Photos from Recent Takeo Trip

On September 5, a Saturday, I went on a trip to Takeo Province in southern Cambodia. Savon, my co-worker and a student at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, was visiting her family back home. The following are some pictures taken along the way and at Savon's house.

From the roadside.

Paddy fields stretch mile after mile after we left Phnom Penh. We past through Kandal Province on the way.

The Khmer festival of P'chum Ben has started. It is equivalent to the Chinese ghost festival. According to my friend, pork is the "meat of the festival." People would make rolls out of sticky rice during this 15-day period.

Me standing in the middle of rice fields. According to the locals, this is actually a bad sign -- because the fields are not soaked with water. Growing rice needs lots of irrigation. Therefore, growing is difficult when rain is scare or when the field are located far from the river.

Chickens at Savon's home. Although one can rarely see formal income generation activities in the rural areas, these chickens (and the trees surrounding a property) are often the "hidden treasures" of local Cambodian families. I heard that the intrinsic value of a cow/ox can be $1,000.

Rice fields surrounding Savon's house. The field has become smaller and smaller in size as her sisters (four in total) marry. According to rural tradition, the bride's side must contribute land.

"The Oldest Coconuts" in Savon's house. When cut open, there would be enough meat to make a meal.

Savon's family -- Her father works in construction in the Prey Veng province because there are no productive jobs in the village. Her brother, about 20 years old now, is also in the construction sector. (More pictures and posts about this Takeo trip and a later trip to Kandal to be posted soon!)