It's a good half hour to get my visa and pass through passport control, then I'm in Bavet on the Cambodian side.
Fi and her IT friends Pisay and Reonsay are there to meet me. Great seeing Fi again, this time on her "home" turf. The taxi's been waiting a while, so head off before it costs too much.
First impressions of Cambodia are better than expected. The guide books say the Svay Reing province is relatively impoverished, and I was expecting a substantial deterioration in living conditions compared to Vietnam. But I am agreeably surprised - good road, modern buildings, and peasant farmers not dissimilar to their Vietnamese counterparts.
Fi rents a nice house in Svay Rieng adjacent to a huge roundabout with a lily pond in the middle - which the local kids use as a swimming pool! We enter through the imposing gates, and I'm keen to sort out a few housekeeping essentials.
"Ok - I've been saving up my laundry - where's your washing machine?"
"I don't have one - we'll take it to the laundry service tomorrow"
"Ok - I'll just freshen up with a hot shower"
"Um - we don't have any hot water. No one does in rural Cambodia"
"What - no hot water!!?"
"No - we boil what we need on the stove. And you're lucky to get a shower at all - most Cambodians wash with a bucket of water drawn from a trough!"
I quickly get used to cold showers - not that cold really given the temperature here.
On Tuesday I go to Fi's work at REDA (Rural Economic Development Association) - a 15 minute moto ride up the main highway towards Pnomh Penh, just past the University (yes, SR does have a Uni - that's where Fi's friends studying IT and English go).
I'm delighted to see the library in use as we arrive, and Fi quickly poses with some of her enthusiastic kids. Setting up this (and other libraries) is Fi's primary role here.
We meet up with Fi's Cambodian Mum, Dad and little brother for lunch. This family rents Fi her house, and ensures her well being. Little brother often comes round and sleeps outside at night so Fi's not alone.
On Wednesday we're invited out to Pilot's house in the countryside to try a bit of buffalo riding.
Fi goes first.
How far to Pnomh Penh?!
Couldn't resist this shot of a farmer tending his buffalo as the late afternoon sun starts to set.
Pilot's family invite us to stay for dinner, and we're treated to yet more genuine Cambodian cuisine. All excellent, including the pork rice cakes wrapped in banana leaves. The small deep-fried fish are good too - but a bit fiddly with the tiny bones.
Thursday sees us preparing the library for the official opening, which is also being combined with Fi's farewall. We're a bit concerned the NZ flag dominates the Cambodian flag and the portraits of the royal family to the left, but no one seems to mind.
The REDA director praises Fi's work here, and in turn Fi gives an excellent speech in reply, focusing on the importance of childhood literacy. As she says, children able to read will progress through school to University, acquiring skills that will help Cambodia develop its full potential.
Fi with her favourite kids. Sadly the little girl in the pink top has HIV/AIDS acquired from her mother, as do a couple of the other kids in the vicinity of the library.
Fi and I (and a couple of her REDA volunteer boys) are off to PP tomorrow. From then on it's full-on packing before Fi and I set off together to explore Cambodia, Laos and northern Thailand. More news soon!
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