Out the Bus Window

What do we see?

Dust. Red dust everywhere. It coats the trees, the bushes, the animals, the houses and the people, turning everything red. It floats as if someone dumped loads of flour on the road.

People. People up in the early morning cooking breakfast over open fires. Children with only dirty t-shirts on watching as the bus goes by. People hanging their laundry to dry, only to have it covered in dust again. Adults driving on scooters with scarves or masks to block the dust.

Animals. Water buffalo lying in dirty pools of water. Cows crossing the road, not noticing they are almost hit by the bus as it goes by. Chickens, pecking at the ground in search of food. Flocks of ducks, perhaps good for a Christmas dinner.

Houses. Lining the road, all made of wood, painted with red dust. Some have thatched roofs, others have only a plastic tarp strung over it. Some are up on stilts, others on the ground amidst animals and rice fields.

The Market. The dirtiest place we've ever seen; worse than Africa. It's no wonder people get sick here. Raw fish are piled high in plastic bowls, more fish than what will sell in one day. What do they do with what's left over? Meat, swarming with flies in the hot sun. Fruit, delicious and exotic fruit. Clothes for all ages, and all sizes. People, covered in red dust.

We have just returned from Ben Lang in the north of Cambodia. As you've probably guessed, it was dusty. It was dustier than any place we've ever seen. There weren't as many Western tourists in this town, but the town did seem to draw quite a few Cambodian tourists. We had thought about doing a trek into the nearby National Park, but decided not to as it was expensive for what the trekking offered. Instead we spent some time at a crater lake and did some swimming. It was a beautiful area and the water was amazingly warm. We swam along with the Cambodians who all jumped in fully clothed (jeans and all). Other than that we spent some time with some fellow travellers just soaking up the town. It was a good place to experience true Cambodia.

Sorry, we still aren't able to post pictures. We're heading back to the capital tomorrow though, and we should have better internet/computer access there.