Who's in charge here?

What? Me steal your blog? Um... maybe.

Sneaky isn't he? He thinks he is anyway. At least we didn't have more discussions about my snoring. Er... not that I actually snore. He made that up. Yeah.

Moving on.

Tuctucs at rest. This is actually a rare sight. They're usually moving... or bouncing. Depends on the road.

I've made a few more forays into the world around me. I thought I'd bring you back a treat or two. You see, I learned something important about Cambodian culture - specifically, about their mindset on the economy.

Everyone wants to be their own boss.

What? How is this different than America? Well, I'll show you.

Made out of Jasmine, sold at intersections and used as car fresheners.

In America, everyone dreams of having a successful business and setting their own hours. In Cambodia, everyone has their own business, and sets their own hours.

Sounds like they've achieved what we foreigners couldn't, yeah? Well, not so much.

You see, there's no 'successful' in my statement about Cambodia. People have their own little businesses - ranging from selling crafts to agriculture to poking holes in coconuts and adding a straw. Thing is, they don't make much money at all. Almost none, for most of them.



Despite the poverty level though, people would rather be their own boss than make 2 or 3 times as much working for someone else. This is surprising, and sad. It also makes it difficult to get anyone to work for you. You need a plumber? He'll be here between 10 and 4, sometime in the next month, unless his second cousin stops by for dinner... then it will be march...

...ish.

Cambodian Tupperware party.

I want you to understand something though. These people are fiercely independent to a fault, but that doesn't stymie their creativity. I've seen tons of innovation and a lot of hard workers as well as the opposite.

Take for instance the door to door guys. They'll bring you anything from boiled pork to pottery (see picture) (cows are cute). In fact, if it can be loaded on a moto and transported, you can bet it's for sale.

What's on the bike? Bok Choy!!!

As I mentioned, there's still a lot of agribusiness here too. They grow several crops... there's rice, and lotus flowers (harvested, they make soup with the roots and such. It's fibrous - so much so that I had a bite and actually believed I'd accidentally eaten my beard!), rice, various grains and alcohol ingredients, and rice.

What? They eat a lot of rice. I personally have seen over 15 words for rice in their language, and have heard over 100 exist.

Boiled rice... fried rice... Rice gumbo... bbq'd rice...

There are also some very, very skilled workers here. In particular, woodworkers. Here, check this out:

You should see some of the chairs.

Doors to a master suite. Everything's caste system here.

Not every business is so glamorous. Most consist of selling bottles of water, 2 liter coke bottles filled with gas, or food sold out of a cart (no, no... no. Trust me on that one.). However, for the more successful, or at least prolific businesses, there's the market.

Aidan - fine purveyor of textiles.

We had the opportunity to visit the market not that long ago. This was the 'Russian' market - a touritst-y type place you may recognize if you watched a certain race-across-the-world show. Here, aisles of clothes, shoes, luggage, and other varied and colorful goods were displayed in a maze-like layout. Very confusing, but very cool. Bring a guide, watch your wallet, and oh, expect to come home with more than you thought. The sellers slip extra items in your purchase when you aren't looking.

Free? Where do you think this is? Romantic Marrakesh? No, it's added to your total. Good luck avoiding it - even veterans have a hard time.

You'll see a lot of designer items here. Not guaranteeing authenticity.

The market was fun, and we picked up some nice shoes for Aidan, and a snack for Jess and Ginny (M-I-L).

Authors note: I wasn't allowed to film anything in the food section of the market due to not actually being allowed back there by my family. Aidan and I stayed safely away. One day, when he isn't around, I've been told they'll let me see for myself... when I am ready for it. Can't you just wait for the tale of that adventure?







So, as you can see, I continue to learn more about this great people each day. I'll keep writing, if you'll keep reading.



Now, I just need someone to guard my blogs from cute takeovers...

Who am I? ...I'm Batgecko.