Constitution Day – Part 2 Vuthy’s Family Home

While Vuthy and his wife live closer to town in a rented apartment, their daughter Rosa stays at the home of Vuthy’s uncle where we had lunch. Vuthy is hoping to one day build a house next door here.

The family was beautifully hospitable, with no one speaking any English, but we still managed to keep talking, laughing and clinking beers for a few hours. Vuthy must have been exhausted for all the translating he had to do.

The family lives very simply and is completely subsistence on farming, living in a small stilted home with their two working Brahman oxen living below. The area is netted to keep the mosquitoes and mostly likely flies away from the cattle. Vuthy’s uncle is a fantastic cook and the food was magnificent. All the food was prepared in a separate cook house, off to the side of the main house, all cooked in open fires and pots. We had roasted chicken, chilli duck in a peanut satay style sauce, rice, Lemon grass and ginger chicken in a broth and frogs cooked with lemongrass, ginger, chilli and many more spices. A great day out.

Constitution Day – Part 1 Phnom Chiso (Phnom = Mountain) Chiso Mountain

On Constitution Day we went to visit the family home of Chanath, our Tuk Tuk driver’s wife. They are like a second family to Vuthy, whose parents are no longer alive. Errol and Pat came on the trip. The house is in the Prey Kabbas District, Takeo Province about 90 minutes from Phnom Penh.

On the way there we stopped at one of the oldest temples in Cambodia, dating earlier than Angkor Wat and Buddhism in Cambodia. Phnom Chiso temple was built in the early 11th century by King Suryavarman I (AD 1002-1050), who practiced Brahmanism. Constructed of sandstone and other stones, it is 60 meters long and 50 meters wide and sits atop a mountain. The temple is surrounded by two galleries. The first gallery is 60 meters long on each side. The second, smaller gallery, is in the middle, where there is the main worship place with two doors and a wooden statue. There are beautiful sculptures on the lintel and the pillars. People usually climb the staircase on the west side of the mountain, which has 390 steps and descend by the south side staircase, which has 408 steps. Another set of stairs in front of the temple links the temple to Sen Chhmos temple, Sen Phouvang temple and Tonie Om, a lake considered sacred by Brahmans and used for washing away sins. A large rock yard nearby about 100 meters long and 80 meters was once the site of several other temples, but only parts of these temples remain standing.

A highlight for Clancy was his first experience with Cambodian treats, Shaved Ice with Condensed milk, sugar syrup and mango cordial poured over the top…Yummy!

On the way down we stopped at a silk making school and we bought some Cambodian silk.

A week with Pat

Pat Mckeen came to visit which was great because it forced us to travel around and do some things. He stayed with his friend and work colleague Errol Cresshull, and I got the job of day guide and companion. Errol works for Coffey and is a team leader on Education development project. Lunch and the evening beers were important stops with the Foreign Correspondents Club one of the favorites.

Going to School

Every morning is fun with a Tuk Tuk ride to school and lots to see.

Hot Frogs at Home

There here and they are very very spicy and good with beer!

Hot Frogs

Vuthy, our Tuk Tuk driver, and I had been talking about Chilli Frogs legs, a local dish he says is well accompanied with beer. He promised to bring me some. This morning his wife cooked the dish and as the Cvetko's piled into the Tuk Tuk at 7am he pulled out the dish and gave it to me, and asked if we wanted to try some. Anny had forgotten I mentioned this earlier in the week and only realised as the miniature (look like tiny legs of lamb) pieces came closer to her mouth that she was about to eat frog for breakfast. Not happy Jan! Anyway, they tasted good and are currently in Anny's work fridge, so I am looking forward to Chilli Frogs Legs and Beer when she comes home. I'll take a photo at the market next week so you can see what they look like in their raw state.

Pchum Ben Festival

Prachum Benda, more commonly known as Pchum Ben, is a Cambodian religious festival, culminating in celebrations on the 15th day of the tenth month in the Khmer Calendar. The day is a time when many Cambodians pay their respects to deceased relatives. People cook meals for monks, bring offerings to the temple and throw rice near the temple early in the morning, believing that the ghosts of their ancestors will receive it. Today Clancy’s class went to Wat Langka near the Independence monument on Sihanouk to give offerings to the monks. This Friday to Sunday is the holiday and most Cambodians will return to their villages to pay respects.

Clancy and Nam Fa gave offerings of Banana, Logan, Rambutan and Sugar to the seven monks. The head monk answered the class’s questions and I fielded a few more and some on the way home. Here’s a sample.

Clancy referring to the Statue he saw in the temple and the subsequent conversation:

Who is she? She is a he. He is Buddha. Is he dead? No, he achieved enlightenment and is everywhere in the space around us. What is enlightnenmennenem? He became a god. Do the Astronauts see him? No, but they feel his presence in all the good things. Does he cover around the Earth a little bit? OH look Clancy, there’s some more monks walking down the street!

(Ed. Note: Do not trust the factual quality of any responses to questions)

Video: Monks Blessing

On the Mekong

Joined Julian on his River boat last night for a cruise out from Phnom Penh along the Tonle Sap, along the Mekong and into the Bassac River. Lots of very badly designed developments and reclaimed banks fighting mother nature and losing, with schools and houses coming second best. Just an amazing volume of water in these rivers.

Another week

Wow how quickly another week has gone. Clancy has started his second week of school and had a play afternoon with Sofie, our neighbor, who also goes to ISPP. Over the weekend while hanging at the Metro Cafe with Child and his puppy's, the streets emptied which is rarely seen in an Asian city. The reason, a 100 km/h Presidential motorcade. I waved, if I'd had more notice I would have found a Cambodian flag on a stick for a more patriotic wave. Later we headed to another riding lesson where Clancy's lack of fear around the horse continues while his complete lack of comprehension of the instructors thick french accented English is amusing. I took a morning out yesterday and joined Grasshopper adventures on a mountain bike ride cross a number of the islands of the Mekong, just across from PP. It's still really wet and the river mud is incredibly sticky. The mountain bike's hybrid tyres made it incredibly tough going, so a great workout.