the ever delightful Cambodian kids, Preah Dah village

My interactions with the Cambodian children at the Angkor temples left me wanting more contact with the locals and all the villages I passed through on the way to the temples were calling my name. I directed my tuk tuk driver out toward the country and stopped at the first village we came to, Preah Dah Village. I asked him to drive ahead while I walked through the village, about 1 or 2 km. The friendly locals came out en masse. Mostly they were children, eager to sell the same souvenirs I’d seen at the temples. I hadn’t counted on that, but just employed the “get to know you” technique that I’d developed the previous days. Although they still occasionally piped up with a sales pitch, most of the time they just followed along, creating a sort of parade through the village.

I had noticed before in a number of villages I had passed new water wells with pumps. Signs on each of the wells indicated that name of the individual, most of them American, who had donated money for the well. The signs noted that the wells were part of the Angkor Clean Water Projects. That one could donate money to put a well in the yard of a poor Cambodian family thrilled me. According to the signs, the wells had all been installed in 2008.  

a new well

I spent at least two hours, maybe more as I lost track of time, wandering down the main road of the village, interacting with the friendly locals, distributing candy to the children and taking loads of pictures. In the middle of the village, I came across a school where about thirty children were playing a game. The rules, as best I could determine, were that one person was “it” and the children tried to run from one side of the court to the other without being tagged by the “it” person. They kindly let me join their game and for as long as my lungs held out (not nearly as long as theirs or as long as I’d like), I became “it” and just ran around the court chasing them all. After the game, they lined up for a photo and shouted in unison, “Muey, bi, bey” (one, two, three) to ready everyone for the shot. They were delightful and fun as the Cambodian children always are.

At the end of the village, I stopped in a little shop to get a drink of water and a light snack. A group of about ten Cambodian men who were gathered around a table enjoying beer and some munchies invited me to join them. I never turn down such invitations. The next thing I knew, I was eating cow stomach (dipped in the right sauce, it’s really not bad) and some delicious pork and drinking iced beer (the way all Southeast Asians drink their brew) with the guys. They challenged me to a drinking contest (or more accurately a “chugging” contest) and even “imported” a woman to drink with/against me. The woman orchestrating the entire event, Sonkon, told me that the celebration was in honor of her uncle. She and I made a really nice connection and, before I left, she pronounced me her new sister and told me that her son was my nephew. She invited me to come back again for a family dinner and party the next time I was in Siem Reap area. Needless to say, I have plans to return.

a little girl hamming it up for the camera

I finished the evening by getting a “fish foot massage” in Siem Reap’s night market. My friend Steve who had gone to Siem Reap a few weeks ahead of me had raved about this quirky opportunity and I couldn’t pass it up. You put your feet in a pool of thousands of tiny fish who swarm to your feet and eat the dead skin. At first, it tickled like mad and I didn’t think I could stand leaving my feet in for the 15 minutes I’d paid for, but after a minute or two, it actually started to feel pretty good. If you get a chance, I’d definitely recommend it.

If you’d like to chug beer with me, Sonkon and the guys (at least via virtual video), click here. You can also experience a “fish foot massage” by clicking here.

To see more photos of the delightful people of Preah Dah village,check out the “Photos of Her Adventure” page of my blog.