Happy Blessings

Orientation Day 2

Tuesday 6/16/2015

Today we took a tour around the city. We met Sreng on the first floor of the guest house. He had a fifteen passenger air conditioned van waiting for us.

Our first stop was Olympic Stadium. Despite its name the stadium has never hosted the Olympics. It is the home to the Cambodian national soccer team. They have a game tonight against Afghanistan. Our guide was worried that the attendance would suffer because the price tag jumped from a dollar 25 to 2 dollars for this game. The people are concerned about the money as much as the principle against such a large price jump. Surprisingly the stadium was open to the public we just walked right in. There were people preparing the place for tonight's game by making food and setting up tents. The stadium also included two Olympic size swimming pools. Even though our day was just beginning I was already tempted to jump in. I'm not sure I will ever get used to this heat.

We drove in a roundabout around what phenom we were told there are ashes of cremated people in the domes. Then we stopped at The Pagoda. The wat looked similar to the ones we had visited in Bangkok. But when we entered it was empty of people except for one monk who sat reading in a chair against the wall. There were large soft oriental style rugs lining the floor. There was of course a shrine to Buddha at the front. But I was surprised to see bright seventies style decorative lighting (like Christmas lights) adorning the head of one of the statues.

We were told by Sreng that we had the opportunity to be blessed by the monk if we wished. Jen, Sara and I were the only ones interested, so we knelt down in a prayerful pose as instructed. The monk sat in front of us and began chanting. He sprinkled us with water. When he was finished he took three bright red colored bracelets and dunked them in the water in front of him. Then he brought us up one by one and tied the bracelets to our left wrist. (I made the mistake of presenting my right wrist since I had a watch on my left, but was told that the right wrist is for males). This was so different than the Catholic blessing that I am used to. The monk spent a lot of time in prayer over us. I had no idea what he was saying but was later told that the bracelet was a blessing of happiness. What a beautiful experience that I wasn't expecting. Afterward we were lead into another building that contained a very small (alter) where we made a wish by placing a sick of incense in a bowl of sand. I found myself seriously wishing for a happy marriage and a child. Not that my marriage isn't happy now, I have just seen so many end in sadness and divorce. A happy blessing was perhaps just what I had needed.

          

The next two stops were not as meaningful or interesting to me. We drove across a bridge to  Diamond Island which was almost deserted during the day but apparently has an event center that is a popular spot for wealthy families to host events. It is one of the only event centers in the area that has a large car park to cater to rich vehicle owning guests. Then we went to the very small Kite museum. Kite making and flying is a traditional Cambodian practice, although it is more rare now. The kites often included a bamboo rod that would create a whistling sound when flown that could be heard throughout the village.

We stopped for an hour at the central market for lunch and shopping, although we only had time for lunch. The restaurant was a sort of fast food Korean bbq joint. I had a bbq chicken leg with fries and a peach soda for $6. We were obviously at a place that catered to westerners because this was co loser to western process. Our food took a long time so we didn't get a chance to explore the market. After waiting for everyone to gather we got back in the van and made our way to Liquid Bar. There we sat and had a refreshing Ankgor Beer. Sreng ordered a plate of fried tarantulas and beetles and invited everyone to try. After the ants and frog last night I wasn't up to it. Jen, Rannva and Natalie all gave the tarantula a try. No one was brave enough to try the large beetle. I was told the tarantula had a bad texture, I'm not sure if I will regret not trying a tarantula, but I most certainly wasn't up to it today. 

$6.50 lunch of grilled bow chicken with fries and a peach soda

$0.25 water

$1.50 one Ankor beer

$2.90 shampoo

$1.90 large lychee juice

$4 mojito

$3 audio guide at the killing fields

$3 $6 air conditioning spilt
Today's Total: $23.05