A Khmer Wedding

The last couple of weeks were hard, but had some pretty memorable moments. Last weekend I managed to complete an 80km bike ride in a day and I wont soon forget the pain that resided in my ass afterwords.. bike seat cushions aren't all they are cracked up to be! The ride nonetheless was awesome and the views were stunning. We started in Kampong Cham town and biked our way to this abandoned air strip from the 70's located just north of the city. Just getting there was an adventure and under the direction of Stu we made it there in about 30 min. He somehow navigated his way there by himself once and it is beyond me how he accomplished that cause there was a cluster of turns and windy trails I could never have found myself navigating alone. Yet, we made it there and once at the airstrip we explored this old abandoned military bunker on top of a hill overlooking the runway. The view from atop this small hill was breathtaking for the mere fact any elevated position in this country offers views for as long as the eye can see due to the extreme flatness of the landscape. The sun was particularly brutal this day and the haze was definitely present, but regardless I could see palm trees for miles and miles surrounded by rice patty fields and cambodian homes. Cattle dotted the fields here and there and there were motos going from here to there on the jungle paths leading up to the air strip. One of the most striking things I noticed was the lack of noise. Cambodia is a very loud country with speakers blasting, motos constantly buzzing by, and dogs barking at absolutely nothing, but on top of this hill there was simply the landscape spread out in front of us and a gentle breeze blowing hot air onto my already sweaty face. After exploring the building we went on this "loop" that took about 4 hours. This loop I thought was going to be a short 10k around some rice patty fields, but o how I was wrong. We ended up going in and out of very rural villages, up and down jungle paths that had never seen the likes of somebody like me and Stu, and through fields that offered little to no protection from the sun. It was a true adventure and I couldn't have been in a better place at a better time that right there biking my way through the maze of paths and roads. Stu knew where he was going so I simply followed and enjoyed the scenery which was definitely a sight to see. Many of the villagers would come out of there homes and stare as we rode by, just to catch a glimpse of a "berong" and scream "hello" as loud as they can. Children would stop what they were doing and come to there gates just to stare... just as they do all over this country. All it takes is a simple hello from me to ease their fears and reassure them that I'm nobody to be afraid of, as they too readily assume due to my appearance. The sun was even more unforgiven than earlier in the day and lets just say I ended up 10 shades darker than when I started. The fields we went in and out of were impressive from one to the next and never became boring to the eyes. Rice patty fields are gigantic in Cambodia due to the extreme presence of illegal logging throughout the country. There are just hundreds and hundreds of acres per field and they go on for miles at a time. It never ceases to amaze me at how amazing rice patty fields dotted with coconut trees are. We managed to stop at a food stand for lunch and the generosity of the people took me by suprise. We asked to sit on one of their tables that they had perched outside, but instead they lead us to the middle of their living room, laid out bamboo mats, and gave us mugs to drink out of. We had an audience of people watching the "berongs" eat but that no longer bothers me, seeing as every time I do anything its to an audience that watched my every step. The lunch of baguette bread with chunky peanut butter and fresh bananas never fails to satisfy even the hungriest of stomachs and soon enough we were off again for another 3 hours till we made our way back to the city of kg. ch. Once finished we grabbed a coconut shake from this western restaurant and marveled at the adventure of the day, savoring every drop of that cold and delicious milkshake at the same time. Its nice to know I'm going to the base camp of Mount Everest with this guy... he knows what hes doing and is fun to travel with. Thats a whole new adventure that will take place in a year and half so I'll save that story for when the time comes to tell it! afterwords I had to make my way back to my village is another 20km away from the town so all in all it was a pretty tiring and sunny day I would love to experience again!

Yesterday I was greeted to the wonderful occasion of a khmer wedding and I the whole thing was definitely a new experience I will treasure. One of my health center staff invited me to this party and told me it started at 7 in the morning. I had my doubts on actually getting up to go to a party that early in the morning but regardless I pushed myself out of bed and luckily dressed up nice for the occasion. Once there I noticed the large canopy that is present at any party in Cambodia with its pink roof and colorful drapes. As usual I entered like a king and was greeted by everybody at the party. Parents brought their kids up to see the white guy and many scream and cry in terror as they are not used to somebody who looks like me. Then, after sitting me down in the middle of the yard with everyone else standing around me, they presented me with nom which is cooked rice paste with a coconut and sugar mixture inside... pretty delicious. After sitting and chatting for some time they lead me inside and to my surprise there was a bride and groom getting dressed in traditional khmer wedding attire. I cant even begin to describe what they dress in so google "khmer wedding" if you want a description of clothes worn at these events. Two words that I would use to describe their clothes would be gaudy and sequins haha. They were indeed beautiful once dressed and once complete we went upstairs for the actual ceremony. I found out eventually that the bride was the sister of the health staff who invited me so I guess it wasn't that awkward I was taking part in this right? After chanting and rituals the ceremony was done and I was brought to the front to get my picture with the bride and groom.. the funny thing is that I was the only person who got my picture with them, not even the parents has their pictures taken with them haha. Anyways we were then lead outside to the party and a huge vat of rice pouridge was served to everyone. rice pouridge is a huge dish in Cambodia and can be served with many things. This dish had everything within a chicken inside this pouridge, mixed with bean sprouts, herbs and spices, and lime juice. The whole experience was memorable and just one more that is making this experience that much more enjoyable.