Kep cambodia

There is so much more I could write about Cambodia but I've got to move on. I can tell you three things that stick out as common throughout Cambodia though. Men, women and children all use the checkered scarf. Next is the driving. On any minibus or bus ride the drivers drove like maniacs passing everthing in sight and they contantly beep their horns. Non stop beeping! The third thing is that many, many of the women wear what we would call a mens style pj at home in a huge variety of patterns and bright colors. I was tempted to buy a pair myself. What a comfortable daily outfit!
I've got to tell you a little bus story. We were on about a five hour bus trip and shortly after it got underway a young woman got on with an older man who was obviously very ill. By this time the bus was full so the seating was short plastic stools placed down the aisle. Philip asked the young woman if he could help her get the man seated. Once he was seated on the stool we had a short conversation with her because she spoke a little english. She was on her way to the city to take her father to the hospital as he had been very ill for three days. About twenty minutes later in a very sweet voice she said '' Sir could you help me place my father in your seat?''. Philip ended up sitting in the aisle and I sat by her father!
The last place in Cambodia that we visited was called Kep. It was a village that became popular with the rich Cambodians and French in the 1950's who went there to escape the heat of the city.They built beautiful french style villas. It is one of the prettiest beach places I've ever been in. During the Pol Pot regime the khmer rouge bombed all of the villas but they are still standing which gives the place a surreal vibe.
Kep is famous for it's crab. Many people either fish crab or sell crab or cook crab for a living. We took the pictures of the crab boats and the women hauling the traps of live crabs to shore at a place called the crab market. The traps are quite beautiful.
There is a beautiful island called Rabbit Island just off the shore of Kep. We went there for the day and it was a real paradise. The only thing there were primitive bungalows and several primitive beach restaurants and a white sand beach. I did a little snorkeling and I caught a picture of Philip relaxing in a hammock. The first boat picture was taken there. The boat came to shore and the restaurant owner went down to the boat with her scale and picked out some fresh fish.
The two portraits were of friends we made there. The picture of me is with a young woman who ran the guesthouse we stayed in. She was so, so sweet. She gave me many presents while I was there and asked me if I would be her grandmother! I gave her a silk scarf and I bought a khmer english dictionary for her and her staff. When we were leaving she ran on the bus and gave me a bag and said please don't forget me. The bag had her sleeping pajamas which were old and worn in it......these people are so generous and they have so little.
The other picture is of some kids we made friends with. I helped the little girl read some english and practice from her old exercise book. It costs about 25 cents for an english lesson and her family can't afford to send her. I gave her the book I had been reading and bought her a dictionary too. The book was called Mozart's Sister and it was way too old for her but she could pick out words and was very eager to read. She told me she wanted to be a doctor. She was smart as a whip. She had no parents and lived with her grandmother.
After a wonderful time in Kep we headed for Phnom Penh to take a slow boat to Vietnam. Other than the crazy bus driver the drive was incredibly beautiful. There were many rural towns and villages and lots of the people drove tiny little pony drawn carts. They were used for all kinds of work including hauling what looked to me like maybe a wheelbarrow full of gravel. They were so small!