Journeys Home – Page 3 – Wendy's Out of Station

25/12… Best Christmas ever

Well today will take some beating for best Christmas Day ever. What a great day 🙂

I met Mr Bun (long uu pronunciation not short u like fun, don’t know that we have equivalent in English) at 630 just as it was coming light and we headed off to Ta Prom in our open air Christmas Took Took chariot (sleigh) Mr Bun’s red motorcycle helmet shining out front like Rudolph’s nose. (Pls keep all comments re my resemblance to Mrs Clause to yourself, thank you!)

Well devoid of all but a handful of early rising tourists Ta Prom was just magic and utterly engaging, even offering time for a brief solitary Namaste at the shrine set up in the middle. Much better photos (racing a bit to stay in front of a bus load of Russians who arrived later, and succeeding courtesy of the first Cambodian older than me that I’ve met to date. He wanted a $5 tip, I gave $2.) After an enjoyable, mystical hour there I felt reconciled with Tomb Raider and even had a brief chat with one of the Indian archaeologists doing restoration work on the dancing girl’s hall!

Ta Prom

Then back to Angkor Wat and a lazy two hours climbing more steps than I’d ever care to count.

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27/12… Mr Bun, my hero

Having sacked Sok yesterday and sent the redoubtable Mr Bun an email, swum, drunk, showered and grown impatient, I went in search of Mr Bun and found the poor man emerging from his afternoon bath! Poor love. At least he was dressed.

Reunited we made a plan for tomorrow. Then I lamented aloud that I needed a book so he drove me to a bookshop – 6 secondhand books later I asked him about traditional shadow puppets. So where am I now? At a buffet ($12 all you can eat) with beer (bottle for $3) in a front row seat for shadow puppets! Well done Mr Bun!

The tension is building ladies and gentlemen, but so far I am the only patron present. I’ve seen the stage constructed. I’ve seen the electricity connected – mind the water feature with that extension cord! I’ve seen a million insects make their stage debut. I’ve finished my beer! The band is now playing a little tune some of you know well – Tiu Ning. And so with tension aplenty but precious little action I am eating, waving for another beer and marinating myself in DDT. Continue reading “27/12… Mr Bun, my hero”

29/12… Departure time

Not sure how long I’ll have to write this but since I’m also not sure when I’ll connect again I’ll try 🙂

Well I’m all checked in for my Mekong River cruise and waiting for the bus (4 hrs to the boat from here apparently ugh). Bit nervous actually 🙂 as guessed I’m the only person here so far under 60. There are quite a few walking sticks and at least one white cane. Oh there’s a younger couple. Wave!

Yesterday Mr Bun took me out through rural rice paddies and villages on a bone crunching trip to Lake Tonle Sap. I had discovered that being dry season my cruise wasn’t going there. So off I went, intrepid, not wanting to miss a thing, boarding a boat down all that’s left of a river (dried drain really), then meandering out through one of the villages that in the wet sits floor level just at the water line, but now they are 6 m above dry earth like stalks on massive legs.

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