July 12, 2012
Dear friends,
At the end of this week I'll only have two more weeks in Cambodia and I can't believe my time here is almost done. Last Thursday I was riding in a taxi from Kampong Chhnang to Phnom Penh and the driver put in a remix of english music, probably to put me more at ease, but I had a hard time containing my chuckles as a synthesized remix of ABBA, The Searchers (Love Potion number 9), Harry Belafonte's Banana Boat song and countless others started to play. As I gazed over vibrant green rice fields with the beautiful Cardomom Mountains in the background, I realized how much I've come to enjoy life here in Cambodia and the memories I've made. I don't want to lose the sight of Khmai women in their mismatched patterned pajamas walking to the market, or the countless number of school children all in their white and blue uniforms biking home for lunch. As I go to the field to conduct my interviews I see huge black water buffalo wallowing the shallow mud ponds to keep out of the heat, or I see them pulling huge carts along with their owners resting on their wares, usually with a kromar, traditional Khmer scarf, wrapped around their heads. Yesterday, I glanced into the one of the gullies that runs along the 30km dirt road I was on to see five little heads bobbing in the water, as the village children swam around to keep cool, rather like the buffalo.
The attention of being a 'barang' used to really unnerve me and make me uncomfortable, and while now I'm not exactly thrilled with the attention, I can handle it. While I was interviewing a grandmother yesterday, another older woman from the village was there. She kept staring and smiling at me, so when I finally turned at caught her gaze to smile back, she bashfully hid her face before giggling. The Khmer I interact with are all so very friendly and casual, they all also wish I spoke more Khmer. I've learned basic Khmer and I understand a bit from hearing oft used phrases. At lunch in the field my translator and I have discussed everything from government corruption to buddhism and Khmer superstitions.
At night, it becomes pitch-black in the province because there are very very few who keep their electricity on and street lamps are non existent. I sleep under a mosquito net and I feel protected from all the nighttime crawlers that may wander around my room. Just last night there was a huge gray spider sitting the the corner of my room. Doni, the guard/ maintenance man where I am staying, easily came in and snatched it up with his hand, not a care in the world. I made sure my net was all tucked in my bed that night.
Last weekend I visited Siem Reap with Colin and Crystal and we spent a day visiting Angkor Wat and all of the surrounding temples. The temples were magnificent in their age and splendor. In the brutal heat of the day we climbed up rickety wooden steps and thin stone ones to reach the tops and overlook the surrounding forests and ruins. In Ta Phrom huge Banyan trees almost swallow up the ruins beneath them. I felt like an explorer trekking through the perilous jungle, waiting to see Indiana Jones or, as all the tourists there mentioned, the Tomb-raider (which was filmed there, apparently, I've never seen it) to hop out from a dimly lit passage way. In one of the ruins, a Khmer girl was eager to show us special sites, such as "Spider-man" the huge black spider or the snake. I laugh even as I think of this, she said and I quote "You go down turn left and there is the huge snake. He bites you and you die." Right. Suffice to say, I did not go to see the snake. Another brush with nature was on our initial tuk-tuk ride to the temple. We saw a large monkey on the side of the road and as Colin was trying to take a picture it lunged for our tuk-tuk as if to jump on, jaw all agape. That woke us up.
After struggling through the afternoon under an unrelenting sun, we relaxed and enjoyed what Siem Reap had to offer. I would have gone and had a dip in the pool behind our guest house, but... well, I'll let the picture of it speak for itself.
I'm trying to soak up everything Cambodia has to offer before I leave.
Best,
Margot
At the end of this week I'll only have two more weeks in Cambodia and I can't believe my time here is almost done. Last Thursday I was riding in a taxi from Kampong Chhnang to Phnom Penh and the driver put in a remix of english music, probably to put me more at ease, but I had a hard time containing my chuckles as a synthesized remix of ABBA, The Searchers (Love Potion number 9), Harry Belafonte's Banana Boat song and countless others started to play. As I gazed over vibrant green rice fields with the beautiful Cardomom Mountains in the background, I realized how much I've come to enjoy life here in Cambodia and the memories I've made. I don't want to lose the sight of Khmai women in their mismatched patterned pajamas walking to the market, or the countless number of school children all in their white and blue uniforms biking home for lunch. As I go to the field to conduct my interviews I see huge black water buffalo wallowing the shallow mud ponds to keep out of the heat, or I see them pulling huge carts along with their owners resting on their wares, usually with a kromar, traditional Khmer scarf, wrapped around their heads. Yesterday, I glanced into the one of the gullies that runs along the 30km dirt road I was on to see five little heads bobbing in the water, as the village children swam around to keep cool, rather like the buffalo.
The attention of being a 'barang' used to really unnerve me and make me uncomfortable, and while now I'm not exactly thrilled with the attention, I can handle it. While I was interviewing a grandmother yesterday, another older woman from the village was there. She kept staring and smiling at me, so when I finally turned at caught her gaze to smile back, she bashfully hid her face before giggling. The Khmer I interact with are all so very friendly and casual, they all also wish I spoke more Khmer. I've learned basic Khmer and I understand a bit from hearing oft used phrases. At lunch in the field my translator and I have discussed everything from government corruption to buddhism and Khmer superstitions.
At night, it becomes pitch-black in the province because there are very very few who keep their electricity on and street lamps are non existent. I sleep under a mosquito net and I feel protected from all the nighttime crawlers that may wander around my room. Just last night there was a huge gray spider sitting the the corner of my room. Doni, the guard/ maintenance man where I am staying, easily came in and snatched it up with his hand, not a care in the world. I made sure my net was all tucked in my bed that night.
Last weekend I visited Siem Reap with Colin and Crystal and we spent a day visiting Angkor Wat and all of the surrounding temples. The temples were magnificent in their age and splendor. In the brutal heat of the day we climbed up rickety wooden steps and thin stone ones to reach the tops and overlook the surrounding forests and ruins. In Ta Phrom huge Banyan trees almost swallow up the ruins beneath them. I felt like an explorer trekking through the perilous jungle, waiting to see Indiana Jones or, as all the tourists there mentioned, the Tomb-raider (which was filmed there, apparently, I've never seen it) to hop out from a dimly lit passage way. In one of the ruins, a Khmer girl was eager to show us special sites, such as "Spider-man" the huge black spider or the snake. I laugh even as I think of this, she said and I quote "You go down turn left and there is the huge snake. He bites you and you die." Right. Suffice to say, I did not go to see the snake. Another brush with nature was on our initial tuk-tuk ride to the temple. We saw a large monkey on the side of the road and as Colin was trying to take a picture it lunged for our tuk-tuk as if to jump on, jaw all agape. That woke us up.
After struggling through the afternoon under an unrelenting sun, we relaxed and enjoyed what Siem Reap had to offer. I would have gone and had a dip in the pool behind our guest house, but... well, I'll let the picture of it speak for itself.
I'm trying to soak up everything Cambodia has to offer before I leave.
Best,
Margot