Cambodia

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January 28^th

Cambodia was very interesting to visit.  You immediately see the effects of the “Killing Fields” as this is what things looked like 40 years ago in Vietnam.  The war may have been bad for Vietnamese people but they took what we left and made a new start.  The Cambodian’s however didn’t have the benefits of our being there and further more they lived through a horrible civil war taking even more out of the country.  You don’t come to Cambodia without being willing to face the hard life they have here.

We chose to ride the big bus for a change.  No special car or driver this time so we just rode with the masses.  Our first stop was a pepper plantation.  Not chili peppers or even Thai peppers but Black peppercorns, red peppercorns and greens one too.

Immediately you see the working family.  Dad, Mom and the kids.  Big kids and little ones too.  Simple board houses, dirt floors, hammocks hanging on the ground floor of the houses on stilts.  Dogs in and out just like the rest of the family.

Now into town and a market.  You can buy just about anything you want.  Ray Bans to Rolexes.  Dried fish to fresh fruit.  Even gold jewelry all in the same market.  Thankfully it wasn’t time for lunch and we moved on to a walk by the river.

Terrie spotted some boys jumping off the bridge over the river for play.  Her taking their picture sent the giggling and waving back up to dive again.  She made them famous.

Lunch was at a nice roadside restaurant.  No not your typical enclosed place but rather a ground floor with open sides to let the breeze flow freely through.  The floor was tile and not dirt, which was a nice touch.  I freshly caught fish was served first with what I call “Here is looking at you style”.    Then a squid and peppercorn dish that was very good.  Rice of course and a seafood soup.  Don’t ask what was in the soup because there was just a bit of everything floating in it.  That too was quite good.  Boiled shrimp and steamed vegetables can’t go wrong with that.  So in all a good meal.  We had a bit of time to walk around and watched a lady take her three Brahma cows out for a walk.  Had leashes on three of them just like we would take our dogs for a walk.  (I bet Terrie that she didn’t have a poop bag either.)

After lunch we headed over to fishing village and the going got tough.  Little ones met us about the time we walked off the bus.  Each spoke to us.  “Hello, Money”.  Some as old as 7 or 8 but many just walking.  Off into the village we went only to see barely standing wooden structures that they called home.  Kids, dogs, chickens, all together.  None were bathed.  Some of the youngest ones were carried by an older sibling.  The carried ones without even a diaper.  They just stared at us wondering what planet we had come from.  Terrie and I both found this difficult.  So little future for these kids.  We moved on sadly.

Last stop was a Buddhist Monastery where we wandered for a few minutes.  Interesting to see how much the monastery has in comparison to the people.  But they believe and support the many temples in and around their homes.

After returning to the ship we discovered a new place on board to eat.  The

“Canaletto”.  Just a quiet little corner away from the main dining room.  Perfect for us.  Can’t wait to go back.