The public beach

The next day I decided to walk down to the public beach that was across from the hotel that we were staying in. What a difference. I couldn't believe that I could be in the same town, and the 2 different beaches could be so different. There were tons of people there. As soon as I stepped foot on the sand I was surrounded by girls wanting to give me manicures, pedicures, braid my hair, make me a bracelet...I made a quick right to just get out of the chaos, and then I looked up and saw a sewer pipe draining right into the ocean. Gross! I turned around and walked the other way on the beach. There were bars and restaurants lining my whole walk. There was even a guy who offered internet to me. What a difference from my tranquil day at the Sokha. It was kind of enjoyable because I met a little boy and his mother that were so sweet. They let me take their picture, and then I went back to my hotel.



The sewer pipe...


These were just some little girls selling food as they walked up and down the beach.


It is kind of hard to see, but this woman has a grill on one side and dishes and food storage on the other side. She will sit down and grill you the latest catch.


This was the little boy and his mom that I made friends with. So cute, and so much pink!



That night we decided to go back to the private beach to get a drink and some dinner and watch the sun go down. It was beautiful, and tranquil. It was a good vacation, even though I have a bit of a sunburn.

The private beach

Our first day out at the beach we paid to use the pool and the private beach at the Sokha hotel. Wow - this place was really nice, and the beach was gorgeous. It was so tranquil there - very, very relaxing.

Snake Pit and Crocodile Farm

The first night at the beach we went to an interesting restaurant....it is called the Snake Pit and Crocodile Farm. There were tons of animals there. Apparently the guy that runs the place is from Russia - given away by the hammer and sickle on the Hummer when we pulled up. He had expanded the place since the Giancola's had been there last. I'm not going to lie...the place was weird.

I was laughing because there were so many birds and I thought that my friends with bird-phobias would probably go insane. Little did I know...we were eating next to a giant aquarium. I lost my appetite when we were walking on our way to our table...it wasn't the crocodile that was chained up in the dining room, or all the snakes in the glass bases of the tables, but it was the fact that we were sitting next to a huge aquarium full of fish - I have a weird fish-phobia. Most of the time we were sitting there I couldn't help but think...I wonder what would happen if this tank burst - thank God it didn't.

Drive to the beach

Today I got my first taste of what it is going to be like driving up to Preah Vihear with a car full of people - only the beach is 3 hours away, and Preah Vihear is 8-9 hours away (I'm hoping that the dog and cat will come on a separate trip up there). Before the big move up to the province the Giancola's wanted to get away - plus their kids finished their first quarter of school, and really didn't get a summer break, so we all get to go to the beach.

I got to see a lot of the Cambodian countryside, which is very pretty. The city is definitely very different from the country. I saw lots of cows and water buffalo!

The grocery store

I went to the grocery store today, and I found some amusing things. Here are some pictures - they are a little blurry - because I did not want to be super obvious about taking pictures in the store. I'm not sure which one is my favorite - the tea package is pretty sweet, I should have purchased it.

White fungus drink...


This is the tea package. What the...


Here are several shelves of milk. Yes, I have been using milk from a box that is stored on the shelf. I haven't had a glass of this stuff yet, but I use it in my coffee. It is stored on the shelf until you open it, then it goes in the fridge.


Here we have squid, prawn and crab flavored crackers. These are very popular here. I have passed this up so far.


I bought a package of tissues at the store. It contained 16 smaller packages. This one has some "engrish" on it. "Thingking for you," I think they were trying for...thinking of you.

I love plants! Plants, plants, plants.

Wireless internet and the market

Someone told me about a coffee shop that has wireless internet, so I have been going there to catch up on emails, and to drink massive amounts of coffee. For a minute I forgot that I was in Cambodia. I was typing on my computer, drinking some coffee and listening to the Norah Jones that was playing over the speakers in the coffee shop. I felt like I wasn't too far away from home, but then I looked up and there were two monks standing at the front door and that put me back into reality.

After leaving Cafe Sentiment I walked a block down to the New Market (Psar Thmei). It is so much fun wandering around a city that you aren't very familiar with - so many new things to see. As soon as I walked into the market I was in the food section - lots of meat hanging everywhere. This makes my stomach a little upset, because I know that the meat I am eating is probably coming from a similar place.

I went to see some of the items they had for sale, and I bought a couple of small gifts. I walked around town and ended up almost walking all the way home - which was kind of shocking. I stopped to eat at a restaurant before getting picked up, and Julie said that I was very brave for eating where I ate...I probably should have just went to the KFC that was around the corner. Below are just some pictures from my walk around town.

For my dearest Sara...

Sara,
This one is for you!


Love always,
Laura

Fun Dip

This is what happens when you bring fun dip to Cambodia

More neighborhood fun

This is the gym that is 2 doors down from where I am staying...check out the sign!




I think this is the rooster that wakes me up every morning.


