Mikes Thoughts

Seems like a weekend

These are the little days that could. My wife tells me we are going to the beach for some days in January. Koh Rong to sit in the bathtub temperate water, drink a little, eat some good food. There’s a walk or two to do there as well.

It has dawned on me with the boys being here that life is kinda unique yet not in the house. I like the boys a lot. The older boy Daran is a sweet and kind person. The younger one is more personal and to himself. Alin just likes having them here and having room for them each to have their own spaces.

This morning we both have some remnant cold and stuffy noses so we got some Khmer soup with plenty of garlic and chili. That stuff is like medicine. Like chicken pho in Vietnam.

And I write. Find little tidbits and bytes to gently fill up before I head out. I love the writing on the day. People that worry about finding stuff to write about I don’t get. Why not just write and let it come. Life in Siem Reap daily is easy to find stuff I guess. It’s an exotic and social place really. So to take advantage of it and surreptitiously watch and be watched more openly by a variety of people, I heat out.

to downtown and more

I found out last night that my bluetooth earbuds have an issue. Well one does. It won’t charge or play music. I buy all this stuff from UFO Store here. I get a year guarantee and I found the receipt. From April. Been 8 months. Good time for this to happen since. I can go today with the defective thingy and the receipt. I save all the receipts from there.

Good excuse this morning to get a tuktuk downtown for coffee and then walk over to the store later in the morning and do the exchange. I’ll let this go like I like doing and find my way in a bit downtown. A tuktuk costs about $1.50 unless I find a coupon to use. I could even walk home. It’s a nice walk.

See ya at Noi Cafe (again). The ride downtown always takes the same. The it’s coffee and writing and people. Watching the cafe cat making her way to the customers to get some finicky attention. There is this wonderful combination at this Noi that I love. By the river. Big windows to let in now the cool breezes. People doing people things.

Coffee here is a long term social agreement. There’s no limit on WiFi or time to stay. Doing whatever it is that makes a day longer. Sometimes words work. Talking is a murmur. The mix of Khmer and English. Motos go scooting by and the river knows it all. It has seen all the seasons of its life. From a rainy season where the currents seem to do an impatient dance to the slow and uncanny steps now. The river bisects the city. Bridges cross it every so often and it’s a scene of business, pleasure, food. Maybe even human relationships. Meeting people by the river and the old wooden bridges can happen fast. There, a mix of the expat and tourist. The flutter of newspapers and good and bad news to detract.

I can sit here and feel it. Find it with Noi Cafe and my coffee. It’s my morning. A Saturday. In a week or so a wedding party to go to again. All dressed up. Beer and food. Then we will go to the beach. A place where all this is replaced. I’ll take the bathtub water. The time spent doing as little as I can.

From now until then. Lets just starts with the coffee.