From taco trucks to Asia...

Temples

2008-11-21T04:19:00.000-08:00

Instead of writing a bunch about the temples, I thought I would just show some pictures.

This is the entrance to Angkor Thom - where the Bayon temple is that we visited.

One of the many faces at the Bayon temple.

The Bayon from a distance.

Please no standing on the toilet, no washing your feet or showering.

This little girl was selling bracelets. She also promised to look after our bikes.

Some of the many trees at Ta Prohm temple.

Yep, we rented bikes for $1/day and toured the temples that way.

Angkor Wat

Hungry for some bugs?

Happy Birthday Colin!

2008-11-21T04:10:00.000-08:00

Colin spent birthday number _ _ with us in Siem Reap. On his big day we took a tour of a silk farm and caught the sunset, even though it was cloudy, up at the temples.

At the silk farm we saw the process of making from start to finish. We got our own personal tour and saw it all: what the silkworms eat, the silkworms (plus a bonus of the largest earthworm I have ever seen), to the natural dyes they use, to the very complicated looms. It was a cool experience, and it is so nice to know that there are people that are learning a marketable skill and earning a fair wage.

Ellen, Lizzie, Cris and Colin all had their first experience riding elephants at the sunset temple. I opted to walk - since I didn't want to pay the fee to ride, and a lot has changed since the last time I was at the temples six years ago. For those who have been following along on my blog...this temple used to have a hike straight up the side of the mountain - like the hike I did in Preah Vihear, but like I said - things have changed! They had a winding trail that led to the top! I was very happy about this, and I even beat the elephants up!

Traditional dance

2008-11-21T04:05:00.000-08:00

Cris' friend Colin met up with us while we were in Siem Reap. His first nigh in town we got to see some traditional dance. I called around to a few places that have traditional dance and dinner, and I decided to walk by one of the places I called in order to see what we were getting ourselves into (you learn to check things out first before buying anything here - you never know what you are going to get). Well, I was not too happy with what I saw...an open sewer close to where we were going to be eating. There was a back up plan though - the Temple Bar and Restarant had free traditional dance every night, but they also had a DJ and dance club there too. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Honestly, I thought that this place was going to be absolutely ridiculous and filled with crazy people - think frat boys, etc. I was quite surprised when I went into the place, it was pretty nice. We were there in the early evening, so maybe things change after 9pm. We ate dinner and watched some traditional dance, and the dancing was free!

This video is of the coconut dance. The guy on the far right is known to us as "male model." This guy was cracking us up because he was always posing - I wish I would have taken advantage of his posing and taken a picture.

A long, long, long boat ride

2008-11-20T07:42:00.000-08:00

We took the boat from Battambang to Siem Reap, and it took a little longer than expected, which happens a lot here. We did see some cool stuff - floating villages, water snakes, lots of French people (Note: do not sing Foux da Fa Fa while sitting behind a French couple...it might be a little uncomfortable).

Battambang

2008-11-20T07:21:00.000-08:00

There is not much going on in Battambang. We went to Battambang to take the most scenic boat ride in the whole country to Siem Reap. While we were there we took a bamboo train ride. This trip made our list of funny things that have happened on our trip.

First you get a tuk tuk out to the train tracks, then you find some people to take you on the bamboo train - which is a flat car powered by an engine. Since these train cars have "hijacked" the track there is really no order to how things are done. For instance...if you come head to head with another bamboo car you have to decide which car is going to dismantle so the other car can pass. Usually, the car with the bigger load is allowed to pass. On our way back from the hour bamboo train ride we led the pack of bamboo train cars - we were probably 10 strong. We came head to head with another bamboo train car that was loaded with tons of stuff, and people. So, they would be the heavier one, but since there were 10 cars all headed in the same direction it seems that our side would win because it doesn't seem right to have 10 train cars get off the track to let one pass. Well, the one car was not backing down! They just stayed on the track...we discussed having a dance off, but I don't think they understood us. So, all 10 train cars decided that we were just going to muscle our way through. They all turned their engines on and we just pushed these people back to start. I'm not going to lie...it was an uncomfortable ride with everyone from the car being pushed staring directly at you.

Sound appetizing?

2008-11-20T06:21:00.000-08:00

Cambodia's rough history

2008-11-20T06:05:00.000-08:00

We had a very somber day as we learned a little bit more about Cambodia and it's history. In the late 70's a man named Pol Pot took over and had a dream of moving back to an agrarian society. An estimated 1-3 million people were killed - anyone with an education, glasses, monks, etc. It is hard to believe that this barbaric thing happened here not so long ago. The country is still rebuilding, and most people would be able to tell that by walking around here. So, we spent a couple hours at the Killing Fields, which were mass graves where people were brutally murdered, and Tuol Sleng, which was a high school that was turned into a torture facility.

