Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Shouldn't that be the son on the sidelines looking up to his father, the captain of the boat? Good parenting requires some role reversals, don't you think? [2016] 

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Do you recognize these as green coconuts? Inside each husk is a brown nut lined with coconut meat and filled with coconut water. The latter requires no processing other than a puncture which reaches to the inner cavity. Coconut water, consumed right out of the husk, is a popular street beverage throughout Southeast Asia. [2016]

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

How do different cultures influence behavior? That's called cultural context. So, dear Americans, were you wearing a mask in 2016 when this chef was caught preparing a meal? And, dear Americans, were you ever tempted to prepare chicken feet for your family or friends? Southeast Asia and North America: different cultural contexts. [2016]

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Apples are not a tropical fruit, so what country supplies them to markets in Cambodia? New Zealand. Cherries are not a tropical fruit, so what country supplies them to markets in Cambodia? USA. Amazing that freshness can be delivered over such distances! Amazing that Cambodians are now wealthy enough to partake (remember the 1970s)! [2016]

Battambang, Cambodia

From The Gulag Archipelago: "the line separating good and evil passes . . . right through every human heart. . . Inside us, it oscillates with the years. And even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained. And even in the best of all hearts, there remains. . . a small corner of evil." [2016]

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

She (judging from the purse) is catching a catnap on what looks like a palm frond but is actually a hammock. "The world is my bedroom" seems to be a national motto of Cambodia, where gravity-defying slings are a cut above a cardboard mat (see it?) on the grass? How does the unguarded purse reveal social norms? [2016]

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Geography is all about locational analysis. Why has a mock elephant come to occupy this particular location? Why has this young man chosen to take a nap on this particular patch of grass? Why are these two species able to co-occupy the same space without conflict? [2016]

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Phnom Penh occupies a confluence site where the Tonle Sap joins the Mekong. If you are approaching the city from the east, you have to get across at least one of these big, water-engorged rivers. Whether on foot or cycle, ferry boats are there to give you a lift. [2016] 

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The golden dome marks the site of Phnom Penh's central market, or Phsar Thom Thmey in the Khmer language. But wait! That first word, Phsar, does not appear to be Khmer at all. It looks like a loan word from the Persian language: bazaar. In one form or another, bazaar is used all over the world for a market place. [2016] 

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

One is meditating, the other is asleep. Sleep habits differ around the world. Throughout Southeast Asia, napping takes place out in public and often in a hammock. It might be compared to the siesta in the Hispanic world, but one is public and the other is not. As for North America, napping during the day, and especially in public, is considered bad form. [2016] 

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

 

"When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray." Oops! Wrong religion! But Matthew's directive is probably good advice for anyone of faith. What faith is followed here? [2016]

Siem Reap, Cambodia

What is overhead? Parasols or parapluies? Do they shield (para) from the sun (sol) or from the rain (pluie)? In Cambodia, both. But, historically, their first job was as umbrellas: to provide a little shade (umbra). What does all that have to do with parachute, solstice, pluvial, and umbrage? [2016]

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Is that a scooter or a chaise lounge? Is that a blue beard or a face mask? Is that a helmet for the hell-bent or a hard hat for the laid back? Is that a smile for the miles ahead or an invite for convo, head to head? [2016]

Siem Reap, Cambodia

His species invaded the forest and built a temple. Later, the forest invaded the temple. Now, as a World Heritage Site, the Ta Prohm Temple and the forest co-exist in a natural embrace. You can find ruins under every tree root and a waif in every crevice. [2016]

Siem Reap, Cambodia

In Cambodia, many young Buddhists choose to be monks for a short time, and they are often among those who visit the temple of Angkor Wat as true pilgrims rather than faux pilgrims (i.e., tourists). They are easily identified by their humility: shaved heads, simple saffron robes, bare feet, begging bowls. [2016]

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Angkor Wat, in addition to being a World Heritage Site visited by hoards of tourists, is also a Buddhist monastery. The management challenge is keeping the day-trippers from conflicting with the resident monks who prefer a milieu that is more prayerful than playful. [2016]

Battambong, Cambodia

Cambodia is almost wholly Buddhist. Every town has at least one wat, and, each wat has at least three and sometimes dozens of monks. These young men live simple lives within the enclosure, venturing out to beg for alms (expected and respectable in the eyes of Buddhism). They spend each day meditating and sufficing for themselves. [2016]

Battambang, Cambodia

From half a millennium before the Common Era began: "Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue." So sayeth the Buddha. [2016]

Battambong, Cambodia

With 185 national chess federations, you can be sure Cambodia has one of its own. Here, though, the variant is called makruk. Too bad there isn't an international board-game Olympics. If there were though, curling might have to be reassigned. [2016]

Battambang, Cambodia

It seems like cockles are for sale in every Cambodian market. They may be turned into street food (sometimes raw) or a meal. Can you see why these bivalves, found and farmed throughout coastal Asia, are called blood cockles? In fact, they do contain a hemoglobin liquid. But, alas, they are not true cockles (like they have in Europe). [2016]