Today I had taro frozen yogurt in my neighborhood parlor. So what does that have to do with my blog? Simply, the taste took me back to a journey through seven countries I remember with great nostalgia and fondness. So it seemed so very right to get back to this blog to relive and share the second half of it even when it has been three months since I returned from it.
Last I left you was in Cambodia with a visit to the Killing Fields. Less somber areas to cover from now on.
We leave Phnom Penh today and head over to Siem Reap. Thaly –our only female guide- is there to see us off. People are well into their day. 
The road awaits us and it will be an all day trek. 
We will go through Kampong Cham and Kampong Thom provinces. Stupas along the way… 
Of course we must stop at a “happy house” (aka: as bathroom). I don’t need any more “happiness” so I roam. There is such peace in this place. Wish we could just eat here. 
Orchids hang from the balcony. 
Reminds me of all the orchids my mother grew in her backyard. There you go again Asia, a million miles and time period away and you are bringing me closer to my past than I’ve been in a while.
We pass by numerous lotus plantations. The lotus plant is not only beautiful but every bit of it is of use. Every part of it can and is used for medicinal purposes. At the side of the road we spot a vendor selling its fruit. Some in our party are excited to see it since they used it in salads and have not been able to see it any other place outside of India. 
But the lotus flower is so beautiful that one almost forgets the rest.
We stop and gawk but must continue on toward spiders and crickets and water bugs and lots more creepy crawlers. When we get there, one tarantula decides to check the time on Tom’s watch. 
Our tour guide approaches me with it and I don’t think I’ve ever jumped back as quickly as I did then. Some of his species where not as lucky as it was and ended up in this huge pile on the side of the road, fried to a crisp. 
Yep, I actually had one –all I could taste was the rancid oil it had been fried in- though I decided to pass on the crickets and water bugs…
A kid, trying to sell us some green mangoes, demonstrates how the crickets are yummy too. 
I wasn’t buying it. Which says a lot, for this kid could sell you anything! 
He had a way with words and his expressions said so much. 
And he had a lovely smile. 
Yep, I bought a bag of mangoes.
As we leave a vendor is bagging some tamarind. 
We are back on the bus. Our next stop is a stone carving village. No matter what culture, children always like to play.
Carvings are impressive. 
Some oversee the abodes of the ones that carved them. 
It’s almost hard to appreciate the skill it takes to carve them when there are so many together.
But it is a skill passed from one generation to another. 
The larger the piece the more valuable it is and the more skilled the carver has to be.
But again, it is the faces that captivate me the most. What are they thinking? What is generating that expression? What is he reacting to? 
After a bit more of a ride we stop at Prei Proh Village where lunch is riverside. 
After which we visit the ancient bridge of Kampong Kdei. Three things I am particularly fond of photographing: bridges, windows and doors.
I am happy snapping away.
Ah, but I forgot: faces, I love photographing faces, specially when they are not aware of it.
This man waits for a tourist to offer a ride to. 
And not having found one returns to just waiting. 
So does his horse. 
A bit more of a ride and mid-afternoon we arrive at Angkor Home Hotel whose lobby can’t be any more soothing to the soul. 
At night we go to a Angkor Mondial restaurant and show. The dancers were amazing. A characteristic that stuck to me of the dance is how the women, while dancing, bend their fingers back so much that it seems that they will break.
Tomorrow we will go to Angkor Wat, a visit I have been looking forward to throughout the trip!
Lidia The Explorer 