This is a monument stupa at the Killing Fields.

Barbed wire at Tuol Sleng to keep people from escaping.

Room after room was filled with pictures of the people who were either murdered or tortured at Tuol Sleng.

Another obsession...

2008-11-20T05:59:00.000-08:00

Another one of Elizabeth's obsessions on the trip was wanting to see all the bats fly out of the National Museum's roof. We decided to take another tuk tuk down to try to catch the hundreds of bats leaving for the evening. One thing we did not factor in: Phnom Penh traffic! By the time we got there it was too dark to see anything, so we just walked around a little bit before sitting in traffic again on the way back to the hotel. The palace grounds were all lit up, and the city was preparing for the water festival and Independence day.

First few days with visitors!

2008-11-20T05:49:00.000-08:00

The girls arrived on November 6th on a very late flight. The next morning Marjie took us around Phnom Penh - we had some lunch, went to Beautiful Shoes, checked out some local NGO's, and then checked into our hotel.

The following day we took a tuk tuk to Wat Phnom. We had a lot of fun feeding the monkeys. They were very friendly - since we had food, but were also getting a little too close for comfort...I don't want rabies! I think this was the highlight of the trip for Elizabeth. From that day forward she was a little bit obsessed with finding some monkeys to feed around Cambodia.

Monkey food.

The monkey on the far left cracks me up!

Taxi!

2008-11-01T20:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a brief shot of the cab ride. BUMPY!

Sad goodbyes.

2008-11-01T20:30:00.000-07:00

I had my last night up in PV, and I had to say goodbye to my new friends. It was really hard to think about leaving. I don't know if I will ever see any of these people again, but I am thankful for the time that I did get to spend with them.

This is Reip. He is the one who taught me to drive a moto.

Halo and Bona

MaLin and Rada

Wat Fundraiser

2008-10-30T06:16:00.000-07:00

There was a fundraiser for the wat in Preah Vihear - I was shocked at how loud it was, and I was even more shocked that they started at 5am.

One last look around

2008-10-30T05:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday I head back to Phnom Penh, so I made it back to the market one last time, I also stopped at the snack shop and I picked up some stuff for my taxi ride back to the city. I am still floored by the meat section in the market up here - my mission was to get a picture of a pig head, so I was really hoping that they had one this afternoon. You all are in luck! There was a pig head. I realized after we left the market that pork has been my favorite meat up here...after looking at these pictures I am shocked that it still is my favorite...and that I ate some for dinner tonight.

I'm not a butcher, but I believe the whole pig is represented here.

Just in case you wanted a closer view.

The muddy market.

Woman taking a nap at her shop.

Fruit stand in front of the snack shop.

The snack shop.

Water, please!

2008-10-26T07:07:00.000-07:00

Today, we hiked a mountain...in Cambodia...it was hot! This wasn't a normal hike like we would do in America...this hike was straight up. We just kept climbing and climbing - straight up, no switchbacks...just up, up and up some more. I had to stop at one point because I was sweating profusely, and I thought that I really could not go anymore...that is when I was informed that we were only about 1/3 of the way up! Ahhh!!! I didn't know if I was going to make it. Well, eventually we did, and the view was pretty cool. I am glad that we did the hike today, but I don't think that I will ever do it again!

Here is the view from the top...yep, not a lot to look at besides fields :)

Thy, Bona and Rada singing at the top.

The guys

Thy who is supposed to be taking a picture of me...he's a little camera shy.

Me at the top - sweating!

The water in this hole is over 6 feet deep - strange.

And just a little vine swinging on the way down. I chickened out and just lowered myself down - boring.

Happy Birthday!

2008-10-23T22:47:00.000-07:00

October 23rd was Thy's 17th birthday. We celebrated by having lunch, cake and opening presents. This was the first time that he had a birthday party - it is not customary for the Khmer to celebrate their birthday's. Apparently, most people consider themselves one year older at the Khmer New Year, and not the day they were born.

Listen to this rooster!

2008-10-23T01:46:00.000-07:00

I woke up to this rooster crowing. I couldn't stop laughing at the sound of it's "voice." It sounds like something is caught in his throat. It's really the small things in life that make me laugh.

Gecko!

