Home Sweet Home

sunset

The truth is that my experience in Siem Reap has felt a bit schizophrenic.  One day I was overwhelmed by the heat, and consequently agitated, and other days were full of great conversation and brilliant moments (I feel so British when I say that .  Sometimes Nina and I were caught up in b*tch session about our work and often had no interest in the Siem Reap nightlife.  We’d spend our evenings watching movies (we probably saw 12-15 movies in one month!) and binge on random snacks.   Other days were spent relaxing at the pool, getting a massage, and taking advantage of the happy hour and $1 tapas nights at our hotel with other travelers we had met along the way.  Sprinkled within these, I had  glorious days with the kids…the annual Puppet Parade, Chinese New Year festival, many nights on the dance floor with our teenage boys and, lastly, the good-bye party hosted for me at the childrens home.   Several of the girls drew pictures to say thanks and many of the children sang.   With their enthusiasm on stage you would have thought we were taping Cambodia’s first version of “American Idol!”

What an unexpected and curious month it has been.  But, then again, isn’t that life in general?

An alley in town center. Clearly French inspired.

Another trip to the DVD store - only $2.50 each! Yes, they're illegal.

Puppet Parade. Made by the children out of bamboo stalk and paper mache

Each participating children's non-profit made their own puppet

A gigantic crab, which was my favorite.

Our boutique hotel is owned by a charming Norwegian couple, and Nina is Norwegian, so we made good friends with them during our stay. This was a good-bye cocktail party they threw for us.

Their daughter, Mio, is reaching for the straw to a Diet Coke. Always partying with the big kids!

enjoying a pre-party cocktail

David was my favorite bartender. Cambodians have some of the best smiles!

Once again, on stage dancing with the boys to some western hip hop

For the first time all month the girls lost some of their shyness and came up to dance with me. In fact, they were even a little excited.

This is Ry...break dancing! I'm not kidding, these boys have some serious moves.

Once they saw that I was taking photos, they were fighting for the camera's attention to capture their best trick.

Of course, I had to meet their challenge with a little yoga. All went silent when I held this handstand for a minute in the middle of stage.

At my good-bye party. We had a special Khmer treat of white bread slices and condensed milk. Ack! Several of the kids also sang, but unfortunately I only got a video of that and can't figure out how to post it.

I just finished reading a lovely book that I’m sure you are familiar with, Under the Tuscan Sun, by Frances Mayes.  Francis is praised – “she brings the lyrical voice of a poet…” – for her vivid description of the Italian countryside and experience re-modeling an eight bedroom Tuscan villa with her husband.  As I close out my time in Siem Reap, Cambodia, I thought you might enjoy a similar description of the environment here, “A Day in Life Of…,” and the chance to use your imagination.  I decided to include a few photos, which is technically cheating, but there is still plenty of room for your senses to create an image of their own.

Its customary to not smile in Cambodian wedding photos, which seems counterintuitive, no?

I was unexpectedly awoken by the sound of gongs, an odd tone flute, and other strange instrumental sounds that one might expect at an Asian circus. Damn. There’s a wedding in town.  I look at my clock – 6:18am. Urgh. The Cambodian wedding will last anywhere from 1-3 days, depending on how much money you have, and the music will run past midnight and start up again with the sunrise.  They bring in loudspeakers, like what you find at a high school football stadium, so the surrounding community is well aware of this special event.   I cannot pretend to sleep through this music, nor lay there with my eyes closed and relax.  My only choice is to get up, which I do, and eventually wander downstairs for some tea.  The hotel clerk greets me each morning – “Where do you go last night?”  This is a common question, along with “How did you sleep?” or “Where do you go today?” At first these questions felt mildly invasive because they’re asked with an authority that suggests the FBI is looking for you.    But after a few days (or weeks) I got used to their tone and curiosity and didn’t mind sharing a few details.  Well, that and being a typical American I would just make up my answers half the time anyway.  Problem solved.

