Musings on Cambodia

Impressions

By Jay

As we move about here in Cambodia we are made aware of brief glimpses into lives of the local people as they go about their routines. Camera ready, we hope to capture things that assault our senses but of course the camera is incapable of recording all that we experience and many impressions are so fleeting that they are lost. The pictures and stories that we record are only bits of what we would like to share and relive later.

We read and study from maps, books and the various venue that we visit such as museums and tours of historical or cultural importance. We talk with people, all of whom are willing and eager to help us glean insight into the country. We inquire and they respond, often with gaps in perspective and language. The interaction sometimes cause humorous or inconvenient results like the Tuk Tuk driver that took us to the Hotel Paradise after we presented him with a card from our accommodation, the Villa Paradiso. Another driver that we hired had difficulty taking us to a cafe, that on its Web site mentioned “difficult to find” in more than one review. He stopped several times to converse with other drivers, made several course changes and we almost gave up hope when spotted a small sign pointing down a very obscure alley and we eventually found the “Alley Cat Cafe”.

We gave him an extra dollar for his efforts and he was pleased.