2008-10-19T06:35:00.000-07:00

Imagine living with these in your house...apparently they eat a lot of bugs. The Gabriels' have 3 geckos that live at their house - 2 upstairs and 1 downstairs. The kids have named them Fred, Freddy and Fredster. So far I have met Fred and Freddy and their pictures are below...

This one is a little shy and just pokes his head out from behind the panel - I believe this one is Fred:

This one would be Freddy. He lives in Jim and Carolyn's room.

Sunday afternoon

2008-10-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

Sunday is a day that the Khmer usually do a lot of visiting. Today at the Gabriels' house a bunch of kids came over to play. The Gabriels' taught them how to play Uno, then frisbee and finally all attention went to a game of volleyball - which apparently is really popular over here.

I noticed as I was taking pictures of the little kids that they will not smile when you want to take their picture. You will be laughing and having a good time, but when you whip out your camera - they put their hands down by their sides and look very serious. After you snap the picture they start laughing again. So, I had to take several pictures and try to tell them in a language that they don't understand to smile.

Busy street? What's that?

2008-10-14T04:55:00.000-07:00

This is the main drag of our little town - yep...there probably won't be so many blog entries from up here.

Waterfall #2

2008-10-14T04:44:00.000-07:00

Not as cool as the first one, but still refreshing.

Banana trees, banana trees everywhere!

The waterfall.

Knyay and Radi

Thy - yep that is a Back to the Future shirt...no he hasn't seen the movie.

Wood

2008-10-14T04:42:00.000-07:00

Almost everything in this house up here in PV is wood. There are some quality pieces of furniture. Never in my life have I seen such heavy stuff. The table we eat at is solid. Each stool that sits around it is a big log that has been finished (Bob tried to count the rings to see how old the tree was, and his guess is 300 years or so) - they look really nice, but they stay put because they are so heavy.

The only problem is...you can't buy wood anywhere! It is illegal to sell it. Bob wants to build a fence, but he can't get any wood...I wonder who you have to know in order to obtain some of this precious stuff! It's still a mystery...

Until the cows...

2008-10-14T04:40:00.000-07:00

Julie was joking the other day about wanting to do something "until the cows come home." Seriously, a couple minutes later all the cows that live across the street were coming home and she said, "hmmm, guess I can't say that anymore here because the cows really do come home!"

Spiders!

2008-10-14T04:38:00.001-07:00

So, the other night we were running an extension cord in my room so that I could have a light, and while I was in my bed making sure my mosquito net was thoroughly tucked in I saw something out of the corner of my eye. A spider! It was one of the biggest spiders that I have seen in my life, in my bedroom. It probably appeared a little larger at first glance, since it was where I lay my head at night...but nonetheless it was still freaking me out. I yelled for Bob to come in with the bug killing spray. He comes in...I am still inside the mosquito net (the spider was on the outside) and I lift my sheet up in order to block the excess spray from the rest of my bed, but I realize that Bob did not bring the spray...he brought a Pringles can. He took one look at the spider and he said, "This is one of those really fast ones!" Fast is right. Bob tried to catch the spider but it ran away and disappeared. We looked around a little bit, but it was too dark to see where it went. So, we leave the room, and all I can think about is how that spider is going to attack me in the night. Luckily the resident 6 year old was brave enough to crawl under my bed with a flashlight and located the scary spider. This time they caught it in the Pringles can, so now we have some pictures to prove it. The rest of the night I just kept thanking the 6 year old girl that caught the spider. Eeewww!

P.S. If you don't think this is scary...hang a Pringles lid on your wall and see if a spider that size would freak you out!

Up close and personal

Study in the sticks

2008-10-14T04:34:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to go to a Bible study the other night. We met at Srey Own's house. It was actually a pretty cool experience. The study is going through a book called Firm Foundations. It is basically just a chronological study of the Bible. Srey Own and her husband Loat live out in the sticks. There is no electricity there, and you can only get to their house by a moto. The road was so much fun to ride on - when we turned off the main road onto Srey Own's "road" I just couldn't stop laughing because it wasn't any wider than two feet across. When we got there we all shared a meal together, and then they went through their study. I couldn't understand it since it was all in Khmer, but I was glad that I got the chance to experience it. One of the pictures is the rechargeable lantern that we brought so we could read, since there is no electricity and the sun goes down at 6pm. The only disadvantage: all the bugs. If you look closely you can see all of them.

Yummy pork dish served in a coconut.

Swimming in Cambodia - so refreshing!

