Saturday-no school-so we found other things to do: Painted boards the boys will put their name on to mark their garden plot; painted large black boards & hung them in the classrooms & screwed on clips to hold posters; tore down another old wicker ceiling; Sue, Rog & the 3 boys building a mushroom house went to get supplies; and Rog made yet another loaf of bread! Then Sue headed off to town to meet with friends who'd flown in & go to a concert. It will be a well deserved break for her! My only complaint today was the red ants! I stepped on a hill & they attacked with utmost speed & vengeance. My feet instantly started burning & turned crimson
red. I quickly washed with soap & took an antihistamine & Tylenol. Then sat in front of a fan for almost an hour. Hate them little ******! At 7 am on Sunday, an 8 passenger spiffy van pulled in. Monk Hun, his mom, his 10 year old niece, his girlfriend, her mom, Rog & I piled in and we headed to Mt. Kulen. It's considered the Holy Mtn & source of all water. It is the place where the then king claimed he was god & the Cambodian Kingdom was born in 802 AD. As we drove to the top, we munched on coconut waffles & egg rolls the moms brought. We cautiously stood on the cliff looking over the valley where Siem Reap & Angkor Wat was. Close by was a tall rock with steps leading up to a massive lying Buddha. Lots of items including money was laid next to him by the people who'd come to honor him. It was lunch time now so we all sat on mats in a small hut next to a river and Hun ordered a group dinner & we asked for stir fry beef. It was fun watching the kids frolic in the water. While we waited, a man came by carrying an overloaded platter of fried silk worms & grasshoppers. The moms bought some to munch on. Rog took a few grasshoppers which put a grin on his face! Ugh! The food finally arrived & I was thankful it included fried rice & a hole in the wood where I could drop my impossible to chew beef. There were several other dishes…all of which Rog & the others heartily devoured. Later—dessert I guess—we were served bee larvae. I was forced to try a small bite. Kinda like rubber. The group almost licked the platter clean. We then walked down a long staircase and there we got a gorgeous view of the roaring waterfall. A wide pool was formed and it was filled with people enjoying the coolness of the water. I sure wish I had my swimsuit! I did wade in along the smooth rock edge. On our way back to our van, we bought some fried bananas. Now that was a real dessert! On our way home we made two stops. One was next to the part of the river where 1000 lingus were carved into the rock river bed. Lingus means penis. Yup—1000 of them. Never thought I'd see that! Our last stop was for cashew smoothies. Delicious! I can't end this without mentioning how many times the moms burst out laughing. They so enjoyed this trip. It was the first time for one of them and 2nd for the other to go to Mt Kulen. We all had a great day and of course, all the bills were given to Rog without a second thought. It's the custom when traveling with a monk & his family! (Van $70, lunch $40, smoothies $10 & entry fee (free for Cambodians) was $40.). No such thing as a free ride….unless you're a monk in Cambodia!!
