Mikes Thoughts

today I walk

This morning my wife decided it’s almost time for our trip to Battambang for some days. She wants away but not too far away. Battambang takes 3 hours in a minivan and the city is a nice alternative to the busier Siem Reap. We had had her sons living with us while they search for work and our mom too. Mom’s the best treat for her wonderful hugs.

Getting out this morning was a desire and a need. The walking here gets me to coffee out and just sitting in some coffee house here. Today is Ur cafe. Coming here is like the distance from this quiet chair to a busy road outside. The walk here seems to give me the first taste of a morning. Now it’s dry season here so we have beautiful blue sky days. This will last until about April when hot season comes. Then we have the other half of the year taken with rainy season.

Walking in it all means enjoying whatever Cambodia feels I should have on a day. Today though I get this. The coffee shop is popular either locals so rarely see barang people here. It’s also farther from the tourists so they would not know. There are school teachers that work around here that are expats. Met a few a long time ago.

The other part of the walk is after coffee. That part stretches out today to Wat Bo yet again. Given the chance I’d live there. It has this wonderful cultural and life feeling. Small coffee places. Street food stalls. Barber and beauty shops. With a variety of residents. A lot of barang people live there too. So I walk through it often. Sometimes down side roads from dirt to concrete. Other times down the main road. From there to the river is a few blocks.

For me the district ends when I reach 7 Makara Street.

wat bo

Cutting south through the district gives me this wonderful cross section of the city. If you visit here a really nice walk is up the river to one of the bridges and then back down through the district. The river walk area is popular with everyone but the little side streets in Wat Bo will win you over.

Just south of Wat Bo is Wat Damnak. Both are sites of beautiful temples hundreds of years old an open to visit for free. Just dress responsibly and I try to be respectful when I go. Sitting inside at a bench is a joy. Most have wonderful parks and grounds that are kept very clean. Motos do not usually enter either. Another plus.

So that’s a little walk and some Siem Reap for you. The town is big enough to just go in and find new things all the time. I especially like finding new coffee shops and mark them to visit on Google Maps.

Now I’ll get back to coffee.