The collected writings of a Renegade Tourist

Tag special feeling

Phnom Penh shooting range, 3:30-ish pm

Though I know it’s only a .22, I hug the rifle tightly to my shoulder and peer down the scope. It’s harder than I remember to see clearly but after a few sweaps left to right I find the target, a white piece of paper against the orange brown wall. I center the crosshair right between the eyes of the printed figure, hold my breath then squeeze the trigger…… Read the rest

Pak Ou caves, 3:10 pm

I’m in a cave and all around me, on shelves and ledges, are Buddha figures, hundreds or even thousands of them. The biggest is about a meter in height and the smallest roughly the size of my finger. They show the Buddha in different postures, standing, sitting or reclining, and they are all in a different state of wear, some old and pock marked, with faded, chipped paint, some new, the gold still sparkling in the light coming in from outside. It kind of reminds me of the Hill of Crosses in Lithuania, the same kind of feeling of being … Read the rest

Dark cave mud pool, 12:55 pm 

We are in a small, waist deep pool far inside the the dark cave. The water is completely saturated with mud, sort of like a thick soup, and it changes the density so that we all become more buoyant. Floating on your back with your feet in the air is effortless; so is floating on your stomach, hands and feet out of the water, it almost feels like you are flying. This experience is so special I don’t think my words do it justice.… Read the rest

Hill of crosses 10:38 am

Photos cannot truly describe this place, there is simply too much of it. Crosses, thousands and thousands of crosses, all in a big jumble. Big crosses, small crosses, iron crosses and wooden ones. Two small hills in the middle of nowhere completely covered by them. Some are simple some are ornate, the  smaller ones hanging off bigger ones, crosses all around. Intermingled with the multitude of crucifixes are Jesus status and other religious symbols. That the weather is slightly cloudy doesn’t matter, the experience itself overshadows such trivial matters. My words however, just like a photo, are insufficient to describe … Read the rest

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