Rhapsody in Red and Blue

As we did for South Africa, we wanted to share a few photos of people we met and liked, but whose photos have not yet made it into any of our blog entries.

We will always remember the resilient people of Cambodia

Rey from Projects Abroad was always there when we needed him for advice on any activities, to call a tuk tuk driver, to take something to the orphanage, or anything else. His childhood friend Bunthoeun spoke English about as well as anyone we met.

Rey and Bunthoeun, in front of Bunthoeun's lumber shop

Han was one of our favorite tuk tuk drivers.  He is frequently used by Projects Abroad.  He picked us up from the airport, shuttled us around to temples for 2 days, and gave Sarah a back rub and words of encouragement when she was feeling ill (understatement).

Han in front of his tuk tuk at Khmer Village Restaurant, near Angkor Wat

Than took us to and from KSEDO in his tuk tuk each day.  He frequently dropped us off at the Internet cafe after work.  On our last day in Cambodia, he picked us up at the bus depot and dropped us off at the airport.

This is the side of Than that we normally saw

This lady taught Sarah a few apsara dancing moves during the "Hit the Pot" festivities at the monastery near Banteay Srei.

 The key is in the hand motion:  one palm up, one palm down

The family below lived across the street from our villa.  They had a small market, where we purchased many lychee fruit drinks, Cokes and lollipops for the KSEDO kids.  They washed, dried and pressed our laundry twice, for a reasonable fee.  They always waved goodbye when we left for work in the morning, and waved hello when we came back in the evening.

Sarah got a hug and a gift (scarf) from the mother when we left

Adam was our go-to tuk tuk driver when we were out at Pub Street after 9 PM.  He is the only one we trusted to get us back to our difficult-to-describe villa location!

Adam frequently drove his tuk tuk until 2 or 3 AM

Below is one of several groups of physically challenged musicians who played traditional music for small donations in front of various temples.  They all sounded pretty good. Many are land mine victims, while others are missing one or more of their five senses. There was a Land Mine Museum midway between Pre Rup and Banteay Srei.  We didn't have time to visit, but it definitely made us stop and reflect.

Land mine victim on the left; the other two may be blind

We met this lady near Banteay Srei in front of a house, where we stopped to take a photo. Another nice lady we met at the same house assumed we had stopped to take a photo of a man picking coconuts 60 feet up in one of their palm trees.  Actually, we just thought their house was nice.

This is probably a member of the household staff, not the owner

This adorable boy at the Internet cafe couldn't stop laughing, smiling at and "talking" to Sarah as she posted a few blog entries.

His mother was pleased at the attention he was getting

And there are so many more great people that we don't have pictures of!