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Every Sunday morning this woman sits in the same place selling the same little trinkets made of bronze and ivory and luxury woods. They are statues of elephants and Buddha, rings, and just an assortment of things. There are no tourists here but there is always a Khmer person perusing the objects. Maybe it’s just a nondescript glancing over them while chatting or maybe the person is really interested. I don’t know.
It’s still pineapple season, and these, already peeled, are definitely tempting. It looks like the pineapple seller may have stopped to negotiate a trade with the seller of the other fruit. I don’t know what the smaller round golden fruits are nor do I know what the stack of green stuff is behind them. This is where it really helps to have someone along who can explain in English what I’m seeing.
I was surprised, the day after the official holidays ended, to see a lot of vans full of people returning to the provinces. The night before thousands had made the opposite journey back to Phnom Penh. Click here and scroll down to #5 to see the early morning departures.
Away from the tourist areas and the official celebrations, observance of the Khmer New Year took on a more laid back tone. Click here and scroll to #4 to see the photos.
Most shops and businesses were closed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday because most of the people were gone. But for those who stayed, there were still things to do. Click here and scroll down to #3 to see some of the Khmer New Year city scenes.
Before the deaf people and their families returned to their traditional villages to celebrate with their elders there, the Deaf Community Center had a celebration for all the deaf community the Sunday before the New Year exodus began. Click here and scroll down to #2 to see the photos.
Today we had our Easter morning liturgy at St. Joseph Church with a very large crowd and coffee and doughnuts afterward. Click here to see the pictures, but scroll down to Easter Sunday Morning.
Tonight was the culmination of the church’s liturgical year with the Easter Vigil celebration of Christ’s rising from the dead. Our English community gathered at World Vision. Click here for more and then scroll down to Holy Saturday.
Today was both New Year’s Day for the Khmer people and Good Friday for the Christians. Because it was a holiday the traffic was much less for those traveling to St. Joseph Church but then many people also left town for the long new year holiday. Click here and scroll down to Good Friday to see the service.
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