Pagoda Time

I took a tuk tuk down to the post office to mail some postcards, and then for a stroll down the road to see the Royal Residence. It was less than Royal, not much to look at and no tour. Next to this was a huge garden greens area, with very little garden, just grass and trees. Pleasant enough place, but not many flowers to look at. There was however a beautiful pagoda so I took off my shoes and went in for a look. As soon as I topped the stairs, I was greeted by these two nuns who wanted me to sit with them. They took my  hand and then touched my belly, thinking I was pregnant. Embarrassing for me, but sadly not the first time nuns in Cambodia have thought I was pregnant...that solidifies my resolve to make some changes with my lifestyle when I return to Australia next week. Once they understood I was not pregnant, just had a fat belly, they had a little chuckle. I chatted with them awhile, which wasn't easy considering they had no English and I had no Cambodian...but we stumbled through. They then said a blessing for me and asked for money, so I gave them each some money. Then I asked if I could take their photo and they said yes, yes, sure. Before I could take the photo though they wanted to fix their attire. Once I took the photo they wanted a look at it and had themselves a chuckle over how they looked. So cute.

I had a look around the pagoda, there were two monks chanting with a family who had come to visit. There was a very disabled man clutching a garbage bag begging for money, so I gave him some. There was also a bit of a band getting ready to set up, and some fellas sleeping out the back. The centre of the pagoda was the shrine, where photos were forbidden, so I didn't get of that. After the pagoda I left and walked a bit through the park when I heard the band start so went back to listen to them for awhile. Then it was off to cool off at the fountain in the middle of the park where several children were playing. I played mimic with a tiny boy who was there with his mother, kicking his feet in the fountain pool.

the not so royal residence

It was a pleasant afternoon in the park...then it was time to head back to the hotel to cool off and think about supper...I'm tiring of thinking about where to eat out next. Would love just to make something for myself, but hotels do not come with eat-in kitchens! I'm tired of eating rice, have no interest in noodles as they all have some sort of seafood or fish sauce in them, so my options are limited. Have eaten a lion's share of fried spring rolls, dumplings, and ribs. Tomorrow Phnom Penh...