Emerald Dragons and Peacock Brides.

by Kerry Tolson @kerrytolson.com

While I finish off my posts for Singapore,  I thought I might share with you a reminisce of a trip past - to Cambodia back in 2007.  I have cheated a little bit, as this is not a new write, but an article I wrote back in 2010 for a local daily.

The first time I had considered Cambodia as a travel destination was when I read Geraldine Cox's book - Home is Where The Heart Is.  This war torn, landmine scattered country held both interest and caution to me - I wanted to delve into the temples and Buddhist beliefs of this damaged country, but it was the horrors of Pol Pot and landmines; the description of a prison without walls that kept me cautious of visiting.

Then I came across an article by David May in the Sunday Telegraph back in 2000 where the first paragraph read "Scarlet dragonflies hover like little helicopters around the half dozen Khmer women squatting beside trays of dragonfruit in the eerie silence along the pot holed road to ruins" The picture of huge tree roots hugging a decaying temple captured me. I needed to go there and in 2007 we did.

A beautiful country filled with beautiful heartfelt people, their delight in a better future wipes away any worries I have about where I go in life. They see hope in every day. They have seen the horrors of what man can do for control. Cambodia taught me in just 10 days to accept change and not try to always control.
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