Efficiency can be a challenge in Cambodia. Early in our time here, I was helpfully told that, if you start the day with ten things to do on your list and finish the day with three things accomplished, you have had a successful day.
One of the things that conspires against reaching even the modest 'three tick day' accomplishment level is the dreaded puncture. Roads here are littered with every imaginable little nasty. I have very seldom gone a month wthout a puncture. My norm would be a puncture every two weeks. This week I scaled new heights - four flatties in 48 hours. Check my hair line - it has affected me.
Getting a puncture fixed is no biggie. In a land of small businesses, every fifth block or so will have a guy under an umbrella with a few tools. The trick is to look for a compressor machine at the side of the road. Helpful locals will always point a poor bloke pushing his moto in the right direction.
Here we go again - time is waiting for me too often, too
The basic repair has a piece of rubber cut out, then the tube sandwiched in a little flamed setup that bonds the patch into the tube. It costs 2,000 riel (US.50c). As I've often got one or two people on the back of my moto, the art is to feel the flatty as quick as possible. 20 metres and you've done the tube in too.
I'm riding a little paranoid at the moment - tho' it is now 20 hours and the tyre is still firm. I'm hopeful that my discovery 7pm last night that the rubber liner was missing on the inside of the wheel rim may make the difference. How does a liner go missing??
But there is some good news on the home front too. We have got power - as in serious power - at our house. From day one our power levels have been dismal. Turn the electric jug on, and the lights dim; the fans slow. At night we could turn on a switch and it would take five minutes for the light to flicker on. Our bathroom light would regularly not come on at all .... until 2am (in the dark, you forget the lightswitch is down).
There has been no landlord joy - until now. Our two year lease is up next month and we advised him that we would be moving. Two weeks later (after viewing some shocking joints owned by amazing optimists) we said that 'if we were to possibly consider to stay, then we have a list here ...'
The voltage stabiliser machine - settling into its duties at our place.
Getting the power sorted was the top non-negotiable - and there has been action quicker than my flat tyres. A transformer machine has been hard wired into our power, stepping the voltage up from what we were getting (170v) to a consistant 230v. Wow!! We now have fans like aeroplane propellars. Our toaster can now brown the toast. The jug boils in half the time. The bathroom light turns on within five seconds.
230 glorious volts - day and night!
The only thing not yet sorted is our aircon. We've had it checked and told that it is fine - just the power was too low to run it. But alas - we need a second opinion. We've got a sound and light show happening when we try to run it now. The power is sucked in - the machine gasps, takes a breath and everything dims - then surges. The second meter, sitting on zero, flies up to 75 - the lights blaze like crazy, lighting up the neighbourhood; then it all settles down until the machine takes another gasp 30 seconds later.
It is entertaining - but maybe just a wee bit dodgy.
No comments:
Post a Comment