Seasonal floods are a blessing in rural Cambodia. The rich silt, fish, and water they provide have sustained life here for millennium. There’s a rhythm, a consistency, to these life nurturing flood waters. This week Cambodia, especially the capital of Phnom Penh, experienced a different kind of flooding that is becoming more and more common…
Author: Charles
Sick, again, over Pchum Ben
Pchum Benh is a long series of ceremonies honoring the dead. The week long holiday is actually the conclusion of these ceremonies when most Cambodians travel back to their ancestral homelands and perform ceremonies to honor their ancestors. I’ll write a more detailed post on this another time but in Phnom Penh it is the…
Rory and Marcia
Last night our new Peace Coordinators arrived at the Phnom Penh airport after a harrowing journey from the other side of the world. Their first flight had ‘technical difficulties’… Which is the tactful way to say that it collided with another plane while taxing at the Philadelphia airport. This delayed their departure from Philadelphia causing…
2020 Visit to Ta Prohm
Ta Prohm is my favorite of the ruins in Siem Reap province. This starts with the walk through jungle from the perimeter wall to the temple ruins. This post will be video and photo heavy, so please mind your bandwidth, but I included some quick text at the end offering some background on Ta Prohm….
2020 visit to Phimeanakas
Phimeanakas is one of the older temples in Angkor Thom built at the end of the 10th century. It sits in the walled enclosure of the royal palace and it’s southern neighbor is Baphoun. It was closed when we visited in 2020. It ended up being better that Phimeanakas was closed. After a long morning…
2020 visit to Angkor Wat
When Crystal and I visited Angkor Wat in 2007 there were thousands of other tourists present. We took the advice of a guidebook to start our day with sunrise at Bayon in order to stay one step ahead of the crowds but often still found ourselves surrounded by a throng. I’ve heard that the daily…
2020 Visit to Baphuon
Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Ta Prohm are the most famous temple ruins in Siem Reap province but the lesser well known Baphuon is just as worthy of a visit. Located in Angkor Thom, not far from the more famous trio, it seems unassuming from the road but it grows more impressive as you approach and…
2020 visit to Bayon
The Faces of Bayon Bayon sits at the exact center of the ancient city of Angor Thom, adorned with smiling faces looking out over the land in each cardinal direction. It’s widely agreed that Jayavarman VII, the King who built Bayon, served as the model for the faces. The same face features over the gates…
Phase 2 – Study Groups
Last week the girls started with their new school, The Giving Tree. The Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports evaluated this International School as being in Phase 2 according to their COVID-19 prevention guidelines. This means that The Giving Tree has resumed in person meetings with appropriate safeguards but not in large groups or…
#27 Street 504
One year ago we were so grateful to inherit a furnished house and not have to look for a place to rent while navigating new jobs, new school, new culture, and so on. The house never quite fit us as a family but it was still a blessing. Especially during crisis times, like a factory…