Cambodia, Day 2

When the kids were young, one of the favorite board games they would play over a course of a weekend would be Risk.  If you have not played the game before, it is essentially about world domination.  Like Monopoly which is about being the king landlord of all the properties, Risk is about being the king of all the countries.

We have now been in Southeast Asia for over a week.  Heading to Laos next and I keep thinking about Risk.  These beautiful countries with warm friendly people who have been destroyed by rulers and of course war.  The US has certainly had their hand in all of this as well as Russia and China.  These days everything feels fragile all over again.  At the end of the day, I truly believe most people just want a roof over their head, family, and friends close by, food on the table and a stable job….and of course healthcare.

We made our way out to Angkor Thom & Enigmatic Bayon today.  These were both used around the 16th Century.  They are beautiful temples that were put back together by the French, almost like a jigsaw puzzle after so many years of decay.

Honestly, the pictures do not do the place justice.  I just kept taking photos.

This is one of me just staring at the images carved into stone.

Through each door, there is something else to see.

After the morning of temples, we hit the water.  We took a boat down through the stilted homes over to Tonle Sap, one of the largest bodies of water in Southeast Asia that flows from the Mekong River.  Our boat went through this area where people move twice a year due to the floods.  Right now the river is high so we can easily boat down to the lake.  During other times of the year, there is no water.  99% of the people here are fisherman.

A moving store.

We had a really great lunch on board before heading back.

On the way back to town we drove through a residential neighborhood where there are many lotus flower farms.

Back for some rest and relaxation and dinner at the hotel.  The greenery, the people, the whole place takes over your senses.

Comments (Archived):

  1. awaldstein

    So simple. Verdant. Atmospheric. And attractive.Your diurnal journaling of Cambodia is drawing me in.Thanks.

  2. Tracey Jackson

    I love that lake. We had a driver was born and raised on the lake. He took us to his home. One of the one’s you show on stilts. And we sat with his family for awhile and played with the kids. One of the most memorable parts of the trip… Enjoy!

  3. PhilipSugar

    I am so happy you have been documenting, in my 250k a year of travels I have never been to these places. A humble suggestion: It would be great to see a post where you point out bloopers and gotchas. Not in any way a negative. I travel to many wonderful places, and if I send somebody I tell them where to go. I also tell them things I have learned not to do as well. If you came to Delaware I’d give you this post of great restaurants, but I’d tell you not to stay in Wilmington, stay in Newark. I’d tell you that with a campus of 23,000 undergrads Thr,Fri,Sat nights can get a bit raucous. A car is really helpful, but understand the speed limit is 25 and it is ENFORCED.Spanish: https://www.oletapaslounge…. Korean: https://www.facebook.com/pa… Mexican: http://eljeferestaurant.com/ Brazilian: http://eatsteaks.com/ Southern Indian: http://www.godavarius.com/d… Northern Indian: http://www.indiapalacede.com/ Southwestern Chinese: https://eatstreet.com/newar… Northeastern Chinese: https://eatstreet.com/newar… Moroccan/Syrian: https://www.zomato.com/wilm… Greek: https://www.seamless.com/me… Palestinian; http://gyrokingde.net/GyroK… Southern Italian: http://www.tavernamainstree… Northern Italian: http://caffegelato.net/ Seafood: http://skipjacknewark.com/m… English Pub Grub: http://www.twostonespub.com… Gatro Brew Pub: https://www.ironhillbrewery… Japanese: http://places.singleplatfor… Malyasian: https://www.facebook.com/pi… Vietnamese: https://www.zomato.com/wilm… Pho: http://www.phonhuvu.com/

  4. P Donohue

    “These days everything feels fragile all over again. At the end of the day, I truly believe most people just want a roof over their head, family, and friends close by, food on the table and a stable job….and of course healthcare.” Interesting you picked up on that.A very good friend of mine is from Cambodia and often spoke to this. From what he has told me, I believe it may never have been anything but fragile, at least as far as the daily politics of Cambodia go. Of those in the region, Vietnam surprisingly seems to be the most stable, with the communist party running a successful capitalist economy, not unlike its neighbor, China.On another note, my friend would love to return to his homeland, but can’t, for he is fearful that he may be killed by those who remain from the bad days of the “killing fields”, Pol Pot’s lieutenants and such. I don’t know if his fears are real or the byproduct of PTSD, but his raw story of survival and immigration to the USA is nothing less than an amazing Horatio Alger tale on steroids, the stuff of blockbuster movies and NYT best sellers.Propelled by the dream of America, this survivor of the killing fields, arrived in California with about $36.00 USD in his pocket and no English in his head. Via his dream and sheer force of will, today he is a PhD ME working for a prestigious government lab in California. (He is next to Elon Musk as one of my heroes.) I told him he needed to write an autobiography, as his life is inspirational and proof that dreams can have power over the worst of circumstances.So one day we sat down and I interviewed him and we recorded his story which unfolded in my mind like a movie. Recently, we were talking about that and he said that he had only touched on a sliver of what happened and there was much more he wished to share with me, but feared the demons of his past might begin to haunt him if he were to go too deep.Reading this reminded me that I need to check in with him.Thanks for sharing.