So I had to stick around Siem Reap for an extra 5 days because the doctor wanted to see me again to make sure that my voice improved. No problem for me because I really loved it there.
The bartender at my hotel, Sam (pronounced Same), couldn't help but notice that I was now alone and not with my friends anymore. When I explained that I was actually traveling on my own he totally didn't understand. So this got us to talking and he asked a lot of questions, curious about my life in Canada. He could not comprehend that I was 34, single, lived on my own, didn't support my parents financially, and now traveling on my own. He totally didn't understand why North American "children" want to leave their parents homes and be on their own. Haha! In Cambodia, they live with their parents until they are married or have to move for work purposes. Parents have so much control over their children.
I guess because I was on my own Sam befriended me. He totally took care of me and my voice. Every morning, without asking, brought me my usual hot Lipton tea, one bottle of water, one glass and upon his suggestion fresh lemon juice and hot water because he swore this would help my voice. After a while I couldn't tell if he was flirting with me or if he was gay...
Anyway Sam kept asking what I was going to do over the next few days and I really had no idea (the benefit of traveling solo). So he made a suggestion, which I really didn't understand (strange because Cambodians speaking English is usually quite easy to understand). So I smiled and nodded and said "maybe", even though I had no idea what he was suggesting. The next day he asked me again what I was doing (he was EXTREMELY persistent) and then asked me what I thought about his suggestion... I was like.... Uhhhhh, what was it again? How embarrassing. I felt like such an idiot and it serves me right for pretending I understood him in the first place. He explained again and this time I got it. He wanted to take me to his village to meet his family. His mom would make lunch and he would show me where he wanted to start his duck farm. He also said he'd take me to a silk factory and show me one of the very ruined temples of Angkor Wat, destroyed by the Khmer Rouge. Sounds good to me. So on his only day off we did exactly what he suggested.
He arranged for a tuk-tuk to pick me up from the hotel and we went off outside the city to his village in the Western Baray. We arrived at his family home just before lunch. I met his mom, dad, and neices and nephews. At first, they didn't know what to do with this white woman coming to their home with this huge camera in her hand. The parents kind of ignored me for the first bit.
Sam showed me around their property, which was quite nice for a typical Cambodian family, the sheltered platforms where they lounge around during the day, the outdoor "kitchen", and of course where he wants to start his duck farm.
He asked me if I thought it was a good idea for him to start a duck farm. Haha. I was like... uh, well I don't really know anything about duck farming, so I don't really know. But, if you think it's a good idea and is something you really want to do then go for it! Otherwise, you'll never know. I asked him if it would bring him a good income... not really, he said. I asked him if it was expensive to feed and take care of them and he said, no not really they find food for themselves. This gives you a little insight to how the livestock are treated here in Cambodia... not well. Anyway, it was sweet that he wanted my opinion, whatever it was worth.
Before lunch, he took me to the ruined Angkor Wat temple. He was so excited to show me this ruined temple and it was literally a rock, not even recognizable as something that ever was a temple... but it did have a name, Prasat Phnom Rung, so it WAS the real deal. It was really cute. I couldn't help but giggle a little because it was not much to look at and a bit of effort to get there.
On the way back to his parents home, we stopped by a local coconut farm and he climbed a coconut tree and picked us some fresh coconuts. Now if you want to impress a girl, or guy, or whatever, this is one way to do it. Haha! Seriously impressive. He climbed that tree so fast.
Lunch was simple and we were joined by his brother, sister and more neices. They started warming up to me at this point and we started to have some fun. We sat outside at a round table drew on a etch-e-sketch type thing and chatted about life in each others countries. They had chickens and baby chics running all over the place (as they do everywhere in Cambodia) and they kept running across my feet while we ate. I didn't like this very much and they kept laughing everytime one of the birds ran across my feet because I could quickly lift my feet off the ground. Haha! I didn't think it was that funny.
They were so lovely and so curious about me and Canada. The kids were especially curious about my freckles and inspected my arms. It was very cute. They wondered how much my camera cost, which I hestiated to tell them because it cost more than what they make in one year. How's that for making you feel excessive?
After lunch, I watched his dad, a teacher, make a fishing net by hand and his mom weave a floor mat. And by the end of the afternoon, everyone wanted their picture taken with me, especially his mom. She said she wished I spoke Cambodian because she didn't know any English. We sat on one of the shaded platforms and just chatted and taking pictures... the kids loved this!
More soon...
xoxoxo
I'm so jealous of your experience!! That's awesome, sounds like you had a lot of fun that day!
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