Daily Things

25 Feb, 2026

Since we got back from Battambang, been wanting to just have my daily things done. I like getting out and walking in the mornings. A stop somewhere for coffee and maybe some pastry and writing a little. Looking at different shops and always watching people here and there. I end up at a coffee shop in our neighborhood or Wat Bo area because people watching is an art there. Today out walking I found all these school kids out doing trash pickup along the roadside. They all just about said hello, fist bumped, high fived. The teachers were guiding them along the route but the kids did the work.

Ending up at Summer Coffee today was very nice. I really enjoy the place because it’s so clean and modern. Sitting inside or out is comfortable no matter where. There are no wooden benches or steel chairs. Everything is a comfort thing there. Wifi particularly is good.

As I sat there feeling the pleasure from the walk to get there and the slow caffeine feelings, I realized I would have to get new walking shoes. The ones I have lasted me now a year and today I felt they had reached their end. My feet felt uncomfortable and not well supported so I knew I would have to get some new shoes.

There’s a shoe shop down the street from where we live so I ended up there and got a pair of decent shoes for $29. I hope to get 3 to 6 months out of them. Considering I walk about 5 miles a day or so, I have no real expectations of the shoes bought here lasting. My wife has tried buying cheap shoes but each time they fall apart after a single or a few walks. I just give up on them and have told her to not buy cheap shoes at the local market. Just a waste of money since the $30 shoes I bought before lasted just about a year. I could use one more pair of shoes so I may go the shoe shop this week later and check out some others. I like paying about $30 to $40 for the shoes.

other daily things

The days here getting back home always slow down and life here seems to just be this repeat of the things I enjoy doing. My wife will go visit and talk with whoever. I only eat one meal a day plus some fruit and bread so she cooks a meal for me about 2pm. I never ask or expect a certain food. She just does. She cooks a variety of foods from Khmer to western. She’s an excellent cook.

The house in the afternoons is quiet for the most part. It used to be a neighbor would play the bluetooth speaker and I would have to use my wired earbuds to escape it. These days does not happen so often. I still think it’s annoying and it really shows no respect for others around here. Everyone is packed in so close here that one thing like that bothers just about everyone. Khmer people don’t complain. I am not Khmer. So I bitch about things.

I enjoy doing the daily restorative yoga thing for about 30 minutes now. I started this in 2020 when I had recurring lower back problems and went to a Vietnamese doctor in Hanoi. He offered pain pills and told me likely they would only mask the pain and then offered some yoga postures. That was really hard at the beginning. I was not very flexible and I was old then. I will say after some months my back just stopped hurting. Now it never does and the yoga has done more for me mentally and physically than I ever thought it would. I need it every day now. It’s a nice counterpart to walking as well.

I have no idea what retired people do in America or Australia or other places. I just know here and what I did in Vietnam for years. I did nothing. I’ve come to believe that people will always believe that they must be productive. Must be doing projects or hobbies or whatever other things make them feel responsible or productive or accomplishing things. I don’t know why that is. It’s better to me to really do the things I really want which are really few. I’ve tried to outline of them. Daily walks, stops for coffee, watching people, avoiding unnecessary conversations and being social if I don’t feel it, and then writing and reading. Someone asked me in an interview about life here what I did all day being retired. It always seems people assume we have to be doing things.

People here utilize hammocks a lot. I figure a hammock is a “doing nothing and loving it” thing. Khmer people will string them up wherever and soon practice doing little or nothing.

It’s time for me to do some yoga now because I feel like it. I want to write a little more later. See you then.

Now its later and I want to write

Somehow the day just slipped away today. Spent watching history and archeology youtube documentaries which are not AI generated. The worst AI slop ever are those that do audiobooks and archeology and history. I really try to stay away from them and there are a lot of nice sources for history on youtube.

My wife made Khmer soup for me that I particularly love. Really hearty and spicy and tastes good with some chili and rice along the side. I guess the day now wanders on and I can just be more lazy. Suits me well. Its nice to go back and remember some of the Battambang trip. We had four days there which seemed like too long at the time but the daily walking was very nice along with the meals. I guess also being away from the house suited me well. I bought some new shoes on my way home at a shoe store. My walking shoes have felt for a bit now like they were giving way. I may stop and get a second pair tomorrow if I go downtown for coffee. There's another shoe store I like there and I can get a pair for about $31. I spent $29 today.

Today was a nice day starting with the morning coffee and cake. The walking just seemed nice and unhurried as I made my way through Wat Bo.

Thanks for reading along. Like a normal day spent doing little or nothing in Siem Reap. Much like my other days. I enjoy all the little pieces of the days but tomorrow even thinking of walking downtown makes things seem nicer.

See you then.