Muddy Shorts and Party Shirts

One of the things Jeremy likes best about being in Cambodia is that he gets to play Australian Rules Football (AKA footy) again.  Most Americans don't know anything about this sport, but there's actually an amateur league that Jeremy played in when we lived in Portland, Oregon.  And there's an amateur team here in Phnom Penh.  Anyone who doesn't know footy always say "oh, that's like rugby, right?" but that would be like comparing baseball to cricket.  Yes they have some similarities, but they are actually completely different sports.  If you're really curious, you can learn more about footy at this link.  But the basics are a big field, a ball, a lot of kicking the ball in the air, and two teams of men in short shorts running around the field after the ball.

Last weekend, the Red Army footy team from China traveled down to Phnom Penh to challenge the Cambodian Eagles in a friendly match.  It started absolutely pouring one hour before the match, turning the field into a soupy mess.  Thankfully for the fans, the organizers had put up a big spectator tent with chairs, plus the rain stopped just before the opening toss up.  But that didn't help the players who slipped and slid through 60 minutes of muddy play.

Luckily, I remembered to bring my camera, and remembered to actually take pictures during the match!  When we went to Singapore for a friendly match against the Singapore Wombats, I was so absorbed in watching the match that I forgot to take any pictures at all.

This time, I was able to get a good picture of Jeremy kicking the ball.  He's number 16 with his back to the camera:

And I got this really great one of him catching the ball:

And another one of him jockeying for position on the field:

Sadly, the Chinese Red Army pulled out a victory.  But we still invited them to the after-match celebration.  The Cambodian Eagles love to wear "party shirts" to any social gathering.  A "party shirt" is a bit difficult to define.  It's kind of "you know it when you see it," with any colorful, loud, or patterned shirt usually fitting the bill.  In this photo, several of the Aussie boys are flaunting their party shirts, while I'm displaying my party skirt:

Not to be outdone, the token American players from the two teams gathered for a photo, with the Cambodian Eagles' members wearing some stunning party shirts as well:

Angkor What?

Five months into our adventure in Cambodia, Jeremy and I finally visited Angkor Wat.  What most everyone outside of Cambodia doesn't realize is that Angkor Wat is just one of over a dozen temples built between AD 800 and 1400 by the kings of Cambodia around the former capital city of Angkor.  Angkor Wat is the biggest and best-preserved, so it gets the most press, but there are many other treasures to see in a visit to the Temples of Angkor and their neighboring city Siem Reap.  But instead of gushing about how awesome and beautiful the temples are and posting photos that you could easily Google, I'll tell you about some of the more interesting and individual experiences of our visit.

While at Angkor Wat, we had the opportunity to have our fortune told.  The first step of the fortune telling was to place a small book on the top of my head and insert a stick between the pages.  Then the fortune teller read the advice written on the page chosen by my stick.  Finally he tied a red Buddhist prayer bracelet on my wrist.

Erica's fortune:  Erica will find success in all endeavors she sets her mind to

Jeremy's fortune:  If Jeremy meditates, he will attain his goals

Tricia's fortune:  Tricia will find a prince and have 1,000 children (!)

Continuing through Angkor Wat, we saw plenty of carvings of apsaras, female heavenly nymphs.  Apsaras are carved everywhere throughout the temples and Angkor Wat is said to have more than 3,000 of them.  Although it's hard to tell in the photo, these apsaras are special because the two on the left are giving big toothy grins, while most apsaras smile beguilingly with their lips closed, like the one on the right.

In addition to Angkor Wat, we went to another of the big-hitter temples called Bayon.  I had a bit of fun pretending to gaze forlornly from a tower window.  Although, based on her fortune, perhaps we should have had Tricia in the photo, pining for her prince!

On our second day of temple-touring, we pressed our luck by heading to one more temple in the late afternoon.  The skies looked very gray, but we all said "no problem, the rain will hold out."  Baphuon temple has three levels, and the drops began to fall just as we finished the climb to the top.  The light shower quickly turned into the downpour the SE Asia monsoon season is known for.  We were soaked to the bone by the time we got back to our tuk-tuk, but luckily all our cameras survived!

Jeremy, Tricia, and I thoroughly enjoyed our temple experience.  But to be perfectly honest, Angkor Wat was not my favorite!  I'll end this post with photos from my three favorite temples:

Banteay Srei:

Preah Khan: 

Bayon: