Kiva (+ Phnom Penh) Wrap-up

These past 10 weeks working in Phnom Penh will most certainly prove to be one of the highlights of this trip. Interactions with people are always one of the key ways by which I ultimately rate a country. If the people are downright unfriendly, I'll warn other travelers away. If they're stand-offish then I'll probably never return. If the people are feisty or challenging in some way, but they engage you, then I forewarn other travelers but urge them to go, and I'm likely to return myself. But if the people are downright friendly, smiling + curious then I never want to leave! The Khmers are these kind of people. It's not only the people that we work with at Maxima, but the Kiva borrowers - poor people living in thatched homes with little possessions - the ladies at the market, the smiling moto-dup drivers (both of who refreshingly don't give you the hard sell here). Even the poorest people here have dignity and there's little outright begging. Most people want to WORK and they'll create any little business or work with any skill they possess to earn a living. (Photo: Man plays traditional instrument at the ferry crossing)

Just as much as the people factor, Cambodia has a scruffy charm that we really dig. Besides Angkor, the country's not big on "sights", but the day-to-day "slice of life" is a treat in and of itself. And that brings me to what a joy it's been for us to settle and actually LIVE here for a brief while. Now that we're on the final countdown of our time here, I find myself noticing all the little things I like about this place and have endeared me to it. Things that I'm really going to miss...

I'm going to miss the blind man that plays every morning, sometimes struggling to be heard over all the OTHER noises, at one of the ferry crossing we sometimes take on our field visits. (See photo above)

I'm going to miss the slow pace of village life. Two to three day per week, for the past 10 weeks, we've been getting WAY off the beaten path into villages you'd never see without a guide. In most, there are virtually no cars and few motos. Most transport is done by bike, foot or other more ancient modes of transport (See photo). Both people and goods are moved this way. Whether it's 2 to a bike piled high with cut grass or a 2-wheeled cart pulled by hand, or horse, to move bricks, sacks of rice, or a dozen people... You just never know WHAT you'll see! And that sure keeps it interesting.

I'm going to miss being able to hop on the back of a moto-taxi (for the cost of 50 cents for 2 people) and quickly weave through town getting from one place to the next.

I'm going to miss the countryside of expansive rice fields dotted with sugar palms. And the docile, prehistoric-looking water buffalo that lumber down red dirt lanes, caked in mud and sniffing like crazy at us our unique scent. (Photo: THE classic Cambodian countyside scene)

I'm going to miss sweet, old people that live their lives with dignity and are actually still REVERED in the community for their knowledge. Many still shuffle down the dirt lanes barefoot or putter around on their bicycles to see what's going on in the neighborhood. Once they get older and their health begins to fail, instead of being shipped off and forgotten, they live with their families and laze the days away on a hammock in the warm tropical air. I certainly wouldn't mind ending MY days that way! (Photo: THE classic Cambodian coutyside scene)

I'm going to miss wild, curious children that remind me what a joy it was to be a kid myself.

I'm going to miss simple, teak-wood stilt homes. They've got loads of charm and are perfectly suited to the toasty climate here. (Did I mention I'm going to miss the warm weather too?!) As there are few tropical trees remaining in the country, these homes will eventually disappear after these last finally fall apart, or the family's save enough to replace them with brick + concrete - the wave of the future. For now though, when traveling through the countryside you KNOW you're in Southeast Asia. (Photo: This home belongs to a family who sells second-hand shoes. See display on front steps.)

I'm going to miss the markets with fresh, tasty produce and other unique items in abundance. There are 3 or 4 that we shop at quite frequently and have a friendly rapport with some of the vendors now. Lots of this stuff we just can't even GET at home - jackfruit, durian, many varieties of bananas, special herbs, fresh (not canned) bamboo shoots + baby corn, smoky tofu, Vietnamese coffee, broken rice, fresh green peppercorns...

I'm going to miss cooking for ourselves. We love it at home, and but we've loved it here even more because we were absolutely SICK of eating at restaurants constantly by the time we arrived. From the day we moved in to our apartment we've been cooking up a storm and entertaining too. And scoring an apartment with a killer outdoor terrace overlooking a neighborhood of Phnom Penh has made it that much better! (Photo: Dinner of pesto pasta with wine on the terrace)

I'm going to miss the Mekong - a river we've revisited many times, in different places and countries, over the past year. Beautiful and enigmatic, it provides millions with both life and livelihood. Maybe you just have to see for yourself, the sun setting on it as the nets of fisherman sparkle in the crimson light, to understand.

I'm going to miss having open access in to people's homes (something we've only fantasized about!). With our jobs at Maxima - we're welcomed in, have an interpreter, and get to ask all kinds of personal questions about people's lives, work and family. What could be better?! We've learned a TON about loom weaving, fishing, farming and all manner of super-small scale businesses. And we've really gotten to see for ourselves how the other half lives and that microfinance DOES work.

So yeah, it's going to be hard to leave, both Cambodia and Southeast Asia in general. If you've never been, it's a DAMN nice place and you should REALLY get your ass on over here! And if you have, well then, you know JUST what I'm talking about. Someday back in SF we'll have to sit down over a Sierra or a glass of Pinot and reminisce. Aaaahhhh.

Check the "link" to the final batch of Phnom Penh photos