October 2017

Hi Guys It seems I have been away a long time. Am getting tired living out of a suitcase and dragging my camera gear, computer and accessories around. That’s the life of a wanderer. I really need to do some mopping. What is mopping? Mopping is a Blauism. What is a Blauism? A Blauism according to Olivia is something that I make up and believe. Mopping is a process that I need when I get overly tired and need to just drag around and do nothing. I yearn for one day of mopping, but that’s not in the short term. We all met at around 8 AM for breakfast. We were supposed to leave at around 10 for our next adventure, but all vehicles were not allowed on the streets and all the people were forced to walk to three shelters outside of town. This was a drill to prepare the residents for any emergency where they need to abandon town. Imagine doing this in NYC? There are people who will not evacuate no matter what is coming such as a hurricane. The “Eagles Nest”, our hotel was exempt for walking to the emergency shelters. We spent the morning in classroom. Andy had each of us put ten images on a memory card that we did not edit yet and he would put them on his computer that was hooked up to a portable projector. Each of us was then asked what we would fix, what we liked and disliked and how we would fix each image. I always get something out of these classroom sessions. Besides studying my images, I also see the other participants work and Andy is a great teacher and instructor. As a side note, Andy was one of three beta testers for lightroom when the original version came out ten years ago. We brought along a light lunch and all of us got into three all terrain vehicles for our next adventure. We drove for close to two hours over rock roads with huge ups and downs like a roller coaster. One of the vehicles stopped in town to pick up Aisophan. Aisophan is a sixteen year old Mongolian girl who starred in the full length motion picture “The Eagle Huntress”. Aisophan was in school in town. One of her roles is to care after around 100 younger girls over the weekend who live at school. The Mongolian culture and specifically the tradition of Eagle Hunting, was always men only. Divorce is almost non existent here and couples never live together before marriage. Marriages are not arranged anymore. Aisophan was trained by her father to be a eagle hunter. Her father is a great eagle hunter, but rarely participates in festivals anymore. Aisophan then was entered in the festivals and won many competitions. A foreigner saw her at one festival and the idea for the movie was hatched. The movie received great reviews and was seen all over the world including all the major cities in the US. Here we were going to have a private photoshoot with her and her father dressed up in traditional clothing with an eagle and horse. We finally arrived at their winter home in a very isolated valley deep in Western Mongolia. It is hard for me to describe their home and the isolation around it. We were first led into their new home and met her father, mother and some of their other children. The family brought in cookies, cakes and other home made dishes to sample. They also brought in a large kettle of tea and a plastic bucket filled with airaq. Remember what airag is, the local drink that is mares milk. Everyone in the group passed on the airag and accepted tea and then my time finally came. What drink should I choose? Most of us have already guessed my choice knowing me. It was airag for me. The mother filled a large bowl of airag for me. There were chucks of fermented mares milk in the bowl. How can I describe the taste? It was sweet and sour at the same time and very smooth. We then went around the room telling the family our names and our wives names, how many years we are married, how many children we had, what were their names and grandchildren names. By this time I had finished my bowl of airag and asked for another bowl. It was that good. Aisophan commented that she was impressed that I had the airag. We then drove a few miles into a huge plateau surrounded by mountains. We then took lots of photos of Aispohan called her eagle and galloping with her eagle. Her father then took the eagle and horse and galloped towards us. He was magnificent and beautiful at the same time. A once in a lifetime treat. To view this with no one else around was spectacular. Andy and Kevin blew me away again. We then took pictures of them together with the eagle and Kevin took some of me with the father. It was now time to say our goodbyes and head back to the “Eagles Nest” in Olgii. A long drive back over rocks and uneven terrain. The driver told me that they go through lot’s of tires and put very low tire pressure in their tires. We then stopped to take pictures of a landscape and there was also a large mound of rocks with blue cloth wrapped around the mound. Zaya told me to pick up three rocks and walk around the mound clockwise and throw one rock onto the mound each turn. She told me that this mound was originally put in place by a Shaman. Shamanism is practiced here. What is Shamanism? Shamanism is an ancient healing tradition and way of life. She told me that Shamanic teachings focus on our connection with nature and all of creation. The blue cloth represents the sky and when you put your rocks

