Sights, smells and sounds

I only saw one farm tractor (Khmer translation phonetics: trac-tor-ah) that wasn't like this.  They're multi purpose and can be hooked up to anything, it's amazing what engine + wheels can do in the world.  They go faster on the highway than something offering this level of handling and control should be allowed to go.  The amount these can pull, and/or the number of people on a trailer that can be moved by one of these is simply astonishing.

These tractors, people quadrupling on scooters or driving them loaded to the hilt (I'll never complain about cross winds when cycling now that I've seen a Cambodian on a scooter transporting three mattresses in a stiff cross wind), kids doubling on bikes and screaming hello, rice paddies and those big water buffalo with birds standing on them (or pulling ox carts), Lexus LX 450's everywhere, minivans with motos, 9 people, and 900lbs of other stuff strapped to them, tumultuous markets, roadside snail tables in the hot sun, lazy dogs lying around doing nothing, hammocks, and people carrying things for sale by balanced shoulder pole (8 car batteries, 16 coconuts, etc.) are the most frequent images I remember of Cambodia.  Side note: the two most publicly visible western businesses I saw have one guy in common - Coca Cola and Dairy Queen... interesting.  Cadbury-Schwepps is also big.

The smells I'll remember of Cambodia are about 10% of the country constantly smells like incense, 10% smells bad (fish in sun, sewage but not exactly a lot of what we'd call sewers), and the rest was a mix of spicy delicious cooking, sea breeze, country air, diesel fumes, fresh chopped coconuts, excessively perfumed tissues.  Can a whole country smell hot?  I think so.

The sounds I'll remember are kids dropping whatever they're doing from 30 yards away and bolting full sprint at you yelling hello and giggling.  It didn't ever get old - unrestrained authentic glee isn't something that can be annoying in that context.  The constant beep beep of traffic.  Phea's laughing.  The baffling sounds of spoken Khmer, there's vowels and consonants in that language we certainly don't have.  The applause and cheering at restaurant dinners when the random electrical supply would come back on.  Tuk tuks and motos buzzing away.  Silence of rice paddies making rice under the baking sun, with a little breeze.  Muy, bee, BAI!!! (The very enthusiastic 1-2-3 any drafted picture taker goes through). 

By exception rather than experience, the sounds I'll never here other than my imagination of Tuol Sleng and Cheung Ek, of humans being destroyed, and the smells our guide at the site has smelled but I'll never have to.