Commute to work

When I am working in the smaller of the 2 hospitals this is on my commute to work. I think it is probably the best commute in the world. It is only a 5 minute walk but passes out of the village through very narrow paths on to this beautiful island. On the island is a pre Angkorian temple. The lake surrounding the island is covered in lilies. It is always so peaceful. I often don't see anyone but there are usually cows grazing. Sometimes there are some people fishing with big circular nets that they have this wonderful seemingly effortless way of throwing. The net spreads out like a huge jelly fish before it goes into the water. There may be men collecting water in plastic containers which they heave on to the back of a tractor and once I found a Cambodian family having a picnic I don't know who was more surprised - me or them!This really is one of the most beautiful places I know. However it has not always been like that. Shockingly, right behind me where I took this photograph is a small tree The trunk of that tree is riddled with bullet holes from a bloody battle that was fought here in the 1980s between the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge soldiers. This is just one sobering reminder of the dreadful times in the really not so distant past that these lovely gentle peace loving people have had to live through