Hi Everyone Finally got back to civilization if you could call this civilization. While everyone was having an exciting day on the other side of the world, I had a normal day in Western Mongolia. What is a normal day like in Western Mongolia? First let’s start with last night. My second night in a Ger tent with Andy, Kevin and Kip. Kip is an Australian living in Singapore. Have you ever slept with a grizzly bear? That’s what it is like sleeping in the same room with Kevin. His snoring can wake up the dead. The two girls in the next Ger tent, Jenn and Zaya, heard his snoring. Andy snores more like a purring cat. Kip and myself both tossed and turned. Furthermore, every two to three hours, a Kazakh woman would come in and take out the burned out dung and replace it with new dung and relight the fire. One problem. The tent turned into a sauna. It got as hot as a dry sauna. The first time we all got up and left the door open to let the hot air out. I finally fell asleep and was woken up by the same woman, except Andy and Kevin continued their symphony of sound. By then, it was around 5 AM and I decided to walk to the local Starbucks. Couldn’t find the Starbucks and asked the sheep when it was. They pointed me to the goats and told me that they would lead me there. So I got no more than 2 1/2 hours sleep. Some of you might want to know what the bathroom was like. Someone dug a hole in the ground and put a small orange tent around the hole. One problem. The zipper was broken. Oh well, the view was great. Seeing sheep, men on horseback and goats parade past you as you enjoyed a Mongolian toilet. Finally breakfast was served at 7:30. A wonderful breakfast. Our Kazakh hosts made us Russian pancakes. Russian pancakes are made with yogurt and delicious. Try it. It was now time to pack up our clothes, camera gear, computers and all the accessories. My portable charger or brick served me well and I had all my camera batteries, iPad and Mac charged and ready to face Western Mongolia. I will miss the Ger tent and great bathroom facilities. Maybe Olivia will let me put a Mongolian toilet in our backyard. We then drove around ten minutes over rocks and huge ups and downs. Our Kazakh hosts had arrived early to the local Mongolian Eagle Hunters Festival and set up a Ger tent for us to have lunch, warm ourselves and rest during the day. Most of you are aware that I have been to some far out places and seen some way out stuff, but the Mongolian Eagle Hunters Festival is high up on the list. Andy and Kevin outdid themselves. I was in awe of the spectacle. I will try to describe what I witnessed, but no matter how I describe it, I will not do justice. My pictures will describe the scene better. The locals set upon their version of a flea market where they were selling hand made clothing, rugs, hats, gloves and other items such as knives, covers for the eagles heads, horse whips etc.from rugs laid out on the ground. My hosts brought some of their wares. I bought Olivia a warm looking long down vest and handbag that were done in the Kazakh Russian style and of course, hand made. They were so cheap, I was almost embarrassed to pay their price. The Eagle Hunter festival started. The first thing that all the hunters, on their horses with their eagles did, was all gathered together at a long bench and various older people talked in Kazakh. Then a young Kazakh man sung a song in Kazakh and Mongolian women threw candies at the eagle hunters. The eagle hunters then lined up and paraded around with some of the eagles wing spread. My cameras, I was shooting with two, were constantly clicking. The eagle hunters then went up a large hill with their horses and eagles. When the eagle hunters hunt, they hunt in twos. Two hunters, two eagles and two horses.  One hunter released the eagle from on top of the hill and the other eagle hunter wanted for the eagle to land about one half mile away. The receiving hunter called out to the eagle in Kazakh and most of the eagles landed on the receiving hunters arm. The eagles were so graceful and the hunters were dressed up in beautiful traditional dress. There were also a few women eagle hunters. More on that tomorrow. It was now time for lunch. We were served Mongolian dumplings for lunch with mutton and vegetable soup. Great. Then a real treat came. Andy and Kevin had each eagle hunter, with some of their children and some eagles, come into the Ger and pose for pictures. There were 53 of them. I took some pictures and Andy promises to send us a collage of them all. The next event was something that most of us only hear about. Mongolian tug of war. What is Mongolian tug of war? There are two horsemen and one referee all on horseback. There is a goat carcass on the ground. The referee has each horseman hold the carcass and they tug back and forth on horseback. The winner pulls the carcass away and then throws the carcass in the air. The tugging back and forth between two horsemen with each holding a goat carcass cannot be described. The horsemen moved and some of them even advanced through the crowd and we had to scatter to let them through. My cameras clicked and clicked. Got at least two screen savers. Imagine seeing a picture of this and asking “What is going on?” There were only about fifteen foreigners at this festival in the middle of no

