"You Are Covered In Food"

I was eating a plate of crabs, their tenderness ensconced in lemon grass, garlic, and chili. The best food I've had in Cambodia has been a delightful mix of sweet, salty, and spicy--and this holy trinity is compelling.  Crabs are an event to consume, and it took me a very thorough 45 minutes to get at every bit of meat. And in my enthusiasm I had spread them over my person, apparently, as Buddy Lissy pointed out. We were sitting on a small island, Rabbit Island, on the coast of Cambodia.

Another one of those moments where I have to take a breath and just once again confirm and affirm: Yes! I am in Cambodia!

I like being in Cambodia.  And I am loving traveling.

Tonight we returned to Kampot from our little bus-trip outing to Kep. We had been told the bus would be coming at 6pm. However, when we padded over to the bus terminal, we were told by Mr. Ticket that the bus had already come at 5:15pm instead, and we would have to take the 7pm bus.  "The driver was new and he drove really fast," he explained, as if this would not astonish these two from schedule-driven America. Buddy Lissy and I raised our eyebrows and laughed about this and commenced yoga on the beach for another hour.

Our time in Kep was a nice rest from bicycling but we by no means rested. Yesterday afternoon we visited the Kep National Park. A Cambodian National Park! We hiked on well-maintained, enthusiastically-marked trails (so many trail indicators, in fact, that some locations were more confusing than clear!), enjoying bird-song and someone pollinating fragrantly. We saw 4 other people--all "bah-rong" (the Khmer word for "foreigner")--and Lissy and I reckoned that hiking in a park would not be a popular past-time for Khmer people--too much unnecessary work.

A smaller trail snaked enchantingly off the main one, and we struck up it. Soon we were climbing up some rocks at a gentle angle. Then the trail became a tight tunnel through the trees. Lissy and I were entranced, loving the forest, the green, the trees. Being around trees can be deeply calming and reset me into a place of peace. Then the trail got steeper; we were clambering now.

And then: there were ropes.

This was so steep that knotted ropes had been affixed to trees, so that we could heft ourselves up hand-over-hand, walking essentially vertically up the dirt and rocks. My feet were making mulch in my sandals and I was sweating an ocean--my entire surface area was flowing--and if I stopped to wipe my face two mosquitoes would extend their landing gear.

We climbed 200 meters.

It was amazing to work that hard and sweat that much. It was like wringing yourself out.

We came down out of the forest into a nun's Wat. Prayer flags were hung, endlessly, on the trees and around the temple. The flags were of all different patterned fabric: stripes, floral, even a leopard print. This place of female worship and celebration felt ancient and holy but also lively and playful. What a beautiful thing to come out into, after that climb.

.................

Tomorrow we wake before dawn and bicycle north--how odd!--towards (and then around) the capital city. Our beach times are done for a little while. Now inland, away from these beautiful touristy places, and on the road again!