Cambodia Journal: Days 10 & 11
Thanksgiving Day. Thursdays and Sundays are days off from school, but the children stayed away from us. Even when we tried to engage in conversation, they ignored us. They knew. And without saying it, we had said goodbye the night before. The only one who talked to us was Chay, in his excitement about the crab.
Before 10, the tuk tuk arrived to take us and Wayne back into Phnom Penh. Wayne had reserved a room again at the Golden Gate, where he would spend the night and we would be able to leave our luggage during the day, since our flight was not until nearly midnight. Wayne seemed much more aware of it being Thanksgiving than I was. We went to the Garden Center Cafe, owned by the Aussie and frequented by westerners. A sign told us it would be open that evening only for guests who had booked for Thanksgiving Dinner. Wayne said that one thing he really loves and misses is pumpkin pie. The owner came in with a stack of pies for the evening dinner, and Wayne finagled a slice to his great pleasure. I don’t think I ever felt so happy for someone else, getting the food they longed for.
After dinner we went to some shops to look at silk and cotton scarves. One of the shop owners buys from Wat Opot weavers, and so we purchased several there. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and did what you do in hotel rooms-watched tv. It was all over the news about the attacks in Mumbai and people stranded at the Bangkok airport. Thankfully we were flying out through Seoul-Incheon. Strangely enough, we watched Michael Moore’s Sicko. In the evening we went to a beautiful neighborhood restaurant serving traditional Khmer food.
It was hard leaving Wayne, maybe a little hard for him, too, I think. We may have been the first visitors he had whom he’d known in his earlier life. Me, at least. I hoped he’d come with us to the airport, and he did, on our one last tuk tuk ride.
We had a 10-hour layover in Seoul-Incheon, which allowed us a couple of pleasures. This is the most passenger-friendly airport I’ve ever been in. On the third level are 2 hotels-simple but luxurious. You can rent a room for a minimum of 6 hours, base price $47. There are also free recliners and full-length upholstered benches for resting, showers, manicures, pedicures, massages and full-service restaurants. We rented a room, and enjoyed some sleep, while we awaited our second pleasure, meeting up with my nephew, Gabe, who is teaching English in Seoul this year. We visited with him for a little over an hour in a downstairs cafe, before he had to go teach. Every time I get together with Gabe, I appreciate him more and more, in part because we are both writers and have those arcane conversations, the nature of which some of you understand fully.
We reached home around 8 pm on Friday evening, our only delay having been in Denver for the first de-icing of the season. There will be one more Cambodia Journal entry, sharing after-impressions and what I know some of you have been waiting to hear about-the life changes.