After we refused a boat ride around Tonle Sap Lake, we change route on our way back to the hotel and boom! We ended up in this non tourist area. We cycled until we reached a small and humble village that has a small lake. I saw this lady was "bathing" the ducks and I asked her if I can have a ride on her little boat. She smiled back at me and headed on my direction. I was hesitant at first, but the smile on her face and as she stop in front of me is just like welcoming me to join her. And here we go..yeeha! Lovely.
Feeling the breeze that touches my skin while looking at the ducks diving in the water and wild grasses, listening to the humming of birds, were just one of the delightful memories I could treasure in my whole life. I paused for a moment and think, reflect on things, and self- assess.
The villager's houses are designed like this, because of the flood during rainy season. This area is filled up with flood water, this is few kilometers from Tonle Sap Lake, the largest lake in Southeast Asia that connects the lake to Mekong River. During rainy season, which begins in June, all you can see in this area is water.
People are so amiable in this village. Feeling like a real tourist. Everyone's greeting "Hello" especially the bubbly kids. While some older ones turn their eyes on me, speaking Khmer, and I usually put my hands on my chest, telling them " Philippines, I'm a Filipino", is always my dialouge. And Im' getting used to it. Locals would always overreact with astonishment..."Oh...Philippines! Same same Cambodian!". You wouldn't guess how it feels like, almost everyday I encounter such a conversation like that. I wish I could just record my lines.
I couldn't guess how they are able maintain their means of survival. While Philippines has lots of ocean, land, and many resources, this place only got a lake and the only land they got is flooded during almost half of the calendar year. I wonder if only Filipinos would maximize its resources, it can go further than other countries like this. But Cambodians are slowly but surely hardworking people. They work quietly and sincerely. Seldom you see people sitting on the street, drinking liquors all day.
I feel so elated. This is one of the prime reasons why sometimes its better to go to off tourists areas. Where you can just enjoy the nature and appreciate every simple things around you. And be thankful that they exist!
As we continue cycling around this village, kids just bumped in and just rode at the back of my bicycle. One was pushing the bike and one was riding at my back. Funny moment!
.....and they are loving it! I just continued cycling and enjoy the moment with the kids. The kids were friendly, yet they still respect elderly and foreigns like us. They were just having fun with us, and so are we! It was so much fun being here!
With so much more things we met along the way, had a stop at a shed along the road when we saw an ice cream seller. Have a few minutes break and savor the delightful flavor of Ice Cream with Coconut Milk and Sticky Rice....yummy!
Some local people are also having a short break, drinking Angkor beer, the local beer in Cambodia. Just behind us is a vast rice field. When I say wide, I kept on asking my self, if there is beach nearby. Yes, it's a long wide field, Cambodia is. Beach is hundred miles away...
Cambodian people are so sweet and friendly. They are also hardworking, moving on with their lives despite the fact that they went through hardships in the past years in the hands of some invaders like the Khmer Rouge.
This ice cream seller doesn't speak English and I don't speak Khmer as well. Just in our smiles we connect, and him, telling how much is the ice cream is just by just showing me the 2, 500 Riel on his hands.
Another amazing sticky rice in banana leaf. While we were cycling, we met up this woman carrying the sticky rice on her head, balancing the tray. Soft spoken of her own Khmer language which I couldn't understand and dressed up as the typical Cambodian woman, she touched my heart, as a proof to me that living in this country is not that easy. But she is doing the best in her power to survive and look at her smile, there's hope and bliss coming from within. A real taste of Cambodia.... Aw ko-oon! (means "thank you")
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