Mongolia /day 4 Hi Guys What’s new around the world or should I ask? Being in Western Mongolia without access to internet or cell service cuts you off from the world. The Kazakh people don’t care what is happening in the world. Imagine living without internet and cell service. These people do not care about the internet and cell service. So what was it like spending my first night in a Ger tent? It is very cold here and by the way, snow is expected tomorrow. Fell asleep around 11 PM and was woken up at about 4 AM when a Kazakh woman came in to put a supply of dung in our stove. She first took out the waste and then brought the new dung in. The ger got very toasty and I even did not need a blanket for a while,. We all met in the dining room ger and had coffee and biscuits. It was then up in the mountains to take pictures of five eagle hunters. There is a symbiosis that exists between the eagle, hunter and horse. Each know their role and they work together. It was beyond cold this morning. It is very windy here and my fingers froze. We took lots of pictures of the five eagle hunters together and apart. Some were while they were moving and some were taken as they released their eagles. An awesome location and shoot. We then went back for breakfast and rest. When you do a photo workshop you normally rest and or do classroom sessions with the leaders between 11 and  around 3 or 4 o’clock. At 1 o’clock we had lunch. The Mongolian people consider it a sign of disrespect if you do not eat their meals. Even if you are full, you should sit at the table and eat a little. Such was awesome. First started with hot vegetable soup. Delicious. Then the main course of mutton. The mutton was barbecued on hot rocks and then brought into us on a large platter on top of the hot rocks. After we finished the mutton, which was beyond delicious, we were each given a hot rock to hold in our hands. We were told that this was good for your blood pressure. I then walked around this small village and wandered into one house. There was an elderly woman frying dough like zepole. She offered me a seat and offered my some of the fried dough while  we talked. The people do not eat bread, but this fired dough made in all different types of shapes and thickness. We talked about how she lives here and I was amazed hearing about her world versus our world. After I walked back to the dining and meeting ger, Zaya and her staff took only me on a ride throughout the mountains. No pat ed roads, but over rocks, stones and various ups and downs. At 3 PM we all gathered for our afternoon shoot. We drove about ten minutes out to a river and five eagle hunters met us there. By the way, these people have been eagle hunting for over twelve hundred years. Two other participants saw two eagle hunters bring back a fox to the village. They gave the head to the eagles as a reward and skinned the rest for its fur and hide. They make hats out of the fur and hide. Very popular with them. The five eagle hunters galloped through the river individually and we took various shots of them doing this. What you do is you shoot in burst mode meaning that you take lots of images as the eagle hunter gallops through the river. We then took portraits of them with their horses and eagles. Got some great up close portraits. Had dinner and it is now time for me to crawl into my ger, go under the blankets and get some rest. Tomorrow we are going to a private eagle festival where there will be over fifty eagle hunters competing and vendors selling things that they hand made. We will be the only foreigners there. A v very rare opportunity to see and experience an event that outsiders rarely see. Tomorrow night will have internet access and partially fall back into the REAL World Love Larry

Mongolia Day 3 Hi Everyone No internet. In the middle of outer Mongolia. How did I get here and what is here? We all met at 4 AM for our 6:40 flight to Bayan-Olgii. Flew a prop on “Hunnu Airways”. We we switched from Atila Airways to Hunnu Airways. The Hunnu are a group of ethnic people in Mongolia and related to Atila the Hun. Three hour flight. During the course of the flight the stewardess served us a cheeseburger. I passed. Looked horrible. After she was finished serving everyone, she then picked up a baby who looked to be about 6 months old and proceeded to walk up and down the aisle with him. Imagine a stewardess in the US doing this. I was sitting next to Andy. Poor Andy. While flying there I was constantly looking out the window. The landscape reminded me of the Andes Mountains in Peru. There were mountains and most