To the End of the World

So the last blog post I see here was at the end of December 2017!  How does time fly so fast?

Well so much has happened in these last 12 months that I don’t know where to start. So, I shall start most recently… And what is kick starting this revival of the blog, is the latest happening in our lives.

So, in December 2018 we had a visit from Floortje Dessing who is a television presenter from the Netherlands who does all these amazing documentaries … from all over the world. She has one show, Floortje Naar het Einde van de Wereld which for those of us who don’t know Dutch reads “Floortje to the end of the world.” So, why she wanted to visit us I don’t know?! I don’t feel like I live at the end of the world! Floorje and one cameraman spent a few fun days with us and returned home in time for Christmas.

We resumed life.

Then last week, the show aired. The last show in the season. And ever since, we have been getting messages of support and donations to our efforts here… from so many very kind Dutch people! We have noted a trend in our 3 years of hosting guests here that Dutch people make up the majority of our European guests. That must mean that they are the most adventurous, do you think? Regardless, we are very grateful to Floortje and her team, as well as all her viewers who have been most generous and kind.

If anyone wants to see her show.. see here:

https://www.npostart.nl/floortje-naar-het-einde-van-de-wereld/11-04-2019/BV_101392443

There is plenty of English in all the interviews and talking with us so you don’t need to understand Dutch. Also, there are some really great other shows to watch of other weird people like us!  So, have a look!

The other big thing this year has been something similar but this time in Cambodia!  We made a very good friend last year named Tan Kimsour. In fact, we have had a bunch of really good Khmer friends who have been supporting us … helping us with our networking, with logistics in Phnom Penh, in all sorts of valuable ways.. and these friends introduced Kimsour to us last year. Well Kimsour took it upon himself to set up a fundraiser for us… and to raise our profile in Cambodia. He has a bit of a presence on facebook (like 400,000 followers), with the theme of making people think outside the box and do extraordinary things. He also has a huge network of people who he engaged to help us: a number of big name Cambodian “superstars” as well as a large support team. Together they organized a concert which was held in January with about 17 of these stars singing and talking. It was held in our district town, with the aim to help the locals realise the importance of the forest, to help them realise that other people were also interested in saving the forest that they lived so close to, and to hopefully make them think first before they use a chainsaw or a gun. It was a huge event and Kimsour and his team pulled it all off without a hitch. We are forever grateful and for his continued friendship and support in our work.

We have realized that our friends and others supporting us are so integral in keeping our work going and keeping us committed to what we are doing despite any setbacks… Which I think I will go into in  the next post I write. So until then.. thanks for reading!  I will continue with my recap of 2018 in my next post so stay tuned.