Jakarta Travels in Cambodia

Some random shots of people, places and things from a recent trip to Cambodia.
People


Kids being kids on the Ton Le Sap

Victims of landmines playing traditional music outisde of the Banyon temple
Evidence of landmines were everywhere, the most disturbing being the large number of maimed people. There are many organizations in Cambodia trying to assist in this frustrating siutation. The most successful of the development programs are the ones that train and encourage the affected people to help themselves. One of the more interesting ones we experienced was a restaurant whose employees were primarily street kids and orphans. They learned the business while sharing the various duties of running the restuarant. The food was excellent and the waiters memorized all the orders. They brought me the wrong thing at first but we all laughed about it and they seemed pretty good natured about the whole thing. The place was packed out so the work crew was defintiely learning the hard way - which is often the most effective. I think the place was called the Banyan Tree and it is located in Phnom Pen across from the school turned prison by the Khmer Rouge This group of musicians performed along the trail to the Tom Pra. They accepted donations and sold CD's of their music. Very nice to stroll through the forest of the temple complex accompanied by their playing.


Lonely Planet GuyProbably the most photgraphed old guy in Cambodia. He is on the cover of one of the editions of the Lonely Planet: Cambodia. He hangs out at the place where picture was taken along with a couple fo the Lonely Planet books, gets his picture taken and sells trinkets.


Girls Playing in Siem ReapI snapped a shot of these two pirls playing a game which involved using chalk to mark out the various grids formed by the tiles in the sidewalk. Soon after I snapped the photo I was in the bargaining session of my life over a few postcards and some bracelets. I am not a big fan of such activity but I had nothing better to do while Alicia was pouring over every nook and cranny of some nice little shop with really special things to buy so I figured I would hang out and mess around with them. They were full on and had a very good pitch going. They asked where I was from and then told me all sorts of random facts about the US. They then started producing the vaious goods they had to sell and went to town. Finally they wore me down and I went into get money from Alicia. When I told them I had to do that they asked what my wifes name was and when we walked out of the store she was greeted with a chorus of "hello miss lisa". The next several days whenever I would see one of the girls around the streets they would smile and address me by name. I don't know what the racket is but I am sure that most of their money is turned over to a guy wearing a bad suit and see through dress socks or the Cambodian equivalent of such a uniform, which is sad. But these girls sure had some attitude and won't be easily forgotten.

Places

The entrance to the Banyon temple

One of the many giant faces of Bhudda at the Banyon

Life on the Ton Le Sap: Houseboat


Life on the Ton Le Sap: Small boat


Life on the Ton Le Sap: Small boat at sunset


Ton Le Sap sunset