of them were covered with snow. We finally arrived at Bayan-Olgii Airport. Very small terminal. The ground staff unloaded luggage from the plane and put them in wagons that were hooked up to a small motorized cart. The cart and wagons stopped at the terminal and we all had to get out and retrieve our luggage from the wagons. Have never seen this. The luggage was not delivered into the terminal. We all then got into three all terrain vehicles and took a short trip to a local coffee shop. Had a large cappuccino and enjoyed the rest. My body is aching from carrying around my luggage, camera gear, computer, iPad and all the accessories. We then went to a local market in Bayan-Olgii. Locals were selling all sorts of food, household items, clothing and there was a meat market area. Most of the locals would not allow me to take their pictures. The meat market vendors were selling horse sausage and there was all sorts of sheep carcasses outside the vendors shops. Women and men were cutting up meat with their hands. No plastic gloves. I was sort of disappointed with the market, I have always said that “you have not lived and experienced everything in life unless you walk through a market in Southeast Asia”. I have visited many of these markets and am always entertained by the items being sold and the people selling them. A little bit about the people of this province. This is the westernmost province in Mongolia and borders Russia. The local people are Kazakh people. I thought that they were buddhist, but are muslim. Most of them are not religious, but there are some of them that are. They are nomads and live on the plains and mountains in their ger camps and stone structures. They speak the Kazakh language. It is not a dialect of Mongolian, but a language all its own. The population of Bayan-Olgii is about thirty thousand, but most of the Kazakh people live on the plains and mountains practicing their way of life. There were some mosques in town. An interesting side note. The round shape of the top of mosques come from the round shape of the ger tents. The muslims copied the ger tents of the Mongolian people in the design of their mosques. The provence was established in 1940 during the Communist reign. After the market we drove to our final destination. How can I describe the landscape? Imagine being in Afghanistan. Most of us have seen pictures and or movies depicting Afghanistan. Nothing was growing. Only barren landscapes with ger camps, sheep herds and local Kazakh people herding their livestock by horseback. The horses are different here. Like a larger version of the kind of horses I saw in Iceland. This was the real reason why I wanted to visit Mongolia. To live amongst these kind of people for a short period of time and experience something that most of us can only imagine. We finally stopped at one of the drivers homes. A restroom stop. The bathroom was located in a small stone structure. There was a wood plank crossing over a hole in the ground. Imagine going to the bathroom here. We then stopped for a photo shoot. I took lots of pictures of this so called barren landscape, but saw so much beauty where most would never see it. We then arrived at our final destination. Our road there was over stone and dirt roads that were never paved. The three vehicles created lots of dust as we drove over them. What does our final destination look like? We are in a small village where a small group of Kazakh families live in their stone structure homes. These are their winter homes. Their summer homes are in Ger camps. There are four ger tents there. One for our dining and meeting, one for the men, one for the women and one for a couple that is with us. I am sharing a ger tent with Andy, Kevin and Kip. Kip is from Australia, but lives in Singapore. We each have our own cot and the tent is heated by a stove that is supplied with dry dung. We were served lunch. I have eaten lots of meat in my life, but I have never eaten meat like this. The taste exploded in your mouth. Fresh meat from their herds. Not market bought. They also cooked us vegetables and made us a delicious soup of meat and noodles. It was now some rest time in our ger. Quite comfortable. At five we then had a photo shoot with a local Kazakh eagle hunter on horseback. Where do these people get the eagles? The men go up in the mountains and take baby female eagles from their nests and train them. Only females are used. They are larger and smarter than the males. They eagles live over twenty years and most if them live with the families in their homes. You could see the special

