Rural Cambodia and Phnom Penh

I've always wanted to get outside of Phnom Penh and see the less easily accessed areas of Cambodia. I hopped on a bus (for 4 dollars) and headed south to the coastal area of Sihanoukville, named for the famed King Sihanouk. I was amazed as I took in the scenes and aura of life in Cambodia. It is all about farming and family. I saw people working their fields and little children playing happily alongside their parents. While, it is incredibly poor and remote, life here is simple and deliberate, free from distractions of the city and commerce. It is clear that in the midst of poverty, people work to provide for each other and community thrives not from anything but neccessity.



Back in Phnom Penh now running errands, meeting friends. Here I am trying to pick out a cell phone with the help of my friend Win. He is one of the key people in making my life easy when I am doing business in Phnom Penh. He and his cousin Mykeoung (who likes to be called the western version - Michael) cart me around town and help me out tremendously with day to day tasks and getting around. It wouldn't be the same experience in Phnom Penh without them.


This is a photo from one of my favorite breakfast spots. . . La Croisette. It is on the river and serves the most scrumptous warm french bread in the morning. I love the outside terrace and the breeze. I love the people that work here. I love the sights I see every morning I eat here. I love the orange marmalade. Here Buddhist monks are passing through hoping for alms from the various practicing Buddhist workers. It is a common sight, but this seemed to be so beautiful to me. The orange robes and the sunlight. Judging from the particular color of Saffron, these particular monks are progressing in their service. First year monks wear a muted-orangy brown color. Second year's progress to a brighter orange and Third years wear a brilliant saffron hue that denotes their level of committment to their chosen religion. It is always a sight to see the orange array of colors walking down the street.


I was able to catch up with my friend Ellerie for lunch. This is one of my favorite spots in Phnom Penh. It is a little restaurant & guest house across from the Taul Sleng museum called The Bodhi Tree. If you are ever in Phnom Penh, you must go there (that and "Friends," another FAVORITE spot). It is a great place to just sit, drink tea and play cards for as long as you want.

Mary Knoll Orphanage - Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I have a good friend from Los Angeles who has been living and working in Phnom Penh. She is with an organization that handles children that have been removed from slavery and trafficking. I can't really elaborate much due to security reasons for her, but she is doing amazing work in this field and helping in the healing to begin in these young girls. In the course of her work with Cambodian children, she has gotten involved in one of the local orphanages. Mary Knoll is primarily comprised of babies and youth that have lost their parents to AIDS. Some of the children have HIV and others have yet to test positive. There is always the hope, of course, that they will not contract the disease. She visits regularly and I get to visit with her when I am in Phnom Penh for work. I have fallen in love with the kids. There are two branches: one facility with babies and toddlers, and then another for 5 yrs. and up. I love to see them and just spend time with them. Most of them simply just love to be held. I have one baby in particular that I just love to see grow and make progress. I want to bring him home with me every time - Baby Pana. He is so sweet and timid and just a little angel. There is also a little boy that I call "Baby Srikant" because he looks exactly like my mom's friend Srikant from India. These are a couple of pics from this visit. The first one of Baby Pana and myself is from an earlier visit this April.