to stay in the park so long as they only fish using traditional methods). Moored up at this gorgeous jetty...



... went for a walk through the forest to a deserted beach for a swim, followed by a refreshing rinse in a freshwater stream before heading back to the jetty for lunch (BBQ baracuda - again).



Back on the boat, through more mangroves, more storks and a cock-fighting chicken that came aboard with his handler to get a lift to the ranger station at the park entrance...



So, not the most rugged of 'treks' by a long shot, but a lovely day - and great to get away from the town/beach/project for a bit.

More pics here.

Stay tuned.

J C-R