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.
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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.