2008-10-07T00:32:00.000-07:00

A bunch of us got together and went to a waterfall. We had to drive about 10 miles to the start of the path. Those 10 miles were on the same road that we took to come to Preah Vihear, so there were a few flashbacks to the bumpy trip up here! We hiked a short path through the forest and came to a pretty big waterfall. When we first got there a group was using the space to take baths, but by the time we walked down to the bottom they were finished. The water was really cold, but it felt great!!! I wish I could go swimming every day here - it cooled me off for the rest of the day. We all suited up in our Cambodia bathing suits...and by that I mean we just jumped in with our clothes on. Before we left Julie told me that we would just be swimming in our clothes (which is what they do here), so we wore shorts and t-shirts - I was shocked at what some people wore. As people walked up I thought that they would change something about what they were wearing before they got in, but they would just jump in...sometimes shoes and all.

Here is the path to the waterfall.

This is looking over the edge from the top. You can see the bathers down there.

A little blurry, but here I am in my bathing suit.

Just some of my new friends sliding down the rock slide.

Night out on the town

2008-10-03T02:32:00.001-07:00

We decided to go out on the town of Tbeng Meanchey - which is the capital of the province Preah Vihear, but the locals also call this town Preah Vihear, so it can be kind of confusing. It would take a lot to get lost here because it is so small. Bob said that he has heard it estimated that between 20,000-30,000 people live here. There are 2 main roads that run parallel to each other, and that is about it.

We went to a restaurant that Bob had been to before. He said that they had really good deer meat there, so that is what we were going to have for dinner. When we got there we asked for a menu, but they don't have one. So, we just asked for a few different dishes - unfortunately they were out of deer and chicken. They did have beef and wild pig from the forest. So, we ordered two dishes - one beef and one wild pig. The wild pig dish came first, and as I was looking at it I realized that I didn't really want to eat it. There was more pig skin than meat, and along with the pig skin came...hair. It was a nice dinner of rice with some meat, but mainly rice.

I have finally identified the smell that makes me so sick at the market!

2008-10-03T02:31:00.000-07:00

Julie, Robbie, Kaitlyn and I made our first trip to the local market. It is a lot smaller than any of the markets that I have been in here. We had our list, and we were on a mission. After getting our mosquito net, bleach, etc it was time to head to the food section to get some eggs, rice and flour. I dread going into the food section - it is by far the smelliest. We are wandering around and Julie stops to buy some eggs - as we are standing there I start to get a little queasy from the smell, and I told Julie that I had to go. I walked out to the side street so I could get some fresh air, and I saw that Julie had made her purchase so I decided to head back in...all around me are women chopping up fish...they keep waving their hands over it and tons of flies come off the fish and buzz around a bit before landing again...the women chop again...wave their hands...flies fly...chop...wave...fly...I take a deep breath in so I can hold my breath in order to make it back through the food section. Halfway to Julie I realize that she is stopping again to ask about the flour that the guy is selling - I come up to her and try to hold my breath a little longer...she keeps asking questions, and I am getting more nauseated...I look around - more fish, more flies, same smell! Julie looks at me and asks if I am okay. I told her that I had to get out of there, so we made a beeline in order to get out of that section. When we were back in the safe place of the clothing I asked her if I looked green and she said, "Yep!" We were still looking for rice and flour, so we made our way back to where the car was parked...we bought some bread and passed through another food section. This food section had lots of meat too - chicken, beef, pork - lots of pig heads for sale if anyone is interested, but not the same smell. All of that to say...I think it is the smell of the fish that makes me sick. Just another reason for me to hate fish!

The new house

2008-10-03T02:18:00.000-07:00

Here is the new house. The top is made entirely out of wood. There are 3 bedrooms upstairs and a common area. Downstairs is the kitchen, school room and dining area.

This is my favorite part of the house - the balcony. I have sat out here pretty much every night.

This is the bathroom. Yep, that tub on the right is where we get water in order to take our dipper showers until the hot water tank is installed.

This is my bed with the mosquito net.

This is the view out my bedroom window.

The big move

2008-10-03T02:09:00.000-07:00

We made the move up to Preah Vihear province. It was a long drive! I want to say that the drive was even longer because of the heavy traffic (it was the P'chum Ben festival weekend - respects are paid to the dead at the wats), but I think I keep saying that to myself to reassure me that when I return to Phnom Penh in a month the drive will not be so terrible. It was one of those drives that people warn you about - the roads are terrible. I did not think that it was going to be as bad as people kept saying...but 5 hours of constant bouncing has changed my mind. The whole drive took us 9.5 hours, in the last 5 hours we only traveled 85 miles...The important thing is that we made it, and we didn't lose anything off the roof rack, the motorcycle stayed attached on the hitch, and both moving trucks arrived with most things intact.

