Take-Aways

I planted rice! It is the highlight of my journey and I wish I could do more. It was at Don and Kreagh’s place. There was nothing much to do and I dared ask if it was possible. Sure enough the next day we trudged across the fields and got to a plot where a farmer and hid wife, friends of Kreagh’s, were working. When rice has grown to a certain height it needs to be uprooted and replanted, few stalks at a time, at a bit of an airier distance so there is room for it to grow. This is the bit I got to do, the replanting of the little bundles. Luckily, the water in the paddy was from the rain and not from the river floods or I would have also had to contend with leeches. As it was, I just had to get ankle deep into the mud and water and start pushing the young seedlings back into the mud. Push with the thumb, cover with the index, push with the thumb cover with the index. Nice and easy where the mud is soft and welcomes the stalk with a little suction sound, tougher and more difficult where there are stones and weeds. I was slow but I got into it grateful that I could participate. Soon I got to a rhythm and I absolutely loved doing it. It was very peacefull, no thoughts were coming through my mind, a little bit like a very active meditation. Even when my knees felt a little stiff I did not want to stop. I think we did it for no more than a couple of hours when the farmer’s decided they were going to have a break. Of course, they had also started a couple of hours before we turned up. Unfortunately we also had to go back. My hostess teaches English to some of the local kids in a makeshift classroom on her porch and it was almost time for class. I hope there is no curse on those farmers’ crop. I am not exactly Miss “Green fingers”. At any rate they seemed happy for the help. In fact when Don saw the farmer’s wife later in the afternoon in the market, she asked him whether the foreigners were coming back the next day to help some more. I was tempted. I could have stayed on more and put in a full day’s work. But further up the road is the lure of Phnom Penh and Angkor Wat. How can I resist?