Hi Everyone Hope we are all well. Where is Mongolia? Isn’t it part of China? Why go there? Let’s start with a brief description of Mongolia. Three million people live in Mongolia and half live in UB (Ulan Bator). Mongolia is the 18th largest country in the world. Mongolia is not part of China. Siberia lies to the North, China to the South and Russia to the east and west. Mongolia is the least populous country in the world. The country is slightly smaller than Alaska. UB is the coldest capital in the world. Mongolia won its independence from China in 1921 and a communist regime was installed in 1924. That communist regime latest until the fall of the Soviet government in 1990 and Mongolia now is a democracy. Russia was the second language taught in the schools until 2009 and now English has replaced it. The three most popular sports are horse racing, archery and Mongolian wrestling. The currency is named “Tugrik” and I took out of an ATM 200,000 Tugrik and it cost me $81. Food and other items are not expensive. The nomadic culture exists all over and the people are very proud of their past and nomadic culture. In Mongolia, there are 13 times more horses than humans and sheep outnumber humans 35 to 1. There are two major religions, Buddhism and Genghis Khan. Everyone knows who Genghis Khan was and the people worship him. So why go to this country that would seem to have little to offer? The people have always fascinated me. Their nomadic culture and way of life has always been something that I have had an interest in. I wanted to visit Mongolia and get to know the people. Andy and Kevin have given me that opportunity with this unique trip. So now that we know a little bit about this faraway and strange country lets start our day. Woke up at 6 AM and we all met for breakfast at 7:30. Breakfast was quite interesting, particularly the Mutton noodle soup. I have had mutton quite often on the Navajo Reservation and love the taste, but not for breakfast. We all then got on a large van and went to our first stop. There are no motor bikes nor Tuk Tuks in UB. Only cars and vans and lots of traffic. Not your typical Asian city that I am used to. The first stop was Gangden Monastery. I have been to quite a few Buddhist countries and each country has its own customs and differences. We were met by our Monk guide who was an older man. The highest level of monk in Mongolia is the llama. There are currently 3000 llama’s in Mongolia. They are the teachers and teach the younger monks. 600 llamas reside in UB. Religion was not allowed to be openly practiced until 1990. Zaya told me that before that time, the monks would gather secretly and do their morning prayer and teachings. Our monk guide is a llama. There were lots of smaller temples and prayer spin wheels throughout the complex. The monastery was destroyed during the 1920’s and restored and revitalized during the 1990’s. The name means “the big place of the complete joy”. I noticed a tall wood pole sticking in the ground and people were going over to it and praying and kissing it. I asked Zaya what it was. She told me it was petrified wood from a holy temple far away and the people carried it here and it never touched the ground. There was a very large Buddha statue housed in a large temple. The statue is named the statue of Megjid-Janraiseg. The original statue was erected and 1913 and destroyed by the Soviet troops in 1937. The new statue was started in 1991 and finished in 1996. It is 82 feet high and weighs more than 20 tons. it is made of copper and covered with gold. Very impressive. The monks were called to prayer at 9 AM. For instance, when I was in Laos, the monks were called to prayer at 4:30 AM. In Laos, large wooden drums made of water buffalo skin were used. Here a few monks climbed a tower and made a noise using a big conch shell. We then were told that when we go into the temples, we should walk clockwise around the outside while the monks were chanting their morning prayers. When we leave the temples, we had to back out and not turn our backs and walk forward. Got some great shots of some of the morning activities. There were times, while in the temples, when we were told not to take pictures. Andy and Kevin also arranged for some younger monks to pose for a small photo shoot. The llama who was our guide offered to answer any and all questions. We all fired away. The temples were all beautiful and rich in reds and bright colors. It was then off to lunch and some delicious Mongolian food. While we were eating lunch there was a recording of Mongolian throat singing. Very strange. Could never become a fan. We then drove about 90 minutes out of UB through rolling hills and plains with scattered Ger tents and finally arrived at a place where there was a huge statue of Genghis Khan on horseback. The statute is over 130 feet tall and is on top of a large domed building in the middle of virtually no where. Legend has it that this is where Genghis Khan found a horse whip when he was 17 and the statue also points towards his birthplace. The domed building had a huge Mongolian boot and large horse whip inside. We then climbed up to the top for a closer view of the statue and more photo opportunities. Now the fun really started. You can rent Genghis Khan era clothes there and wear them to take pictures. We all dressed top in 13th century Mongolian

