have I mentioned how cute Cambodian children are?

silk island

We visited a traditional weaving village that is about one and a half hours outside of Phnom Penh by boat and one of the women let me have a turn for a while on her machine.  I am attempting to make a traditional Khmer scarf, known here as a kroma.  I asked her how long she thought it would take me to finish and she said 2 weeks... it usually takes her 1 1/2 days... guess I shouldn't quit my day job.

Also, check out my sweet flip flop tan... don't think that will fade for a while!

The Killing Fields and S-21

Often when traveling around Cambodia and witnessing it's beauty and meeting friendly people it is easy to forget about it's recent troubled past.  In the 1970's a communist government, the Khmer Rouge, came into power and brutally and senselessly murdered over 2 million Cambodians.  Today I visited the Killing Fields, where over 20,000 people were murdered and buried in mass graves and S-21, a former school that was was used as a prison and torture center during the Khmer Rouge.

A memorial to those who died at the Killing Fields

S-21

Read more at:

Khmer Rouge History

Khmer Rouge Leaders on Trial

sunsets and flowers

Olympic Stadium

 Phonm Penh's soccer stadium is open every evening for anyone to come to run, do aerobics, play volleyball or badminton, socialize, sell food among many other activities.  It is fascinating to visit for people watching and because it is a great place to watch the sunset.  As a surprise during my most recent visit there was actually a soccer game going on!  That is a more unusual sight than a group of fifty Cambodians of various age and fitness levels jazzercising!

another temple...

There are Buddhist temples everywhere you look in Cambodia.  Luckily, the monks who reside there are very welcoming to guests who want to take a look around.  It is unbelievable that there are so many ornate buildings in even the smallest of villages.

Angkor Wat

 Angkor Wat is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and it is definitely worthy of being on that list!  I was able to go view the sun rise at this amazing temple.  I didn't stay to explore the grounds further but I will be back in 2 weeks and can't wait to see more!