Our New Home!

After days of house-hunting, on Wednesday the 5^th, we found it! Our home-to-be. Giving up on realtors finding something suitable, Da (our Tuk Tuk driver) suggested that he drive around and look. He knew of something not far away ...

We looked at 4 interesting possibilities before he found this one. It had a little tiny "for rent" sign in Khmer posted on the gate! The couple who built it were working on some finishing touches but they stopped to show us around. They had already turned several groups of people away and were being picky about who they rented their house to!

View of front door through the fence and gate.

Next day, two of the University of the Nations administrators came back to the house with us to facilitate negotiations. We got busy shopping, designing and planning. Once the water filtering system was installed and functioning we could move in.

Water filtering tanks being installed.
That's the window of the room we chose as ours.

~ Signing the Lease Agreement ~

We asked for:

     Water heaters in each bedroom shower,

     Air-Conditioning in each bedroom but not the living room (we plan to leave the windows open most of the time),

     Screen doors to be installed,

     Hot water to the kitchen sink (that took a bit of convincing! and shopping ... no two-tap faucets to be found! The plumber had one in his shop.),

     John wanted the stove-top propane tank to go outside but they balked at that. Finally through translation we understood that it is too hot outside and here, in Cambodia, people turn the valve on and off as needed. We will need a big sign until that becomes routine!

Provided with the house:

     Three beds (65" x 77"),

     Wooden sofa set and coffee table,

     Kitchen table and 4 chairs (It's all Teak!),

     Two wardrobes,

     Fridge,

     Stove-top + ~30 lb. propane tank.

Anything else is up to us!

So ... we set a budget and John has set me loose!

~ Welder installing Concertina Wire ~
Focus in on the welding machine!
Would CSA approve?

Floor Plan of the house

Internet is provided by a Cambodian company called "OnLine". Wireless ended up being our only choice as fiber optics would have meant them running 2 kilometers of wire. Our speed is 512 meg. It takes 6 minutes to view a U-tube video - in segments.

G-mail allows me to make phone calls at 1 cent a minute. YoHoo!

Rubbish pick up costs $5 per month and is on Monday afternoons, sometime! The container was delivered a few days ago; a re-made tire!

Thursday, December 13 - Move In Day!

Electric Meter Pole just across and South of us.
John + our landlord are figuring out which one is ours so we can take a reading.  It's the third from the top on the back side of the pole.

John on Da's Tuk Tuk with the First Load
going from the Guest House to our New Home.

Jackie and Da with the Second Load.
I found room on the other side but
I had to keep a firm grip on that top box!

What a huge help this young man has been this day!
Ah Kun Chran!

Jackie blending up our first Green Drink. It is wonderful to work in our new kitchen. The drink was quite horrible!  ~  I forgot the bananas and that local, unnamed green plant we bought is way too bitter for our taste! The fresh carrots are delicious.

The Screen Doors being installed on our front doors. 

Designated "Office" - This bedroom will soon have furniture.

John opening the new BLUE bed linen package.
The walls are a nice blue.

Our brand new Front-Loading Washing Machine.
See the on-demand water heater under the counter? I NEED Hot Water!
The counter top is brick with mortar and tile covering it. The washing machine was 1/2" too tall to fit under there!

Our Front Yard + Temporary Laundry Drying Area.
John's new office chair makes for an excellent "laundry basket".
The tiles on the porch go continuously into the living room.

Kitchen Recycling Corner will soon have a table for that stove top and hangers on the wall for pots, pans and cooking utensils. There are no cupboards or drawers in this kitchen. We will need to get creative to keep it uncluttered looking!

Our House from the Electric Meter Pole.
The Rubbish Container on it's dog-proof stand.

Our House from the North.
Sorry folks, nothing edible growing on that fence; morning glory and weeds!