That afternoon we stop at Le Lotus Blanc (The White Lotus) for lunch. This is an NGO run by the French and has a store as well where they sell products like clothes,bags made by destitute children and some of their parents. We are requested to first go to the store area and watch a video. After the genocide, when several charitable organizations entered the country in the early 80s, they found children living on trash heaps. Some of these children were rescued by a French NGO called Pour un Sourire d’Enfant ( For the smile of a child) and this center was started where the children were sent to school and also trained to work in the adjoining restaurant. I look at the bags and scarves and pick up a few; one of my cousins buys an outfit for her daughter. After half an hour we walk to the restaurant next door. The whole place looks beautiful with a lovely garden and blooming flowers outside.
This is another beautiful sunny day and the smiling faces of the young gentlemen serving us lunch warms us up. The morning mood slowly lifts from our faces. First they serve us a thick squash soup and follow it up with some excellent fish with vegetables. The young servers speak halting English but their smiles and demeanor win us over. We hang around in the gardens after eating and then it is time to get back to our hotel.
Today will be our last day here and then we leave early morning for Siem Reap to see the famous Angkor Wat temples. We rest for awhile and then the avid shoppers want to spend time looking around. So we all go to the central market area in the tuk tuks. I am struck by the beautiful flowers in the market area and we walk around. I find another NGO shop selling stuffed animals made out of cloth. I buy a cute looking rat and my cousin buys an octopus. We decide to have a simple dinner at one of the riverfront cafes. Lunch was heavy so a simple soup is enough and we go back to the hotel.
Early morning, Sol is ready with the van and driver. We have a quick breakfast, check out of the hotel and get on the road. We stop first to buy, corn and a lovely purple fruit called milk fruit. The vendors are right on the side of the road, like they sell in India and Sri Lanka. One of my cousins has an endless supply of snacks so with the fruit , corn and snacks we fill ourselves. We stop at a big shopping open market to use the restrooms. I am shocked and fascinated to see the women selling spiced and fried insects! The are also selling big sized melons that look like overgrown cucumbers.We pick up some pineapple and coconut water and get back on the road.
The colors of the museum building are bright and the entrance looks ornate and beautiful. Once we go in, it is easy to see the prevalent Hindu/Indian influence in Cambodia: statues of Vishnu and Brahma scattered around along with the Apsara and other fixtures of Cambodian art. I remember our trip to Thanjavur, South India and marveling at the bronze statues of the gods and goddesses, such precision, grace and style! These are different yet majestic and massive sizes. South-east Asia was definitely influenced by the Hindu kingdoms and had several Hindu kings rule there as well. I remember seeing a stone structure depicting the story of the Ramayana in my Cambodian friend’s home in the US.
Camino Real was a beautifully spread-out hotel. I had to take a lot of steps to go through the pool area and get to the rooms. My husband found himself all bitten by something on the river and goes to sleep after taking an anti-histamine. I have the evening all to myself. I roam the grounds and go around looking for the Canadians since this is my last chance to see them.I find them up on the terrace looking at stars! The constellations are bright and incredible. They explain that we are far away from city lights and also closer to the southern hemisphere. It is magical to see Orion’s belt, The Pleiades, the big and little Dipper. I see another side of the Canadians: they know a lot about astronomy and are good teachers. Being totally geeky, I love all this. It is almost 8pm, I eat something in the restaurant and go to bed after a long conversation with the two of them. I shall miss these guys who have gone through so much in life and have been friends from grade school. I shall miss their wry humor, their different accents, their intelligence and most of all their kindness to us. We exchange emails and bid our goodbyes.
Breakfast at the Catamaran is quite lovely. There is not a lot of variety which makes me savor the dishes more. I find I am attracted to their dark brown big cookies that they call Polveroso. I can see why, they powder in my mouth. We realize Arty will leave us today and we will have a new guide to get us to Tikal in El Peten. Arty and the boatman place all our luggage on the bigger boat and we sit on the benches to get off at a point where the bus will pick us up. We have spent the past two days on water! Soon we arrive where the bus will be waiting for us. Arty looks uneasy and once the bus comes and we get in,he tells us that there were wild dogs near the dock area and he did not want us to linger. Arty and Manuel get off in the middle of an intersection and we bid our goodbyes to them. The new guide is ready for us in the bus. Let’s call him Bugs Bunny. Bugs is eager to please and goes into the history of El Peten, the northern region of Guatemala. I am too sleepy to listen and catch snatches of his talk, when suddenly he points out the Belize border which is high up on a hill with flags.
After lunch
( My second post carries the first half of this trip) We get off at Livingston. I see Cacao plants for the first time here.Then Arty tells us about the food in this area which is very good and points at the menu on a van.
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