Shoulder days

Much like the acclimating day we took at the beginning of this trip, today and tomorrow feel like shoulder days, or the border between vacation and regular life.  Rob has left for his mini vacation in Bangkok before he heads back to North America.  I am now on my own in the condo.

I did a fair amount of walking yesterday, which really helped get the circulation going on my feet.  It was nice to get out and see the neighborhood again from the vantage point of the ground.

I set out to find the elephant statues that I had seen from the tuk tuk the night before.  Displayed on the west side of the banks of the Siem Reap River, they are perfect photography subjects as they didn’t move.  

At 7 am, the city is awake and moving.  People are active in the homes and businesses, cleaning up, cooking, and getting ready for the day.  This similar level of activity happens in the evening as the sun goes down.  Things get rather sleep in the middle of the day, when the sun is too hot.

After a breakfast at our favourite restaurant, Khmer Kitchen Gate, we returned to the condo to gather our things.  Rob was off to the pool (at an accommodating hotel in the area) and I was off to Genevieve’s Fair Trade Village to do some painting.

Rick and Naret were very welcoming and allowed me to set up at the entrance of the store.  I decided to buy a portable easel, which I will leave with Heng to store until next building season.  I will also store a starter set of paints so I can easily jump back into it the next time we were in country with Bracelets For Buildings.

This painting started out as a black and white effort.  Then I started adding some blues and the rest of the colours followed.

It has a very Asian feel to it, but I can’t articulate why.  I will finish it up first thing this morning, photograph it, then figure out what I want to do with it.

Kent and Heng are off to the eastern side of Siem Reap today as the first pre-fab home will go up today.  The crew from Phnom Penh arrives with a full load of homes which will be gifted to a broad range of family stretching over many miles.  They go up in a day or two, compared to stick built homes that can take four or five days.

I have one canvas left.  I’m not really sure what I am going to paint yet.