Bye Bye Tokay

So, after nearly three years in Phnom Penh we are moving house. Following Steve and Mollie’s example and moving to a slum was tempting, but we have opted for a nice apartment instead! Its fairly near to where we live now but with 2 bedrooms and only 4 bathrooms (!) is a fair bit smaller than the P’teah L’Veng where we are now.

The apartment complex that will be our new home!

It will be both an exciting and sad day when we move out at the end of this month, as so many happy memories of our time here thus far are intrinsically linked to our current home.

Of course there are things that we’ll be happy to forget such as our water tank bursting, Becci being trapped in the shower with a rat, and the night when a cockroach fell from the ceiling and landed on Becci’s neck while she was sleeping!

It will also be a welcome change not to have to park our motorbikes inside the house, hauling the heavy metallic gates open and shut each time we do so, or have rubbish from the local area blow in under our door.

Becci shows her speed gate locking skills

One of the things we will really miss is being lulled to sleep each night by the sound of our neighbourhood Tokay geckos. First time visitors to the house are always taken aback when they first hear the amazing mating calls that these geckos make, and join in the game of guessing how many “to-kay, to-kay” calls the gecko will make before he runs out of steam.

However, until recently we had never managed to spot one as they seemed to hide away until after dark. All of that has now changed! First of all we got a close up one night as the Tokay explored our kitchen door….

Having concluded that we looked friendly, the gecko has decided to take up residence immediately about our front door and has brought a friend along too….

Its two weeks since we took these pictures and there’s no sign of the geckos moving on – apparently above our door is THE place to live for fashionable Tokays in Phnom Penh.

So, if you are looking for a house to rent in Phnom Penh which comes with the possibility of a large, multi-coloured lizard falling on your head each time you open your front door, please drop us a line!