In Cambodia now

It is Sunday evening and I am sitting in an internet cafe drinking Lao beer. And it is raining cats and dogs outside. Luckily, it didn't rain during the day as I was out all day. And I had a great day. In Cambodia, I think the poverty is worse than VN. I was here two years ago, and I think it is worse economically. A good example was on the bus ride here from SGN. It was about 7 hour ride. Most of the bus riders were part of a Korean tour group. When we crossed the border, you have to get out and claim your luggage, then just put it in the scanner. I don't think they even looked at the scanner, just a formality. You do have to fill out a small bit of information but the bus company then collects the paper and your passport. Later it is handed back to you and you get back on the bus. You never really see the customs official. The bus then stops for lunch, the last stop before Phnom Penh.

Oh, yes they did stop again to cross a river by ferry. We probably sat for about 30 minutes. It was here that I saw some very poor children. Hundreds of them, standing, begging, outside the bus window. It was very disturbing, and gut wrenching. Many without clothes. I don't remember seeing such blatant poverty before in Cambodia. Maybe my memory is poor(I can hear the snickers now!!) or it is worse. In the city of Phnom Penh, there are some very expensive condos, apartments, and office building being constructed, but I can't see many people here being able to afford then. They do have lots of foreign investment companies in Cambodia.

That Lao beer is tasting better as I drink more. Ha! It is raining but it is hot too..

This morning I took a tour on a motobike with a guide as a driver. Twenty US dollars for all day. You can't beat that. The guide first took me to the dolphin lake. This is about 20 km out of town, on a long narrow palm filled road. The lake is a protected area supported by the Australians. You are taken out on the lake by boat for two hours to see these dolphins jumping in the water. I shared the boat with two French tourists and two local Cambodians. We did see some fish jumping and they do look like dolphins, but I am going to have to do more research about this because some other people told me that they are dolphin-like fish. And why are they only here? It was relaxing on the water, and just sitting still, waiting for the next jumping fish..

After that, we went to a small village. There was a very large and beautiful pagoda there, with 100 columns. J have seen many pagodas now, and this might be the most impressive. It was filled with very colorful painting inside. And there are always monks praying, generally quit old though. Outside, there were some young boys being taught to use some ancient musical instruments, so there was this mystic music resonating through the area. I don't know if my photos will do it justice. This pagoda is in a very isolated area, so it get few visitors, yet it was truly awesome...

After the pagoda, we stopped for lunch. I had pork and bamboo. I think bamboo might be the most unique plant around. You can eat it and it is used for building all over the world.

Then we climbed a small mountain, where there was another pagoda. I enjoyed the exercise and to my amazement, I could climb these stairs better than my 30 year old guide. He said I was strong. Ha!! This pagoda was not that impressive, but I thought it would be cool at the top, but the air was very still and the humidity seemed extreme... The view was nice. You can see the Mekong river. This is an amazing river, that effects at least 5 countries. Again, water is such a key part of life...

Then we rode through the countryside. We stopped at the farms, where they were stripping the rice from the stalk. Then it goes through a different machine to clean the rice. The residue is collected and fed to the pigs. Many pigs and cattle in this area too. We were often riding through large herds of cattle on the road. The children, spend most of their day watching the livestock. In one place, I saw the children riding the cows like horses, to easy their boredom, I'm sure..

We ended the day, going to a local home, and watching them cook some local food-noodles with vegetables. It was interesting being inside a stilt house. These are the main structures you see here. I thought it was because of flooding, but it is to keep the livestock under the house during adverse weather conditions. Also for feeding or grooming. They do wash the cows and other animals. No electricity in most of these country homes. They do use car batteries for power a few hours a night....

Oh yes, then we watched the sunset... Sunsets are big here. The sunsets do seem to be more impressive here. I think because of the open land area, and not large cities.

Well, back to Phnom Penh tomorrow.... Have a good night......