Hi Guys Long time no contact. I was busy traveling. Took the long way getting to Mongolia and probably there is no short way, but first let’s start in Cambodia. Found it hard to sleep on Sunday night. My mind kept on racing and revisiting the previous five days I had had with the Scholarship students and PEPY staff. How invigorated my mind feels now. My soul and spirit have been refreshed and life on the other side of the world seems very distant. Manin picked me up at the hotel at 8:30 AM and we went to the PEPY office. My game plan was to spend as much time as I could with the students. I brought my suitcase and everything else with me so that I could leave from there to the airport. So let try to paint a picture for you. The thirty students were all sitting around the edge of the classroom and I put my suitcase in the middle of the room. I then opened my suitcase and took everything out in front of them. Showed them all my winter clothing. Coat, hats, gloves, scarves etc were passed around the room and I told them to wear them if they wanted to. Most of them wore them and started to take some pictures wearing them. They had never seen these type of clothes. It was very entertaining for them and myself. We had a ball. I then got back to my pictures and discussed with them further the differences in climates in the countries I have visited and showed them examples of those differences. Some pictures were taken in Iceland where darkness never came and they were staring in wonder as I described things to them. Showed them pictures of puffin. Puffin’s are beautiful and colorful  birds that are native to Iceland.  One pair mates for life and they will continue to mate but only together. They never get a divorce and the male sits on the eggs while the female hunts for food. I then restated to them why I keep on coming back to Cambodia and how special they are. How they need to do the best that they can be. They need to set examples and be role models for their siblings and others in their villages. They understood and assured me that they will all do their best. It was then time to say my goodbyes to the PEPY staff and how I loved being with them and watching some of them grow and develop. Then went to the airport with Sarrak, Kimsru and Konnetha. How special these three are to me. They all have a special place in my heart and soul. I will carry these memories with me until we meet again. It was now time to start my next adventure and go to a country and meet people that I had always wanted to experience. There were problems throughout the trip. When I got to the airport and checked in, I was flying with Air Asia and not China Southern. I flew on China Southern here from NY. My suitcase coming  here was not overweight, but was now. Winter clothing is much heavier. Did not want to carry my winter coat for the next twenty four hours so I bit the bullet and paid an extra $175 for my suitcase all the way to Beijing. The flight to Kuala Lumpur was interesting. Sat next to some muslims from Kuala Lumpur and told them where I was going and said that I would be cut off from cell and internet service. They said they could not live without these. We talked and talked for the next three hours and finally arrived. Kuala Lumpur Airport is big and lots of people are running around. I had to get my suitcase, go through immigration and customs and then recheck in. Even though I had a four hour layover, it took me quite a while to wait on lines and redo everything. Second problem. My boarding pass had the gate number on the ticket, but when I got to that gate, and the gate and location was different. The wrong gate number was printed and the new gate was a gate that was way on the other side of the airport. So had to go through two more security checks. Waiting online, taking everything out and finally got to the correct gate just in time. It was then onto Beijing. A six and one half hour flight. There was less than five foreigners on the plane and I was one of them. Don’t believe that China is a communist country. People seem to have great freedom to travel if they can afford it. Landed at 5 AM and then had to go through the same procedure again. Through immigration and customs. Picking up my suitcase and recheck. Lines and more lines all over. In China, they had me take out all my camera gear every time and inspected it.  Landed in terminal 1 and found out that my flight to Ulan Bator was in terminal 3. In the future, I will refer to Ulan Bator as “UB”. Was told to go outside and get a shuttle bus to terminal 3. You need to realize that each terminal is at least the size of Newark Airport. Went outside with my suitcase, camera backpack and carry on attached case and saw a long line waiting for the shuttle bus. By this time I was exhausted, totally sweating and my arms and legs were aching. What do I do? I decided to try a NY way of getting out of problems. Saw a woman who was wearing the uniform of being employed by the airport and told her my situation. Told her that I am 68 and 1/2, have been traveling all day and that maybe she could put me on the next shuttle bus. Now she pulled a NY scene on me. What

