The joys of getting lost

This morning after I dropped off my laundry and had breakfast, I decided to wander in the opposite direction of the center of town. It looked like it might be a little more local, and happily it was. I walked down paved roads, dirt roads, past farms, schools, mansions, and shacks. I had no idea where I was going. Well, I had a general sense, but basically I got lost. It was fun, though. Lots of folks, young and old, would smile as they passed by, either on foot, bicycle or motorcycle. The further I walked the more the greeting became just “hello” instead of “hello lady”. I actually got past my camera shyness and took some pictures of people, mostly kids, who were more than happy to have their picture taken. The kids are so cute here and so smiley. I’ve managed to suppress my tendency to reach out and pat them on the head and instead just go for a little handshake now. Touching the head is a big cultural no-no here as the head is the most sacred part of the body. Conversely, the feet are the least sacred and so it's best to avoid putting your feet up on tables and chairs or gesturing towards anyone or anything with the feet.

I took off on my little jaunt around 10:30 or so. A couple hours later with no water left and the hot sun beating down in a cloudless sky, I started to wonder if maybe I had wandered too far. Luckily an older man, probably in his 50s, passed by me on a motorbike on a dirt side road. I was heading in the general direction of town and he asked if I needed a ride. In some cases this might be a bad idea, and I’m sure there’s crime in Cambodia, but it seems to me that 99.9% of the population here wouldn’t hurt a fly. So I hopped on his bike and 10 minutes later I was back in town. I gave him $1.50 and thanked him wholeheartedly for the lift.

I decided to go get myself a fruit shake somewhere and as I was heading toward the restaurant area, I heard my name being called out from inside an internet café. I turned around to discover that Helena from Sweden (also a Hansen!), whom I had met in Vientiane, Laos, had recognized me. So she joined me for a shake and we caught up on recent travel stories. It’s a small, small world indeed. Tomorrow I head to Phnom Penh, the capital. Who knows who I’ll run into there!


This little boy’s parents called out to me from the other side of the road. I said hello back, then decided to take the window of opportunity to ask if I could take a picture. He's even more adorable in person.


This little girl crossed the dirt road to say hello to me as I was taking a picture of some ducks. She was on her way to school.


Back in town I went into a fair trade handicrafts shop where this man was at the pottery wheel.