Recently my wife and I took a trip to the photo shop 45km away in Pramaoy, the last outpost town with modern amenities like 12th grade, print shops, donuts, and things like that.

🐷 Pigs & Envelopes 🧧

I have never been to this print shop before, well, at least I don't remember, perhaps I did when we lived in Pramaoy for 6 months over 2 years ago. As many businesses do here in Cambodia, this place offers many services and products. The bread and butter of this place was clearly printing, photocopying, and photography for weddings, IDs, etc., but this guy was also slanging piggy banks, picture frames, and wedding invitation cards.

My wife was here to get some passport style shots for visa use and other things, so I waited in the "lobby" while she did her photos in a room with a ceiling lower than I am tall. I took a seat in the waiting chair and looked above me to notice a rubber strap made from a motorcycle innertube stretched tightly above my head and touching the top of my turban. I stayed here until a customer came in and created slack in the line, coiling the bungee on my upper body.

What I'm trying to say I think is that you should visit Cambodia, it's weird here, but in a good and amusing way. The thing is I've lived here so long I know why that strap is there. You can see my motorbike outside parked neatly along the edge, nice and straight, but Khmers will often park with their tire nearly touching the door, completely blocking the entrance and allowing for door to only open on one side. I don't understand why so many people do this, perhaps a lack of awareness, but the shop owner clearly is going to risk someone shattering his door on a motorbike fender or tire.

😶‍🌫️ Time To Smoke

After getting back home I wanted to cook, but as usual the ladies have ruined the seasoning on my wok, so I had to burn some layers back in and get my carbon steel wok back to glossy black. In Cambodia everyone uses aluminum and non-stick woks these days, but I'm old school and still use steel and iron to cook my foods. For this reason people have lost the art of taking care of cast iron and steel pots and pans. Sometimes I joke with my daughters that it shouldn't be the white guy telling Asian girls how to take care of a wok 😆.

Not satisfied with the amount of vegetable oil smoke I inhaled while seasoning the wok before dinner, I decided to make a fire afterwards and have some more. ChairWoman Meow joined me by the fire for a bit, but lost interest when she realized there would be no grilled corn on this night. The rainy season is coming soon, so campfires will soon be a rare thing to enjoy on special occasions like a dry day.

🛏️ Shameless Cute Kitty (In)Action 🐈‍⬛

So, I discovered this recently in my daughters' room, a cat bed of some sort. Apparently Monkey-B, my youngest daughter, made this cat lounge on side between the wall and her side of the bed. Her room is a mess, but she clearly spent time to get this little space just right for Ms. Meow, and on this occasion I can't fault her because our cat obviously loves it. Even when the girls are in school and I'm home alone, Meow often visits the cat lounge and takes a nap. Alright, that's all for now folks, just trying to get a post out because it's been a while.