APAD 184: Stairway to somewhere…
In one of my previous projects in Krong Kep, we visited a Buddhist wat that sits on top of a hill in Ou Krasang commune. Due to its central location and good facilities, it was selected as one of the village hubs for a rural ICT-project that I was involved with in 2006-2008.
When we visited the area, it was the height of the rainy season. The team braved the monsoon rains and muddy roads – and this lofty stairs – to inspect and evaluate the facilities.
Stairway to… nirvana? Uhm, no, not yet.
In case you are curious, the view from above is magnificent! Despite the rain, we saw green ricefields in contrast with the red, red soil as far as the eyes can see. The landscape is punctuated by palm trees, the national tree of Cambodia. Will try to find a photo of the rural Cambodian landscape from my archived files and post here in the future.
APAD 182: Lok Ta Dambang Kranhoung
Howdy, my friends.
Please excuse my absence. I just got back from a successful surgical mission in Poipet, a border town northwest of Cambodia. Operation Smile Cambodia and its team of local and international volunteers traveled to Poipet for eight days to provide free surgeries to children and adults alike born with clefts and other deformities.
Poipet is an 8-hour bus drive from Phnom Penh, passing through provinces such as Kampong Chhnang, Pursat, and Battambang. The statue below is known as Lok Ta Dambang Kranhoung.
The statue of Lok Ta Dambang Kranhoung sits in the roundabout of Battambang along National Road 5.
“Lok Ta” means grandfather, “Dambang” means stick, and “KraNgoung” refers to a kind of black wood which is very precious and strong.
APAD 181: Thirst-quencher
Someone has got a cold and a sore throat but insisted having a cold drink.
Thirsty! Time for tai-krochma-teuk’o. Iced tea with lemon-lime.
APAD 180: Monks walk
The sight of monks with shaved head (and eyebrows) clad in orange robes, and holding bright yellow umbrellas, never fail to catch my attention. These two I saw this morning are no exceptions. Every morning each day, Buddhist monks quietly go out of wats (pagodas, or temples), most of the times on bare feet, to their community to solicit or collect alms.
And how fast they walk, too!
These alms come in the form of food or other offerings. For the monks, this is the only food they will have for that day. They’re not allowed to have food till the next day again. For the devout Buddhists, it is one of the ways they can earn good merits, or karma, in other words.
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