Best Laid Plans...

They may not celebrate Thanksgiving and Easter and Fourth of July in Cambodia, but there is certainly not a lack of holidays here. The most recent one was called P'chum Bun and I happily took a few days off for a little rest and relaxation. My friend, Eileen, and I planned on going to one of the northern provinces, but at the last minute, we had to change our location because of mass flooding throughout different areas of Cambodia. It is still a little unclear to me if we really would have been affected by the water, but it all got so complicated and messy (it's a long story) that we decided to go to the good ol' standard backup vacation spot...the coast.

I love escaping the busy-ness of the city, enjoying lazy days, sitting and reading, eating food right on the beach (...and it's cheap!), having great conversations with an amazing friend...what more could I ask for? Well, for starters, I would have preferred less rain. {Sidenote...it is the rainy season here in Cambodia. This means that on the average day, it rains for a couple hours in the middle of the afternoon. Let me assure you though, it is certainly not restricted to this schedule and it unfortunately rained a good portion of the few days we were there. And if you throw a typhoon off the coast of the Philippines in the mix, there is bound to be a bit more rain than normal.}

I am not necessarily a beach enthusiast, which is surprising since I am from Florida, but then again not so much since I manage to get sunburnt in record time. Even in the shade...it's a talent. This beach is very different from those that I always went to growing up, though. Lining the beach are papasan chairs, lounge chairs, umbrellas and restaurants, women walking around selling food, others offering massages, manicures and pedicures.
If you follow my blog, you know that I am doing a photography project, taking a picture each day that says something about what I did, what I saw, what I experienced that day. I have realized that many of those pictures are food. Sometimes out of the curiosity in my mind when it comes to food differences between the States and Cambodia. Sometimes out of pure delight because I love that particular food so much. My picture for Wednesday was a combination of both those reasons...

If there is a name for these wonderful little treats, I don't know what it is. I do know, however, that they are GOOD! They are little balls made from rice flour with a palm sugar filling, topped with shaved coconut and a brown sugar/sesame seed mixture. Every where we went, we were on the look out for them. We were so excited when we found the first lady, we paid her initial asking price and didn't even bat an eye really. The second day, as I went to purchase some, the seller was quoting a price to another customer...in Khmer. So when I asked how much they were and was given a price that was almost twice as expensive more than the guy two seconds before, I quickly (and gladly) used my Khmer skills to tell her that I wanted them for the same price the other guy got. I said it all with a smile, of course...and she smiled too as she realized that I spoke the language enough to get the local price instead of the foreigner price (which are never the same!)...but trust me, even not knowing, I would have paid the higher price for them. Yes, they are that good!

My language "skills" (I use that term loosely) did not kick in a couple hours later, though. It comes and goes apparently. I am going to be heading back to this same beach in a week and a half for a youth camp with English students from our church. It will be very similar to the one we took back in January (to read about it, click here). We tend to rent a section of beach to play games and eat dinner at, but we didn't have the phone number for the people that have their shop there. Eileen and I went to that same place and saw signs posted on the trees, all with the same two phone numbers, so figured these were for the owners.I came back to work yesterday feeling like I was going to be very helpful with this phone number that I got so we could plan and organize ahead of time (as I very much enjoy doing). I passed my phone to a co-leader and he had a strange look on his face and then showed it to someone else. There was a very confused silence in the room for a second...which was broken by laughter. This was not the phone number for the owners, but for a locksmith. You know, in case you lock your keys in your car at the beach. I don't understand why it was posted on all the trees, as if you would need to see it 10 times in one location. But there it was. After they told me what it said, then of course I could read and understand it, but only after everyone had a good laugh. But no one is going to be laughing if we lock our keys in the van next week!!