I decide to spend my morning at a popular café in town, The Blue Pumpkin, which offers a variety of delicious French pastries, decent coffee (for Cambodia), and a spot for people-watching.  It’s almost 7:30am as I make my way onto the road.  A light haze looms about and the air smells of campfires in the distance.  Except there are no campfires.  Numerous times I have asked hotel staff and others, “It smells like a fire…can you smell that?  Where does it come from?”  I have yet to find someone that knows anything about it.  Most of them can’t even smell it!  Each week the locals here burn their individual piles of trash, but this is done on their own time and can’t possibly permeate the air with fumes at the level I sense it.  At some point mid-morning the smell seems to dissipate, with the rise of the sun and temperature.  Mystery #1.

On their way to work...

On most mornings the sun will hit your skin with an intensity that foreshadows an extremely warm day as temperatures will average 95-100 deg this time of year.  Many locals will cover themselves from head to toe, especially if they work in the rice fields or plan to be outside, because it’s said to keep them cool.  Surely they feel like a Thanksgiving turkey fresh out of the oven?  It looks like voluntary torture if you ask me, but somehow they appear to more comfortable in their heavy garb than I am in a tank top or light dress.  Mystery #2.

Making my way toward the center of town the side streets are filled with all avenues of Khmer life.  Droves of uniformed school

A family of four on this moto! Sometimes the baby is actually passed out sleeping. So much for seat belt laws.

children ride their bicycles toward campus.  Entire families cozy up on one moto bike and make their way across town. Roosters and dogs meander about the littered dirt road, without interest in one another and always on the lookout for scraps.  Why don’t the dogs ever attack the chickens?, I’ve asked.  Most locals don’t understand this question – well, why would they? is the expression on their face.  A sensible answer to my question is too much to ask, I guess.  Mystery #3.

If you are hungry there are plenty of wheel carts that sell crusty French bread or boiled eggs, most of which are equipped with noise makers to signal their presence.  The cart that sells nothing but boiled eggs threw me off at first, especially when he plays music resembling that of the ice cream truck from my childhood.  The little girl inside wanted to shout, “You’re a phony!  You don’t sell ice creeaamm!”

Tuk tuks begin to line up outside the town "hot spots"

Nonetheless, I want a chocolate croissant so I keep on toward The Blue Pumpkin.  You know that you’re getting close to the center of town when you hear “Tuk tuk, lady?” with increasing frequency.  If one had the misfortune of being blind, Siem Reap would be an enjoyable town for them to live because you can easily navigate your way around by the sounds alone of life here.

I reach my destination and take a seat out front.  Like most restaurants in Cambodia The Blue Pumpkin is way overstaffed.  They have one person to take your order, one to take your money, another one to serve you, a few other that stand around the pastry aisle and answer questions (I guess) or just look pretty.  Despite the valiant effort at these restaurants to provide efficient and

This pup just snatched an empty Pringles can. Score!

valuable customer service, Nina and I quickly learned to avoid asking for anything different than exactly what’s on the menu. God help you if you need to make a modification to your meal, even something simple (and I’m the queen of modifying).  Last weekend some girlfriends and I spent our afternoon at a nearby hotel swimming pool.  Instead of ordering the garlic bread (the only bread option under “snacks”), we asked for plain, white toast.  It not only took several minutes to explain our request, but fifteen minutes later out comes garlic toast.  We try to explain that our girlfriend has an upset stomach and really needs just plain, white toast, please. A second waitress has joined the party, attempting to help translate.  How many ways can you describe plain, white toast?  Let me count the ways!  Both staff walk away and shortly thereafter out walks the manager!  I’m sorry, but what is it you would like? she asks. White toast, folks, nothing but white toast.  How is this so complicated? I wonder.  Fortunately the manager understands and places the order.  Tick tock…tick tock.  About twenty minutes later, literally, out comes the toast just as we ordered.  Hooray!  With it comes the bill – a price tag of $3.00 – which is the same price as the large tuna salad we ordered…a salad that came with bread for free!  I just sit there, momentarily perplexed, and simply shake it off like many other odd moments I’ve had here.  More mystery.

Just a ten minute walk from my guest house I’m now at The Blue Pumpkin with a chocolate croissant on the table and banana mango smoothie.  The rest of the day remains untold with the exception of the afternoon heat, which is sure to hold many tourists hostage inside. Tomorrow I leave for Luang Prabang, Laos where a diary of moments and entertaining stories are waiting to be discovered.    Stay tuned.