This is just a picture at street level. There is a lot of trash right around the corner from where we are living. Next to the trash are a bunch of food carts...I am hoping that these are not the same food carts that circle the neighborhood selling anything from bread, to fresh fruit, to roasted eggs, to roasted bananas...I haven't been brave enough to try anything from those yet - I don't know if I will ever get brave enough.

Mmmm...Iced Coffee!!!!

Yummy. I waited 6 years to have this again! The plate has the words "happy everyday" on it.

The Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda

Amy and I went to the Royal Palace. My guidebook told me that it would cost $3 to get in, but really it costs $6.25. After we bought our tickets a man came up to us to see if we would like to buy a tour guide for $5. We declined and ventured in with our information packet. When we were about 20 steps into the grounds we regretted not paying the extra $5 for a tour guide. We really had no clue what we were doing, or what we were looking at. We kept trying to go into the Throne Hall, but the guards kept turning us away. We made our way to the Silver Pagoda area. There were a lot of different building to go into. Most, if not all, of the buildings were little shrines. Apparently Amy and I saw 2 of the 4 footprints that Buddha has left behind - below will be a picture of one of them. We also saw the largest emerald Buddha (actually crystal, I think) - he resides in the Silver Pagoda. Unfortunately we could not take pictures in there. As we were trying to leave the Palace grounds we discovered that we were locked in. There would not let anyone out on the street until the King's motorcade passed - which took 20 minutes of waiting.

I just found it too hard to concentrate on the reading in the hot sun - I should have splurged on the tour guide! After I got home I sat down and read the whole information packet - I learned a lot about the coronation process, and what some of the other structures were. To my surprise a lot of the former King's ashes were entombed in some of the different stupa's we saw.

Unfortunately I did not get a picture of the outside gate. My information packet has a small picture of it, and it is titled, "The story of the churning of the Ocean of Milk." I have no clue what that means!

This is the Throne Hall


Here is a little shrine - I really just liked all the orchids in the back!


One of buddha's footprints


The Silver Pagoda


A spirit house

My lazy first few days

I am still trying to adjust to the time difference. It is hard for me to not wake up before 4am, and even harder for me to stay awake past 7pm. The first few days I just spent around the house in Phnom Penh. Here are some pictures of the neighborhood.

This is T-bone the guard dog:

This is the view from our balcony:


Every morning I do my reading here:


A Cambodian woman walking down the street as I was watching Kaitlyn ride her bike:

This guy was selling bread:

A long day of travel

Yesterday was a long day. There were many things that made me laugh along the way - I know...surprising.

1. I wandered around Chicago O'Hare for almost 1.5 hours just trying to find the airport shuttle to take me to a different terminal. The thing about this that made me laugh is that I could not imagine my directionally challenged sister trying to find the shuttle if it took me that long! I swear I was following the arrows, but then I would come to the end of the hallway and I turned around and all the arrows were pointing back in the way that I just came from. I am sure that I gave a lot of airport workers some good laughs as I was walking back and forth.

2. Once I finally got on the shuttle I sat across from a very talkative middle-aged man. I was talking to him and he just struck me as a little weird, so I was just trying to cut conversation off. He was also one of those guys that just wanted to talk at someone, not necessarily to someone. Of course this guy was on my flight and he spotted me at the Korean airport while I was waiting for my flight to Phnom Penh - I thought this will be really weird if he is going to Cambodia. He was waiting at the same gate that I was! He came over to me and was all grins (think Dennis Quaid from the National Lampoon movies), "You are that girl from the shuttle in Chicago. That is so funny. Are you going to the Philippines?" Unfortunately I had to tell him no...

3. I was the only one in my section of the airplane to receive a huge piece of paper with detailed directions and pictures on how to prepare and consume my airplane food in the appropriate manner - I was also the only white person. I must say that I did enjoy the Bibimbap bowl, until I got to the mystery meat...I thought I was playing it safe with the veggie bowl, but they slipped some meat in there too!

4. I went to use the toilet in the Seoul airport. Bathroom adventures are always fun. When I walked into the stall I noticed that the toilet seat was covered in something that looked like plastic wrap - no paper seat covers here. So, I use the toilet. After I get up I notice that there is a sign on the back of the toilet that says: Please press the red button before use. BEFORE?? So, that means the seat that I just sat on was already used? Damn...I messed that one up. For some reason I just thought it would have already been changed. I had a good laugh about that one. Whoops!

As we were making our final approach to Phnom Penh I couldn't stop smiling. I can't believe that I made it back to this place. I knew after I came the first time that I wanted to return, but it was also one of those things that I thought would never really happen. As soon as I got off the plane I was met with a familiar smell that I first experience 6 years ago - Cambodia. It's good to be back!!! So, Marjie and Julie picked me up from the airport . We dropped Marjie off at her house, and then went home. After catching up with Julie and Bob for a little while I decided to take a shower and head to bed. I slept until 4am here, which is 5pm in Columbus - it will probably take some time to get on this new schedule.

Thank you everyone for your prayers!