Here are some of the guys loading the trucks.

We met a few of the neighbors - which are the girls pictured below. The older one is 9, and the younger one is 5.

We have seen many different animals and bugs since we arrived. Since the house has no screens we have encountered a lot of nature. I have seen cows, pigs, chickens, goats, spiders, huge beetles - some with horns, and others without - both hissing, lizards, frogs, a millipede, a scorpion and a bunch of unidentifiable bugs...this is all in the first few days. Here is the millipede:

This is the rhinocerous beetle. I looked it up in the dictionary - I've got spare time - and it said that in some parts of Asia it is a spectator sport to get two males together and watch them fight...we might have to try that soon.

I drove the car to try and find a car wash - since the car was caked with red mud, and they thought it would be funny to send me out to get it washed since no one really understands what I am saying...no one really speaks English up here - its going to be a quiet month! When I got to the car wash the woman came up, I asked her if she spoke English and she waved another girl over...they coaxed me out of the car and pulled me up a chair in their little circle. They just wanted to ask me tons a questions...I assumed that the filthy car would get washed eventually. When I sat down three of the ladies started talking...I cannot understand anything they are saying, so finally the one girl interprets...they think I am pretty, and they like my nose. I laugh and say "aw kuhn" - which is thank you and then they correct my pronunciation! Ha! They ask me where I am from, how old I am, if I have a husband, etc. Then all was quiet and they got back to work. One boy was a little bit fascinated with my freckles, and he kept pointing to his arms and looking at me - I just smiled and said that they are freckles - which he probably couldn't understand. I kind of felt like I was the sideshow at the car wash - many people came just to look at me and my freckles. One man was trying to get his one year old little girl to come over to me, but she was too scared...later she was looking at something, so she was unaware that I was near her, and when she looked up and saw that she was so close she got startled and fell over. It was a fun day, and I got ripped off and paid the foreigner price of $3.75 to have the whole car cleaned - outside, underneath, inside, windows washed, vacuumed, etc.

Around town, again

2008-10-03T01:59:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few things that I think are kind of funny about Cambodia.

Buy a bus ticket:

Get a haircut:

Get some gas:

The public beach

2008-09-22T22:49:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-22T22:34:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-22T22:22:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-22T21:57:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-09-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

Wireless internet and the market

2008-09-13T23:42:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-09-13T23:38:00.000-07:00

Sara,
This one is for you!

Love always,
Laura

Fun Dip

2008-09-13T23:33:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you bring fun dip to Cambodia

More neighborhood fun

2008-09-13T23:23:00.000-07:00

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!!!!

2008-09-13T23:19:00.000-07:00

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

The Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda

2008-09-09T20:20:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-09T19:54:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-05T04:02:00.000-07:00

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!

The time is drawing near!

2008-08-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

Well, the countdown is on...

What do taco trucks have to do with Asia? Well, both of these things represent adventures in my life. My roommate makes fun of how cautious I am with food and how it is prepared. I don't really do leftovers because I got food poisoning one time and it is just hard for me to stomach them. To her surprise, I frequent a wonderful taco truck for lunch at least once a week. She is shocked that I would eat meat that is prepared in a truck, but I will not eat leftover food. It is all just part of an adventure, which brings me to Asia...four weeks from today I will work my last day at my job, and I will be preparing for my adventure in Asia. I am going to Cambodia! I cannot wait to return to Cambodia. I first traveled there in 2002, and I have wanted to go back ever since. I will be visiting some friends while I am there, and I am really looking forward to it.

Everyone keeps asking me, "What are you going to do in Cambodia?" To tell you the truth, I am not really sure what day to day life will look like. I am hoping that I will get a chance to have life slow down a little bit. I worked throughout high school, I worked through college, and after college - I have been working since I was 15, and for the first time I am going to take an extended amount of time off. During this time I will be visiting and helping out some friends that live there, and also gaining a deeper understanding of a different culture. I look forward to helping these friends move to their new home, and I keep laughing to myself because I wonder what moving a whole household looks like in Cambodia...

All of this to say...I hopefully will be updating this during my adventure. I don't know what kind of internet access I will have, but most likely I will be able to at least post some pictures here so you can see what my day to day life might look like - maybe we can even play games like - how many mosquito bites does Laura have, or what will be her most embarrassing squatty potty moment? I will leave you with that.