Happy Khmer New Year!!!

"Junpoh chnam thmei"....(wishing you a happy new year)

It's that time of year again...a time to get out your water bombs and talcom powder and wish your fellow neighbour a happy new year. Although if you are not in Cambodia (or Thailand & Myanmar, as it's their new year also) then it may seem a bit strange to cover your neighbour's face in talcom powder and throw a water bomb at them when they're not looking. Could be fun if you're bored though.

As for Ben and I, we are enjoying a very long weekend and a deserted Phnom Penh. We have stocked our fridge with an abundance of food so that there is very little reason to leave the house...and we have settled in to celebrate our anniversary...not of our relationship but of having arrived in Cambodia. I'm not sure if it feels like two years... or more...or less...but two years ago it was that Ben and I arrived in this fine country...and two years ago it was that Steph took us to Wat Phnom and I got caked in talcom powder, as I watched Khmer youth play games and "court" one another. What an initiation!!!

So with two years having passed one might expect Ben and I to reflect on such times and note what has changed and what hasn't...perhaps even what we have learnt from being here...

What has changed?....Shopping malls are quickly emerging across the city...
What hasn't changed?....It's freakin hot in April!
What have we learnt?....(well not Khmer that's for sure)...perhaps that it's always freakin hot in April.