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    Losing Our Way Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day I can hear her breathing. --------------------------------------------------------- Arundhati Roy (Indian author, advocate, activist)

    Photos from Cambodia

    There are [102] photos from Cambodia

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    Good-bye Cambodia! Hello, Laos! Views[454] A ferry ride to the other side of the Mekong from Kratie brings you to the island of Kroh Trong – very much a throwback in time to a much simpler way of Khmer life. We loved riding the perimeter of the island and yelling “Seur Sedai!” (Khmer for “hello”) to all of the waving locals happily welcoming us to their home. Views[396] Even when there were no dolphins to miss snapshots of, just floating around the Mekong made for a great morning. Views[382] The Mekong near Kratie is also famous for being the home to some of the planet's last surviving Irrawaddy Dolphins -- a species of dolphins that can survive in freshwater rivers and saltwater oceans. We hired a boat to take us out to see them. We saw tons of them – but only for a couple of playful seconds each! They come up for air ever so briefly. Our attempts to nail a photo of one left us with a ton of shots of blank river. Accept for this one! Can you find the dolphin?? Look hard! Views[343] Along the Mekong walkway in Kratie, local people set up food stalls to sell everything from cane juice to sandwiches and beer to fried rice. Views[588]
     
    We journeyed from Battambang, in Western Cambodia, to the town of Kratie in the east. We arrived just in time to catch the sun setting on the famed Mekong River. At around 4200km, the Mekong is the longest river in Southeast Asia; it will be a friend that will accompany us in Laos and Vietnam, as well. Views[248] And flat terrain usually makes for great bicycle riding. Right? Unless, of course, it's on one of Cambodia's dusty dirt roads. Everyone and anyone was wearing these surgical masks to keep the dust out of their lungs – seemed like a good idea to us, too. Views[250] Phnom Sampeau also offers some of the best views of the countryside around Battambang. Taken through one of the temple windows shaped like a Bodhi leaf, you can see in this photo how incredibly flat the terrain is. This is true of most of Cambodia. Views[210] Phnom Sampeau does also house some classic Khmer-style Buddhist temples – most very recently built. Views[250] We rented bikes and made the 13km ride from Battambang to an outcrop-turned-temple complex of Phnom Sampeau. Certainly the most disturbing part of the visit was touring this cave-shrine that exhibits a long, golden reclining Buddha next to a skull-and-bone filled memorial. This cave is known as the Killing Cave, where the Khmer Rouge murdered innocent victims and dumped their bodies through a natural skylight into the cave below. These two kind elders are the cave's caretakers. Views[253]
     
    We also spent some time at Battambang's wats (Buddhist temples). Here, at Wat Phiphataram, we were toured around by a 20-year-old monk who had temporarily taken robes, as is the tradition for all young males in Cambodia. It is a way to transmit to young men Buddhist concepts, to instill customary values, and to provide them with other education. Views[188] A great snack popular all over Cambodia is grilled bananas – some kind of sweet glaze is added first to really spike the sugar content. Views[244] By now, it is apparent that we LOVE checking out the markets wherever we go. This was some of the fish selection at Psar Nat (psar means market in Khmer) in the city of Battambang. Views[236] Any posed shot of Khmer teenage girls has them making a peace sign. No idea why. Just one of those things. Still, you can imagine our surprise when this precious little girl busted one out! Views[402] – Although you'd hardly know it by its quaint, small-town feel, Battambang is Cambodia's second largest city. One if its claims to fame is some of Cambodia's best preserved French colonial architecture from the days of French rule in Indochina. Views[320]
     
    And this is Wat Kandal. Views[386] In Cambodia, it's traditional to eat a hefty noodle soup. For breakfast! For our friends back in Seattle (and others in the know), it's a lot like Vietnamese Pho. And, really, when is it a bad time to eat Pho?? Views[259] One of the shopkeepers looking on gave his best teenage girl imitation, too. But the woman selling caged birds seems pretty befuddled by the whole thing. By the way, she is wearing a “krama” on her head – a very traditional checked scarf that the people seem to have hundreds of uses for. Views[252] The wats are another of Battambang's claims to fame. Most of Cambodia's wats were destroyed by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s – but apparently the governor of Battambang defied the order to destroy them, preserving some of the only pre-1978 wats in the country. This is some of the décor of Wat Damrey Sac. Views[267] Mi holds on tight as a moto leads us into the next phase of our journey after leaving Siem Reap and the boat ride behind -- Cambodia's quaint yet second largest city, Battambang. Stay tuned... Views[213]
     
    ...well, not completely different. Even here your house boat is not complete without a TV antenna! Views[196] ...past scenes of a different kind of life... Views[224] ...past men leisurely making their way down the river... Views[234] ...past families re-positioning their house boats... Views[255] ...past group after group after group of waving children cooling off with a swim.
     
    ...past babies in floating cribs... Views[259] ...past children manning boats... Views[211] ...past Khmer living in floating homes... Views[383] ...past people who use the waterway as their main mode of transport... Views[605] The boat ride took us by Khmer people living on their traditional house boats... Views[723]
     
    We took a 10-hour boat trip from Siem Reap to Battambang. Some of the passengers passed the time with ipods -- Mi passed the time by munching on goodies! Views[222] The local food stall in our Siem Reap neighborhood. Views[215] We attended a craft fair, where we purchased items in support of local grassroots fair trade cooperatives. Views[345] We attended the famous fund raising cello performance by Beat Richner -- a controversial Swiss physician who runs several Western quality children's hospitals in Cambodia offering free services to all comers -- much to the consternation of the World Health Organization, UNICEF and others. He spoke of the importance of forgiveness before, here, playing Kol Nidre -- the Jewish prayer for forgiveness sung every Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). Views[481] The shaded waterway on the Tonle Sap river that runs through Siem Reap. Views[243]
     
    We ended the Saturday night program with some dancing -- apparently hip hop only recently hit Cambodia, but man are the kids into it. Views[491] We joined in running a Saturday night program at one of the local cafes for kids from several of the local NGO programs in Siem Reap. Here, a TGC kid strikes a Karate Kid pose during a statue game.....all the kids had so much energy and were so much fun! Views[854] Us in front of the school sign! Views[421] One of the exceptionally dedicated students -- who also charmed us with his friendliness during our time at TGC. Views[419] ...and then posing with the dedicated team - hi team, we're still so impressed with your work! Views[484]
     
    Mi & Ive making some VERY important points (cough cough) during one of the psychology trainings we offered the TGC staff. Views[464] Sopha, one of the two Khmer teachers at TGC, offering lessons to Mi poses with Lyndsay, an American TGC volunteer and the bride, donning her 7th? stunning traditional dress of the evening - each a new color! Views[393] Thanks to our TGC friends, we were invited to attend a Khmer (Cambodian) wedding - here we are in the classic Mi & Ive out with The Global Child (TGC) staff, stuffing ourselves with traditional
     
    With one day left on our Temple Tickets, Ive couldn't resist one last trip to Angkor Wat to check out recently re-opened Bakan -- the temple's central sanctuary which takes a bit of a climb to get to. Views[256] Then on to Bayon and its odd serenity... where Ive was met by two entrepreneurs studying Japanese in hopes of a career in tourism. Views[213] in the battle between man and nature...... Views[241] And anyone's list of favorite Angkor Temples includes Ta Prohm, A few days later, we used our tickets and bikes to re-visit our favorite Angkor Temples -- but not before Mi made a new friend at a water stop... RUFF! RUFF! Views[232]
     
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