May 14th (2020)

 

May 14th
I am up at 7am today, having previously awoken at 4.30am and forcing myself back to sleep.

Apparently the May 12 issue of Asia Mail, which I have only just seen, had indicated that…

'Cambodia, despite reporting fewer coronavirus cases than most of its neighbors, could be among the region’s biggest Covid-19 losers due to economic and financial contagion effects.

The country’s most crucial business sectors, including tourism and garment manufacturing, have ground to a virtual halt since the pandemic first emerged in China in January and thereafter spread worldwide.'

This, sadly, is the price of an effective pandemic response which puts both the USA and UK to shame.

I'll have to go out for breakfast as I have nothing here, except 'Red'.

Feeling a little more secure after being able to withdraw money from the ATM, I am at Common Grounds sampling their new addition to the menu.....Eggs Benedict. But I start with a large Flat White (coffee).

A while ago (Nov 27, 2016, in fact) I wrote an article about Eggs Benedict in Siem Reap, and for that I sampled many eateries but, at that time, Common Grounds didn't have that on the menu. And now they have, and with bacon that dish is amazing. It is the best I have tasted in a very long while. My hearty congratulations to the chef and to Common Grounds too.

At 8.51am I am the only customer in Common Grounds, to my delight. It's the best way of social distancing while simultaneously getting out and having breakfast.

My hands feel smaller. When you lose weight does it make your fingers smaller too? Good grief.

I am in my allotted room, playing on Facebook for a bit of distance communication, posting nonsense and wasting my hand phone battery. I miss my iPad Air. Some people were 'talking' about their inability to read books during this period. There was an article which purported to tackle the issue, but actually didn't. There was a general talk about anxiety, how it affects etc. But the reading question wasn't really answered. I chipped in that despite my unfavourable circumstances, I have no problem reading books or indeed writing. So, specifically, why some and not others?

And now for a freshly brewed poem

Stuck inside a pandemic with the Cambodia blues again

I can't get to the Wat

I've not got a lot of money

So I

Walk to Common Grounds

Whichever which way around

Smooth jazz

So soft it's fluid

I knew It'd be there

Permeating the air

Conditioning

But it's

My mission

To grab

Eggs Benedict

It's what I expect

As an expat

That

And and the sweet smile

Of the

Server

Her and the atmosphere

I never fear

That it's not there

Where

At Common Grounds

With the mellow sounds

In Siem Reap

And I keep

Arriving

In the morning

As day is dawning

It's like the cogito

Oh, I am what I am

And it is what it is

And I've been around,

Luckily for me

I've found

Common Grounds

Today's spend…
Common Grounds…..$7.00
Thai Huot Market….Tomatoes, Cucumber, Tissues, Chocolate Cake  Dutchie Yogurt x6….$5.95

Total spend….$12.95