So many business ideas, so many different countries and cultures to explore, so many places where one could live…so much life opportunity!   How does one ever decide how they’re going spend their time…when we only get one shot?  (sigh).  Talk about pressure!

No matter what, whether I’m single or in a relationship, I always celebrate Valentines Day…  even here in Cambodia where they don’t recognize the holiday.   Why?  Because its an excuse to feel fabulous and, hey, just celebrate being a woman.  But, more importantly, its an excuse to eat chocolate.  And spend money on myself, unnecessarily.   What could be better?

So, this past Wednesday, for a belated V-Day celebration, Nina and I took ourselves to the fancy pants Raffles Resort in Siem Reap for a day of pampering and play.  We had a massage, played some tennis, and enjoyed their gorgeous pool for an afternoon.   The chocolate didn’t come until after the sun went down because…well…we’re in Cambodia and you feel like a chicken roasting in the oven between the hours of 10am to 4pm.  The only thing you really want is a swimming pool and frozen cocktail.

It was a gorgeous day

What happens when you forget to wear shorts with pockets. My next best option.

More tennis photos below…

Nina and I after looking through our photo shoot images.

Sometimes girls will just be girls, and well…I’m trying to have more of these moments in my life.  Following up to my Valentines Day blog, Nina and I figured out how to work the self-timer option on my camera so it would snap multiple beauty shots at once.   You could say that what started off as a quick and easy way to capture our time on the tennis court soon became, after multiple cocktails, a full blown photo shoot.

Warning:  To any guy reading this blog that finds me (or once found me) attractive and even sexy, I will probably ruin that lovely image of yours.  The truth is I’m a little goofy, sometimes flat out weird, and for the most part…have never been good at pulling off that seductive female thing.   Had to break the news. 

Back at the hotel….

Where art thou Romeo?

If I squeeze hard enough I might get some cleavage!

Too much chocolate cake today

shake it, shake shake it...

Turn the music on...its time to take advantage of this empty rooftop bar

How we feel about going to work tomorrow

Strike a pose.

Lucky for them, these kids receive time off from school to celebrate both the Chinese New Year (which was this weekend, a 3-day celebration) and the Khmer New Year (which is later in April).   Yesterday we loaded all 30 children plus staff onto a school bus and traveled 45 minutes outside Siem Reap to a rural village where several of the children grew up.  As I said before, several of the  children at our home are orphans, but the majority come from families that could no longer financially provide from them.  With that said, our director does make an effort to include their birth parents in festivities and other events whenever the opportunity presents itself.   Today was one of those occasions.  Despite suffering from mild heat exhaustion, I was grateful to participate in an afternoon of true Cambodia culture celebrating the Chinese New Year.   We had games, food, dancing and the like.

Getting ready to leave. They were very excited for the day off!

Arriving on site. Can't see much in this photo...but its a pretty quiet part of the world!

First thing first - dance party Cambodia. Its always the boys rockin' out while the girls watch on the sideline... except for me. I jump in and dance like a white person, which makes them laugh.

I love this photo. Grandma and the granddaughter.

Someone's little brother. A precious moment.

a group of local kids that joined our party

Enjoying the usual lunch of rice, vegetables and meat (often pork or beef). The kids and staff eat lunch together everyday, sitting on mats

Water comes from the well.

This ceremony (below) represents the children’s gratitude for their parents…as a way to say thank you for providing them with life and all the resources they need to survive and grow.   The children line up on one side, with the parents on the other, the children first bow to the parents three times and then proceed to wash them, literally.   This ceremony is usually performed in conjunction with the Khmer New Year, but since many of the children had parents there today they went ahead with it.  I bet any American mom reading this right now is thinking, “I wish they had taught that to my kid!”

Let the washing begin!

Not sure who this little girl belonged to nor could she speak any English, but for some reason she stuck by my side the whole of the afternoon!

It was a looonngg day. When we re-boarded the bus everyone was still talkative and energizrd, but within 20 minutes most had thankfully passed out.