Day trips to the countryside: #1 - Ly's wedding

I took two recent day trips to Kampot province, which is two or three hours from Phnom Penh, along the coast.  The first was for the wedding of Mr. Ly, our highly talented IT guy who's been at Logos even longer than I have.  The second was for a beach trip with my Cambodian church.  I always enjoy chances to get a break from Phnom Penh and see a different part of the country, and it was fun to do so with friends.

Lots of our Cambodian staff and a decent number of the foreign staff traveled out together one recent Saturday to Ly's wedding at his wife's parents' house.  It was reeeally remote: one Khmer guy teased Ly that he wouldn't have proposed to her if he'd known her home village was so far into the boonies.  In fact, we had to walk for about 10 minutes when we arrived, because the path between the rice fields was too narrow for a car.  We also arrived so late that we missed the ceremony.  In Buddhist weddings not everyone is even invited to the ceremony, and the reception is what you need to come for, but since Ly and his wife are Christian they wanted us there but couldn't wait the hour and a half till we finally arrived.  :)

 I'd never been to a wedding that was literally in a rice paddy, and apparently neither had many of them.  It was pretty neat!

It still had the traditional tent next to the house...

but the great thing is that not everyone fit at the tables in the tent, and Ly sent his guests to sit at the outdoor tables, away from the speakers.  If you think Phnom Penh residents love their amps at parties, wait till you hear the speakers in the countryside!  They had rented a huge generator for basically that sole purpose.  The woman in green is one of the Logos cleaners; the one in light blue is my good friend Sorphorn, a teaching assistant.

Neakru Chantorn is an original staff member of Logos.  She's like the textbook definition of resilience - she lost her husband and all but one child during the Khmer Rouge, but she's so sweet and joyful.

The bride and groom

A neighbor lady continues her journey past the festivities.

A tiny puppy nibbles my friend Lisa's feet.