Krafttak mot kreft 2009 er i gang

Tema 2009: Forskning med fokus på eldre med kreft

I dag er seks av ti kreftpasienter over 65 år. Likevel er kreftbehandlingen utviklet for yngre mennesker. Pengene som samles inn til Krafttak mot kreft 2009 skal gå til forskning med fokus på eldre med kreft.

Dette er et tema som er viktig og personlig for meg. Min pappa var 60 da han døde av kreft for litt over et år siden. Han var ikke "eldre" men ikke helt ung heller. Det samme året mistet to av mine gode venninner en forelder i kreft. Ved å støtte årets Krafttak mot Kreft kan vi hjelpe andre mennesker - noen med å bli friske, andre med å forebygge at sykdommen inntreffer i det hele tatt.

Jeg har akkurat gitt mitt bidrag og oppfordrer DEG til det samme. Les mer og gi ditt bidrag her.

Travel blog: Siem Reap

We had a fantastic time in Siem Reap a couple of weeks back. Since we only had two and a half days there, we squeezed in a lot of activities, and had so much fun!

We arrived in Siem Reap in the afternoon and went straight to our hotel, Shinta Mani. It is a lovely hotel, which runs its own "Institute of Hospitality", which provides free hospitality industry training for young Cambodians at risk. By staying there you don't only get to enjoy the great facilities, you also contribute to the Institute. The rooms are large and nicely decorated, and the staff are friendly and well-trained. The Spa is fantastic, they start off by serving you tea and giving you a foot bath and after the treatment they provide more tea and a small snack. Very nice touch! The breakfast is OK, but not great, and the price of the transfer to and from the airport is ridiculously expensive at $8 per person each way. We opted for a tuk-tuk on the way back.

We had afternoon drinks at the FCC terrace, which is a great place for people watching. Then we set off to the Night Market, great buys, very cheap handicrafts and we got to practice our bargaining skills! I also tried the "fish massage", which involves putting your feet in a big pool with little fish eating off the dead skin on your feet... A bit weird, but a fun experience. And it actually helped!

Fish Massage in the Night Market (private photo)

Day 2 was the time to go to the temples. Fantastic! There are so many of them you'll need days to see them all, but we really enjoyed visiting Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Angkor Thom. We also went for the sunset at Phnom Bakheng, which was nice though I think seeing Angkor Wat itself during sunset may be a better option. We also did a detour to Artisans d'Angkor, a training school for local Cambodian artisans which helps them gain employment and make a living from traditional crafts. They have a lovely store too, pricey but the quality is outstanding.

South gate of Angkor Thom (private photo)

Deaf-mute students at Artisans d'Angkor practicing silk painting (private photo)

Day 3 we went to the Angkor National Museum, which has stirred some controversy because it is Thai-owned and carry a lot of pre-Angkor artifacts, thereby having some critics claim its name (both the Angkor and the National part of it) inappropriate. I actually really enjoyed the museum. The history is well presented, they have a good mix of displays, and audi- and video presentations, and the room of 1,000 buddhas is just a sight in itself. For me it was definitely educational, and I recommend it! At $12 for foreigners it is expensive by Cambodian standards, but still, a good experience.

We also got a chance to visit the Old Market and do more shopping. The handicrafts are just so cheap, and we packed our bags with shawls, pillow cases, silver, an Apsara statue and even a (good imitation...) Phillipe Patek watch. You they also have interesting displays of food - snake meat anyone?

One thing to avoid? The Tara River Boat. It is nice to see the floating villages, but you're much better off going on your own on one of the small boat. The Tara "cruise" actually never even sailed, and while the sunset was nice, the "free" food was not and the whole thing was just a rip-off. In my view.

The food i Siem Reap is also lovely and there are a variety of restaurants serving both Cambodian and international cuisine. I highly recommend the Amok, a national curry-dish made with coconut milk and truly delicious! The icecream and cocktails at Banana Leef bar are wonderful too...

Amok (private photo)

Cheapo...

Ok, I admit the alarm bells should probably have gone off when I saw the name CheapoAir... But hey, I was looking for a good deal on flights to Sieam Reap and found a good price on cfares. So, when the website directed me to purchase the tickets through cheapoair, I thought why not, it doesn't matter who you buy the tickets from as long as the airline itself is not called Cheapo right? WRONG!! Cheapoair just made everything so difficult, and for the money I used calling their US number (yes, US number...) I could have bought the ticket cheaper directly from the airline - and with much less hassle.

• First, Cheapo says you need a US credit card to buy the ticket. OK, fine by me, we have a US credit card.

• Then, they email to say that we have to call them to confirm the transaction. What?!? OK, so we call them.

• No, we have to call from a US number because someone in the US has to confirm the transaction. What?!? That's a bit difficult, given that we're in Manila and not the US, and we tell them that it seems a bit strange that someone has to remain in their own country in order to use their credit card. Never heard of this from anyone else before.
  

• FINALLY they let us buy the ticket.

• The next day, they email and say there has been a change in the schedule and we have to call the airline office IN THE US to check what is going on. If the delay is too long, maybe they will give us a refund. What?!?

• I am not about to call the US again, so I call the local Philippine Airlines number, who have no problems helping me out and change my flights. Fortunately for cheapo, I was able to reschedule for the previous day, if not I would have missed my connecting flight. Then maybe they would have given me a refund...

• -Then cheapo sends another email asking me to call them to confirm that I have made changes to my ticket. What?!? I did that because the flight was rescheduled and they told me to call the airline. I give up...

Well, I finally made it to Bangkok and when I got to check-in for my connecting flights to Siem Reap I was told
"Ma'm, you have to go to the ticket counter and pay the airport tax, it is not included in your ticket". Hmm cheapo, so "all taxes and fees included" means all taxes and fees except the airport tax..?

Warning people, avoid buying your tickets through cheapoair.com, it will cost you a lot of time and you'll probably end up losing money too....

Should the government provide contraceptives to the public?

This is one of the major debates in the Philippines these days. A proposed Reproductive Health bill would allow government funds to be used to promote artificial contraception, which is now prohibited in the Philippines. Many people doubt that the bill will be passed as it has been subject to massive criticism, mainly from the Catholic Church.

Contraceptives is a major expense for poor families. Maternal health care is another problem and the lifetime risk of maternal death for Filipinas is one in 140. For Swedes, it is 1 in 17,400. Food for thought...

Da pappaen til Johanne hadde kreft

Kreft er en forferdelig sykdom og alt som kan hjelpe de syke og de rundt, både fysisk og psykisk, er gull verdt. Denne flotte boken er ment til å være til hjelp for barn for å forstå hva som skjer når en som står dem nær blir kreftsyk. Den vil og hjelpe de voksne med å snakke med barn om kreftsykdom og behandling, samt at den gir mange råd til de voksne om hvordan de best mulig kan ivareta barn når kreft rammer. En god ressurs for familier som rammes av denne sykdommen.

Boken er skrevet av Anne Marie Handeland, moren til Johanne og konen til Svein Kåre som har kreft. Anne Marie og Svein Kåre har og en flott blogg som du kan lese her.

Og se dette flotte innslaget av Anne Marie og Johanne fra God Morgen Norge!

Done with Lisbeth Salander

Photo: www.stieglarsson.com.au


It is kind of sad to finish good books

Especially when you know there will never be another sequel

I am now done with Lisbeth Salander

Perfect books for long flights, long Sundays, long nights, short (and long) coffee breaks

And I don't even like crime novels...

Enjoy!