Hi Everyone I am not going to repeat myself and say another amazing day in Cambodia, but it was. The last time I will be saying that until May. Was picked up at 9 AM by Sarrak and taken to the PEPY office. All the scholarship children were waiting there for me. Imagine they were all there on a Sunday morning for me and a meeting after that. Had about a 1 hour talk with them. I showed them where I am going tomorrow on a globe and what the weather is like there. I explained to them that I have been to countries where it is light 24 hours a day. They asked me to explain and I told them that all the countries north of the equator have the reverse seasons than the countries south of the equator. So when I was in Iceland two years ago in late May, it was light all the time. They wanted to see pictures of that and tomorrow I will show them. I told them that I will be going to the South Pole in December and it will never get dark and it will be Spring since the South Pole is south of the equator. They loved talking about the various countries and weather. Tomorrow I will be showing them the winter clothes I have packed for Mongolia. I brought with me a winter coat, snow and ski pants, long johns, hats and gloves. They have never seen clothes like this and am so excited to see and touch these clothes. They wanted me to talk again about my dog sledding trip. They really loved hearing about the Alpha dog and the team of dogs again. Pictures so bring out what I am talking to them about. They can relate to these experiences and see what I see. What a media of expression and learning if used in this way. After about one hour, I was forced to stop talking and myself, Sarrak, Kimsru, Chhunnay, Channa, Sophia and a new person, Jake went to the floating villages and Tonle Sap Lake. Jake is another Fulbright Scholar who graduated from a small college named Washington Jefferson College and is studying Tonle Sap Lake and the fishing industry around and in the lake. We had some interesting and educational conversations. I had previously been to Tonle Sap Lake with Olivia in 2012. Then we took a long boat to some floating villages. Olivia still comments about her experience there and the fish farms she saw. In 2015 I went with Kimline to the floating villages except it was the dry season and the villages were not floating. Now it is the end of the wet season so that the rivers and lake were all acting the way they should and all the villages were floating. Water is very important to the people of Cambodia. The reason why the Khmer people built Angkor Wat 1000 years ago where it was built is due to the closeness to Tonle Sap Lake. Tonle Sap Lake is the largest fresh water lake in Southeast Asia. There are lots of moats around Angkor Wat. The Khmer engineers, when they built and planned Angkor Wat, had the builders put various levels of sand in the moats so that the water would constantly move and circulate around the complex. We drove around one hour over some dirt roads and rural villages to a small dock and all got into a long boat drive by a Khmer boy who looked to be about ten years old. It was so beautiful taking the long boat downstream. The river flows into the Lake. We passed floating villages where people were busy doing their daily activities. I took so many pictures from the boat of life on the Tonle Sap River. It was a cloudy day and perfect for pictures. People were swimming in the water and having a great time. A foreigner should not try to swim here. Besides the risk of snakes, you would probably get very sick from some parasite that your body has never encountered. We then stopped in at a sort of tree house restaurant built on stilts. We took some stairs up to a walkway where there were lots of open air rooms where locals were eating and enjoying themselves. We finally sat down and had lunch. Had some great rice with a whole fish that was cooked perfectly. All local and great. While we were having lunch, the rains came. It poured all throughout lunch and I mean poured. I had never seen rain in Cambodia until this trip. Have always visited during the dry season. The rice patties are so green and lush now. I had only seen them when they were brown and ugly. After we had lunch we then took the long boat into Tonle Sap Lake. Saw so many people swimming and having a great time. Wanted to jump in,  but of course resisted. It was then back to the dock and the hustle and bustle of Siem Reap. Went back to the hotel to rest before dinner and walked over to “Gloria Jeans” for a great glass of iced java served the old fashioned way. It was then rest time and taking a long cold shower. At about 5:30 I heard rain coming down in buckets. Kimsru and Sarrak met me for dinner. Kimsru brought me some durian. We all remember what durian is. The fruit that no one loves. Dinner was great and the three of us had long conversations about America and our lives experiences. While we were eating our durian on a table outside and under a tarp, it began to rain even harder and the water started to drip onto us. It was then time to move inside, but we were not allowed to take the durian in with us to finish eating it. Poor durian. So few people love it. Walked back in the rain