Rice Paddies in Siem Reap

On our way back to the hotel the second day, we drove past these rice paddies.  Dad asked our driver to stop so we could take some pictures.  So beautiful!  The shades of green are amazing!

This sweet family is pulling up these plants from the paddies to plant in the rice fields.  The thick green you see them picking from (back of picture ) are the paddies.  The front of the picture where they are spaced apart is the beginning of the rice fields.  So they pull the young plants out to separate them and then replant them to continue to grow until harvest.

 Here is the Mom and her two daughters.  You can see they keep themselves protected from the sun with their long sleeves and head coverings.  Also covered with mud and smiles.

 So the process is that you pull up a few plants...

 ...Then you hit them on your leg to dislodge the mud.

 This is the brother, just so happy!

They work so hard. They will pull up this entire field today.

 I had to try it.

 (I did ask if there were snakes before I went in.  But they didn't tell me about the leeches, and after I finished, Dad told me probably larvae, and water born amebas.  As soon as I got in the car I quickly pulled out the disinfectant wipes and was like a crazy woman wiping my legs and feet!  Also scrubbed ferociously when I got back to the hotel.)

 Pulling was definitely harder then they made it look!

 This little girl cracked me up, she was a hard little worker and when she would hit the plant on her leg...well she just was professional at it.

 A little more in the way of flying mud...

The family gave us the sweetest goodbyes...