Visitng Cambodia

Arrived in sunny Cambodia on a Wednesday night after an uneventful 2 hour flight from Singapore. I was very emotional at the airport, and while saying goodbye ,the last goodbye to my youngest son, Yusuf, since he was home from school. The others had their googbyes in the morning as they had school or necessary work.

Must have hugged him three four times tightly kissing him. The tears flowed very easily the entire day. My friend told me that others in the airport avoided me .as I looked so sad. Why? I will be away for at least 4 months. all alone, and my total work assignment will be two years. As Cambodia is only a 2 hour flight, I can visit the family a few times a year,God willing

Cambodian people are very hospitable. At meals, they serve Chinese tea,and continue to refill the cup until you signal them to stop. The tea is warm and light. Unfortunately for me, Cambodians are very fond of pork, I cant eat that , so I restrict myself to vegetables and bread when necessary. Lots of fish is available. They equally enjoy beer, and I equally abstain.

The weather in Cambodia is tropical. It is February but the temperature is 25C or higher. In Canada, it might well be -25, and I would be shivering.

We have a local friend helping us. The currency here is Real 1US $ = 4000, but everything is paid in dollars. Hotels, food etc. The food I eat is nice,but has loads of MSG.

There is a Muslim community here, albeit small.I believe 13%. Some speak Malay. They spoke a Malay sermon in the mosque on Friday. The muslim ladies wear head scarfs, and the men typical muslim hats.

Everything seems cheap,unless you eat western diets. A decent hotel room is $15 a night, A Mars bar in contrast is $1 and box of cornflakes$2.50. Local food is cheap. A meal for four people costs $10. Imports are expensive.

Some people drive Toyotas and Mercedes, and the non-city roads are narrow and 2 lanes.
We stayed in Phnom Penh from Wednesday night. On Friday, we took a 6 hr bus up north to Seam Reap (314 km), the more historical city. Visited an ancient temple today called Ankor Wat. It had Buddhist and Hindu monasteries dating 800 or so years. They were cut from huge stones weighing 3 tons. Elephants carried the stones in ancient times. These places had very high towers. Statues of Buddha were ubiquitous.

The landscape was much like Vietnam. Rice padi fields everywhere. Many houses are built on stilts. That prevents flooding during monsoon season. Cows were everywhere. I even saw a lady bathing a cow in the river. People here dress semi conservatively.

Tomorrow night we return via night bus. Many stars are visible as there are few street lights outside the city. We are in the middle of farmland and country.