The Year of the Rabbit
Last year I was in Vietnam for Tet, a fabulous experience. This year sees me in Siem Reap. The Chinese population here are not always very obvious, until Lunar New Year that is. All the Chinese homes and businesses are gaily decorated with red lanterns, red paper pineapples, the plants are covered with lucky money envelopes and new shrines are bought. It is amazing how many of the businesses that looks as if they are prospering are Chinese. The main effect for most people is that all the Chinese owned shops are closed. Even in Psar Leu, the main central market, many stalls are all shut up giving the usual bustling place a rather melancholy air. It has been fun to see the Dragon Dancers going around the different parties with their loud drumming and colourful outfits. They must all be exhausted as I saw them ready for action at 6.30 am when I was on an early morning bike ride and they move around all day for the three days of partying that is so essential for the Chinese community.
The Khmer's love to party too and count themselves very lucky that they have three New Years to celebrate. Their own is in April. The Khmer businesses are still operational during Lunar New Year but there is still time for fun to be had. The International Schools are closed but the Government Schools, such as all of ours are not.
I love to see places waking up and find an early morning explore on my bicycle very rewarding. It is endlessly fascinating to me just to wander in the market area and see motorbikes arriving laden with produce, the mass influx of people from the countryside on all forms of transport is always interesting too. The largest number of people I have seen on a motorbike is 5; well they are small here. Also good to see are all the push along carts laden with a great variety of snacks. These vary, to me anyway - from totally scrummy like the banana pancakes to utterly disgusting such as rice paddy snails served raw on a metal tray open to the full sun or the pig snouts served in a baguette.
There are actually few paved roads in Siem Reap and once you get of these there is an endless tangle of dirt tracks lined with homes of all types. Most are too narrow for a car to traverse and, being unpaved, bear more than a passing resemblance to Mongolian tracks. I cannot begin to imagine what they are like in the rainy season. I love to meander through all these and often get quite lost knowing that, eventually, I will see a familiar landmark. These explorations are always rewarding though with everyone, without exception, smiling and being friendly even when I seem to be cycling through their yard. This morning I came across a funeral and a wedding both play very loud music through tall loudspeakers, the difference is that the funeral music is slightly more serious, not much though and it has taken me a while to tell the difference. I got a puncture, more shades of Mongolia, which was a bit annoying but our ever helpful tuktuk drivers are repairing it for me.
The Khmer's love to party too and count themselves very lucky that they have three New Years to celebrate. Their own is in April. The Khmer businesses are still operational during Lunar New Year but there is still time for fun to be had. The International Schools are closed but the Government Schools, such as all of ours are not.
I love to see places waking up and find an early morning explore on my bicycle very rewarding. It is endlessly fascinating to me just to wander in the market area and see motorbikes arriving laden with produce, the mass influx of people from the countryside on all forms of transport is always interesting too. The largest number of people I have seen on a motorbike is 5; well they are small here. Also good to see are all the push along carts laden with a great variety of snacks. These vary, to me anyway - from totally scrummy like the banana pancakes to utterly disgusting such as rice paddy snails served raw on a metal tray open to the full sun or the pig snouts served in a baguette.
There are actually few paved roads in Siem Reap and once you get of these there is an endless tangle of dirt tracks lined with homes of all types. Most are too narrow for a car to traverse and, being unpaved, bear more than a passing resemblance to Mongolian tracks. I cannot begin to imagine what they are like in the rainy season. I love to meander through all these and often get quite lost knowing that, eventually, I will see a familiar landmark. These explorations are always rewarding though with everyone, without exception, smiling and being friendly even when I seem to be cycling through their yard. This morning I came across a funeral and a wedding both play very loud music through tall loudspeakers, the difference is that the funeral music is slightly more serious, not much though and it has taken me a while to tell the difference. I got a puncture, more shades of Mongolia, which was a bit annoying but our ever helpful tuktuk drivers are repairing it for me.
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