Weekly Wanderings - in Siem Reap

 

breakfast doesn’t often look like this 

pieces of my favourite jewellery (including the bangle I converted into a necklace) and the newly acquired today bowl created by the same company- Manava I love your work 

street art Siem

never a trip to SR without seeing Phare Ponleu Selpak The Cambodian Circus 

detail of a peak of pediment realistically depicting a torso of a worshipper with the Kala head in the center. Banteay Srei style from the 10th century - Angkor National Museum 

street art Siem Reap 2 

……. if you know you know 

never seen hibiscus floating before and the stamens stood upright

rats- the heroes of landmine detection 

 

don’t mind if I do 

the zone we know and enjoy now has a name 

tuk tuk drivers seem to all enjoy traditional chess in their downtime 

How many times have I walked by this and not see it?  Now I have ….. memories of living in Hiroshima flooding back in 

BOOKISH - Musings on recent reading

JUICE 

For ten years or more we have been proving to machines that we are not robots. 

Recently reading Tim Winton’s novel, “Juice”  there was a moment when it suddenly occurred to me that, that one issue is going to become ever more crucial. Only when the child in the scenario wet herself were they trusted, because now the stranger knew she was human and not a machine.

My thoughts flew immediately, and stopped at, YES, we have been proving we are not robots on screens but how do/will we know that we are dealing with robots and not people? We have no way of verifying now. When the technology becomes even more sophisticated, we are doomed. 

Resistance is futile.

…….. maybe …….  just maybe, that is my current dilemma! The machines are onto me and I send too much snail mail so I must be stopped. Such a threat. 

I think I live too much inside my head. Reading and writing endlessly. I should socialise more I’m not good at it. 

The Art of Frugal Hedonism

There are so many habits, behaviours, lifestyle choices in this title that match our own way of living well on less. It surprised me. Extremes well beyond our penny-pinching habits and alternative transport preferences are detailed and suggestions for their adoption made, but it’s neither judgemental nor proselytizing. 

The asides have an offbeat humour.  The anecdotes are relatable in some instances, but fanciful and absurd in others. The facts, science, figures, quotes, historical perspective and referencing were much appreciated. 

A jolly good read with many moments of confirming and questioning the lifestyle we have deliberately adopted. Perhaps the closest thing to a label I would put on myself but I doubt I’m hedonistic enough for it to really stick.  Just knowing that a tribe of other concerned individuals with similar ideals and values is out there, is reassuring. 

I’m still aiming for the smallest possible ecological footprint. 

Finally some food for thought in the form of a little quote that made me feel reassured about the path we have taken on consumption and waste for the past 20 plus years. 

“…… it seems probable at this point that population growth, resource constraints, and a shaky global economy will soon put pressure on most of us to consume less. In many cases, much, much less.

So isn’t it possible that there might occur a flipping of the Pancake of Scorn? (Scorn for frugality and lack of consumerism) That profligacy may replace frugality as the embarrassingly outdated mode?”

Weekly wanderings

making ritual offerings street side 

proud new dad with the bubs getting the handheld fan luxury treatment 

just a pile of boiled peanuts- it’s the simple things 

clowns, balloons and kids captivated by the moment…

this a spectrum is not often seen in the clouds … not a sun halo but still spectacular to my 

on the road to Siem Reap maybe they could’ve got a little more in the load 

now that’s cycling in style 

still my favourite temple in the complex Banteay Srei 

every visit to Angkor Wat only ensures I will return again 

Phare Ponleu Selpak ….. it just never grows 

Weekly wanderings …

 

Nice to meet up again in PP with fellow travellers

on the streets where we live

Mid Autumn Festival celebrations at home with homemade, authentic homestyle Chinese dishes 

glad we spotted you 

street vendor style - glad I caught him and he smiled

Faux Pho - Tonight’s invention dinner with homemade but frozen leftover  smoked tofu dumplings and ema datsi momos from Kinley together in  soup with rainbow veggies and fresh, rice paper noodles from the market. Lucky us 

the meal 

Customer service Khmer style - looks like she might be able to get the parts to fix our blind 

Under the counter of a stall inside the Russian Market I spotted this tiny ornate incense holder, almost at ground level ….

Tell me how this is even possible.

Wall mural in a hostel in the streets very near where we live. There is always something new to discover 

Monsoon storms - Like waves at the beach : it’s calming 

Cambodian Homestay.

We booked for one night in a homestay in the rice fields to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary. To be specific Cambodian Homestay, in a small village near the town of Ang Ta Som just an hour and a half from Phnom Penh by bus.

After leaving the Aerie in the rain and wondering if the whole day would be awash, the weather cleared while we were on the bus and we had gorgeous blue skies and sunshine in the village of Tram Kak-Leay Bour. 

After a welcoming arrival from our host, we were shown our bungalow room with verandah in the garden and explored it and the surrounds of the accommodation. We then took a short bike ride around the rice paddies.

Just nearby there is a small school, which teaches computer skills and English for a couple of classes daily and a cotton weaving community of local women. All the kids and women involved were welcoming and happy to have their photos taken in the case of the women. We don’t like to take shots of the kids.

As requested, our hosts prepared a delicious vegetarian dinner. We shared interesting conversations with the other Southern Indian guest, who is on a Work Away trip and the Punjabi-Canadian Paul, who resides with the family there. He was also happy to explain the local community projects including the weaving village. Fruit trees and flowers abound in the compound, which also contains a pond with giant water lilies and is a small, diverse, highly productive, family managed business. They make turmeric power, dry and package other herbs as spices and flavourings, grow countless fruit, produce  coconut oil, teas, infusions, cloth and no doubt many other local organic products, in addition to providing three meals a day for each guest. 

It’s a Cambodian haven but funnily enough under the flight path of the new airport. Ian delighted in spotting various aircraft and identifying them. 

The kids on the paths leading to and from the accomodation were all thrilled and shouted “Hello” repetitively, regardless of how many times they saw us. Some also managed to say goodbye and a few other phrases. They and the elderly, out on bikes just like us were smiling broadly (as were we) and often waving shyly as well.

 

It was delightful to once again wake up to birdsong and a fresh breeze, to say nothing of no monsoon rain. It reminded me of our little house in Kep. 

We were easily able to ride the bikes provided to the bus office in town to get our tickets back to PP and the lovely host, Linda drove us to the bus when the tuk tuk we had booked didn’t arrive and the bus was waiting for us - not that we were late but it was early and they called us. If you’ve ever wondered why a bus company needs your phone number, now you know one reason why. 

Just past the old airport on the way home to Phnom Penh the skies opened up. There was a torrential downpour and the roads were instantly flooded but miraculously as we approached our destination, it stopped completely and we arrived home to dry streets as it hadn’t even rained in the riverside zone. 

Great little mini break and recharge of the batteries in a clean, green zone, after our metaverse disaster.