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I'm in a village square in the middle of Cambodia; a teenager is showing off his football skills among a group of toddlers who are chasing him around and trying to tackle him.
He's quite good, with a repertoire that includes step-overs, keepie-uppies and fake shots.
The only thing unusual about the scene is that the teenager is a Buddhist monk in full saffron robes and flip flops. His head is completely shaved.
Many young people become monks or nuns for a few years in Cambodia. It's a way of gaining an education and going on to university.
Of course they have to swear to obey the Buddhist 'precepts', such as no sex and no eating after lunch, but all in all it doesn't seem too bad a deal, considering that it's not for life.
I'm in an out-of-the-way part of Cambodia, halfway up the Mekong river on the way to the riverside town of Kratie. I got here by what has to be the best possible method, a shallow-draft river cruiser, or Pandaw.
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