Faces of Cambodia

We encountered these young people in Angkor Wat. They were apparently waiting to perform but, unfortunately, the performance did not take place while we were there. I think I would have liked it.

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It was not uncommon to see young children playing and congregating around ruin sites. We came across these little ones during our visit to Ta Som.

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We met this wonderful artist at the temple of Ta Som. His name is Mong and he was one of several artists selling work there. We were drawn to him because of his beautiful paintings and his friendly smile.

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This is Koeun. He fashions beautiful hand-painted t-shirts in the remote, little-visited temple of Ta Nei.  Koeun explained to us that there is a pecking order for artists and craftsmen that sell in the temples of Angkor. Those with connections to police or other authorities are able to present in the larger, more-visited sites. Those without such connections, like Koeun, are relegated to the more remote sites like Ta Nei. At any rate, Ta Nei is a great site and Koeun is a nice young man who does lovely work. We bought two of his shirts.

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This woman is the Buddhist caretaker at Chau Say Tevoda. During our visit to this small but beautiful temple, she gently beckoned us into her chamber. We placed a few dollars in the tray and she spoke a blessing while tying red bracelets to our wrists. We bowed three times to the image of the Buddha and lit three sticks of incense each. There was a lovely, quiet peace within the chamber. Outside, there was birdsong, and there were cicadas, children laughing, and tuk-tuks puttering. Before we left, our host permitted me to take this photograph. It is one of my favorites from the whole trip.

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