Seat of Government

This is a typical municipal building–maybe the equivalent of a county courthouse in the United States–located in Kampong Thom Province. There isn’t too much to these structures, just two closed offices, one on each side, and an open meeting area in between. This municipal building might be unusual because there’s a car parked there.

Tangkok Pilgrimage

During the Pol Pot era, the Cambodian bishop and other men and women leaders of the Catholic Church in the kingdom died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Their case has been presented to Rome for official recognition as martyrs. Every year a memorial service is held in Kampong Thom Province where most of them died. Click here for pictures from this year’s ceremony.

Motorcycle Loads #261

Not all motorcycle loads are piled directly on the moto. Here is a motorcycle pulling a tuk-tuk that is fully loaded. Notice the jerry can of water on the side of the moto, behind the driver. Most motorcycles pulling tuk-tuks these days have one of these water containers which just drips plain water directly on to the motorcycle engine, adding a bit of water cooling to the air cooling.

Hat Lady

I was in a three-wheel tuk-tuk, the new motorized kind, and the driver went through the Boeung Tum Pun market area. We got stuck in a big traffic mess and this lady selling hats wanted to make a sale. She was half-joking but started offering me hats for 25¢ apiece. I should have bought a bunch to give to the kids.

Mushrooms

If we needed any further evidence that the rainy season is upon us, a bit of confirmation was afforded last week when we returned to the Deaf Development Programme office after a four-day holiday. While we were away, these–and other–mushrooms sprang up from the wooden threshold board in the doorway of our upstairs balcony! Apparently the early rains indicated to some dormant spores that it was time to bloom!

Not like the old days….

Squat toilets are not unusual in Cambodia—in fact, they’re the norm–but a squat toilet with a water tank for flushing! Now that’s unusual. I don’t ever recall seeing a squat toilet with a tank for flushing before. Usually there is just a barrel of water or a reservoir for scooping pans of water to flush everything down by hand. Another different feature of this squat toilet is its height. Because it has to accommodate the incoming water pipe for flushing, it stands eight or ten inches above ground instead of being flush with the floor.