Cambodia

The first day I arrived in Phnom Penh I ventured out for dinner, and I must admit I was a little overwhelmed and nervous. There appeared to be no order on the roads, so I hugged the side, as there is hardly any sidewalk due to the fact that they are moto parking spaces. Eyes starred back at me from dark structures. Who are these characters? I thought as I clung to my possessions suspiciously.




In a short time these Khmer people have climbed their way into my heart. They greet me as I walk down the street, they wave and smile. The children ride their bikes and play football (soccer) with trash on the underpass and dance naked in their front yards. I can hardly contain myself from jumping in and playing too. I love these children. I love how they pull on my arms and all talk at once. I love how smart and innovative they are. I see them dancing and laughing and living in the moment, and it is this spirit I want to give to my children.

For those of you wanting to travel to Cambodia, or just interested in what it is like, here is a tiny bit of my experience here in Phnom Penh, which may or may not be very different from someone's else's.

Bathrooms:
Just like the rest of this side of the world, the bathrooms are mostly holes in the ground, although there are toilets in a lot of places. Siem Ream is the most touristy city due to the temples, and so fairly westernized. I even found hand soap in most of those bathrooms. When I first stepped foot into our hotel bathroom, everything was wet, when a bathroom floor is wet in America you hold it. Here, every bathroom is wet because that is how you wipe and flush. In a lot of bathrooms there is a strong sprayer, but in others they just have a bucket of water with a scoop. Our instructor told us that if we find ourselves without toilet paper, embrace it, and let it be uncomfortable. That's pretty much my view on every aspect of this adventure: open agenda, open heart and open mind. 

Money:

 I wasn't surprised when at first my American dollars were accepted here, I was, however, surprised that lots of things were priced in dollars, then even more so when the ATM gave me dollars. Cambodian money is worth so little, that they actually use their paper money, riels, as change, and then use dollars. 1,000 riels is a quarter. In some ways it's nice to not have to lug around coin money, but it is a lot of money to look through if you want to pay for anything in riels. Also if your dollars are not practically flawless, you might as well throw them on the ground with the rest of the trash, they're worthless. And people will try to pawn them off on you too if they, by accident, accepted one. 

Food:

I'm starting to think that not only is Cambodia not known for their food, they don't seem to have a whole lot of pride in their cuisine. Every dish I've had; rice, noodles, vegetables, has the same flavor. Everything is pretty much spiced with garlic, green onion, and sweet chili sauce. We were also told their food lacks a lot of the nutrients that the body needs. So they sell emergency type powder products that are delicious: Vita-C and Royal D. I'm not finding the food bland, but if you do, there's a whole array of bottles and jars on every table, feel free to make your own concotion. Also, there's probably an option to get your dish topped with drugs if you so desire. 

There is an American brand grocery store, so lots of things from home are available, but you're going to pay for them. Strawberries are $12! 

Also, by getting other animal body parts and bones in your meal, at least you know what animal you're eating. . . Hopefully. 

Roads: 

the driving is nuts here. Tuks Tuks, motos, bikes and Lexus all squeeze by each other in any way possible to keep moving forward. Their system of communication, if you could call it a system, is honking. I'm going through the intersection now, honk. I'm passing you, honk. I'm going to hit you now, honk. We, in America, are busy arguing over rear facing or front facing our children, their two year olds are sitting shotgun on motorcycles. I have seen so many people driving a moto with a baby in their arms, it's insanely unsafe. . .and kindof adorable! But in all seriousness, traveling by Tuk Tuk is probably my favorite form of transportation ever! 

Wifi: 

Everywhere! Is the restaurant missing two walls and the seats are plastic stools? They have wifi... 

Phnom Penh is a pretty dirty city, and the food is not great, but if you don't mind a little chaos, you just might fall in love with it also. And if that's not your speed, you will surely love the breathtaking Siem Reap or the beautiful SihanoukVille. 

On to Thailand! 

Love, Carrie