Saturday, February 17, 2024
Update 18
Our last few days in Cambodia we spent in Kampot at a nice hotel with a great pool, hot shower, eggs & toast breakfast…for $35. Since it was 90+, everyday, we enjoyed that pool often! So much that my bathing suit straps were getting pretty worn out. Luckily I found a new suit with a $34.99 price tag but only had to pay $9. Kampot's biggest attraction was the gigantic Durian image in their central round-about. Durian is the stinkiest fruit ever and we often see signs in hotels, on busses & in restaurants that say no Durian. Even saying you'll be fined $100 if you have it! We did find a few things to do: sunset cruise (though we saw very little of interest); traditional dance performance at an orphanage & 3 blind boys who played local instruments. Kampot had recently won the Country Enviromental Award & so one morning there was a parade: lots of boats on the river & trucks & busses all flying flags. School kids lined the street cheering. We stepped over a bunch of trash between our hotel & the road and joined the school kids. There was a really nice new walkway all along the river front…which was probably why they won the award. We walked it several times. Kids were playing on it and in the evening, families spread a blanket & ate picnics there. The town was quiet with traffic traveling slow. We found several good places to eat. We both ate a delicious shrimp dinner with drinks for $13. Actually it was so good, we ate it twice!. Pizza & good desserts were easy to find too. Probably true because of the many older Western men around…most with a young Cambodian lady. I counted 25 in just one restaurant . Always makes me wonder how the young lady feels.
Kampot was a good place to say goodbye to Cambodia!
A few observations:
-haven't hardly seen any gardens by homes
-did see groups of school kids picking up trash by the side of the road
-at several roadside stands they sell about a 12" piece of bamboo stuffed with sticky rice & beans…last for days. Fast food stand!
-we have not seen a McD only a Kentucky Fried Ckn, Papa John's and a couple StarBucks, & Pizza Huts.
-pass lots of rice fields…some dormant, others bright green & a few being harvested
-women wearing pajamas at all times of the day
-you can carry heavy loads on bicycles
Our last few days in Cambodia we spent in Kampot at a nice hotel with a great pool, hot shower, eggs & toast breakfast…for $35. Since it was 90+, everyday, we enjoyed that pool often! So much that my bathing suit straps were getting pretty worn out. Luckily I found a new suit with a $34.99 price tag but only had to pay $9. Kampot's biggest attraction was the gigantic Durian image in their central round-about. Durian is the stinkiest fruit ever and we often see signs in hotels, on busses & in restaurants that say no Durian. Even saying you'll be fined $100 if you have it! We did find a few things to do: sunset cruise (though we saw very little of interest); traditional dance performance at an orphanage & 3 blind boys who played local instruments. Kampot had recently won the Country Enviromental Award & so one morning there was a parade: lots of boats on the river & trucks & busses all flying flags. School kids lined the street cheering. We stepped over a bunch of trash between our hotel & the road and joined the school kids. There was a really nice new walkway all along the river front…which was probably why they won the award. We walked it several times. Kids were playing on it and in the evening, families spread a blanket & ate picnics there. The town was quiet with traffic traveling slow. We found several good places to eat. We both ate a delicious shrimp dinner with drinks for $13. Actually it was so good, we ate it twice!. Pizza & good desserts were easy to find too. Probably true because of the many older Western men around…most with a young Cambodian lady. I counted 25 in just one restaurant . Always makes me wonder how the young lady feels.
Kampot was a good place to say goodbye to Cambodia!
A few observations:
-haven't hardly seen any gardens by homes
-did see groups of school kids picking up trash by the side of the road
-at several roadside stands they sell about a 12" piece of bamboo stuffed with sticky rice & beans…last for days. Fast food stand!
-we have not seen a McD only a Kentucky Fried Ckn, Papa John's and a couple StarBucks, & Pizza Huts.
-pass lots of rice fields…some dormant, others bright green & a few being harvested
-women wearing pajamas at all times of the day
-you can carry heavy loads on bicycles
Update 17
On the bus with Louis (French pronunciation)
by Rog
Louis was a youngish (early twenties?)cricket player, traveler, live in the moment, kind of guy. He rode with us in the van from Sihanoukville to Kompot.
He asked, "What gives you the most fulfillment when you travel?"
I told him that volunteering with the local people puts us in unique situations where there is opportunity to see real people over time and witness the difficulties they face daily. It makes us more understanding of their situation and more appreciative of ours.
Louis compared learning by travel with learning in school…he said travel is learning about life.
Louis compared learning by travel with learning in school…he said travel is learning about life.
He said, "You know when you look into their eyes. There are good caring people everywhere. I love to travel! I want to do this for the rest of my life! "
He is a very passionate guy who speaks with gusto and confidence. He organizes cricket games with the local people wherever he goes. He feels that sport allows people to drop their barriers as they focus and compete as a team. He made me think about the following quote from Mark Twain…
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."
Sent from my iPad
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