Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Charming, coastal town. I spent the first day as a true tourist to experience the primary beach area. I gave in to a few hustlers of bracelets. Making even a small purchase is a sure way to get the locals talking, experience the culture and capture a few great photographs. As I relaxed on the beach soaking in the sun, I received the method of shaving known as "threading". She did my legs, eyebrows and a few other places... :-). Cambodian women gathered around to see if I would flinch as she spun and wound the thread across my body. Interesting hour of the day. Once the shaving was finished, I also indulged in getting a full body massage on the same beach chair. Finished off the afternoon with fresh lobster and beer...in still the same chair. The day was wonderful but only if you're in the mood. Some of the women and children are very aggressive. They try and give you a guilt trip or even curse at you to get you to buy something. I say, "no". They ask "why you not buy?". Seriously, I must have been asked 100 times to buy something that afternoon. 

I followed that day with two quiet days on a secluded beach where there were only two people other than me. I spent part of the next day sketching with pastel chalks in a shaded area on the beach. Over the course of an hour, I shared that experience with four children. They watched intently and then drew their own pictures. I know have a few precious pictures to take home with me. It's those moments that make the days sublime. They asked questions about 

America. They didn't ask me to buy anything. Rather, they smiled and said "thank you". Later that afternoon, they were walking by when I was about to leave the beach and yelled, "bye USA"!

Throughout the five-day stay at my guesthouse, I had a chance to get to know the employees. To connect with them, really. I will forever remember Tarrin and hope to hear from him via email once he gets further along in his computer classes. Wat called me Teacher by the time I left and said I was the best English teacher he's had. This is after I spent two hours on two separate evenings going over his English lessons with him to improve his pronunciation. He asked if maybe I could live there for a while and provide lessons to him and his classmates. I used the same motorcycle driver during my stay. On the last night, I had him drive me to the highest point outside of the town to watch the sunset. On our way back to town, a group of guys 

were playing volleyball. I asked me driver to stop and ask them if I could play for a bit. He was 

surprised and I think he thought he misunderstood what I was asking. The group was even 

more surprised that I wanted to play. They didn't speak any English but they were smiling the whole time. I only played for a bit because I realized they were playing for money...and had 

stopped their game in order for me to play with them. Again, I may not be play

ing volleyball every weekend on the Chicago lakefront but I've now played twice with locals in two different countries. 

At the start, Cambodia was not what I expected. Initial frustration was replaced with sadness of needing to leave for Vietnam in order to fully use my Visa. Beautiful people. Simple lives. A country hoping for continued peace after many struggles.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia. Fairly large city with even more motorbikes. Beggars and corruption less evident. Visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields. For those not familiar with the history, the Museum is a former high school in a residential neighborhood of Southern Phnom Penh where the Khmer Rouge imprisoned and killed over 14,000 people. Only seven survived; the rest were sent to the Killing Fields of Choeng Ek. Morbidly well documented. The school has been left as it was found in 1979. Visitors walk freely through the closet-sized detention cells and torture chambers. Photographs were taken of each victim upon arrival and are now displayed in one area of the school. I will never forget those faces. The Killing Fields were the final destination for more than 40,000 victims of Pol Pot's reign of terror. Only one person survived the massacre. He was shot but didn't die and was buried alive. The Vietnamese discovered the Fields and found him, barely alive. A stupa was build in 1988; a glass case inside contains 17 levels of human skulls and bones from the exhumed bodies. It's difficult to comprehend that this horror took place only 35 years ago.

That evening, my group of five returned to our guesthouse on the lake. I ventured out to the deck area to try and catch the sunset. A conversation with a little boy on his boat resulted in him taking me out on the lake to watch the sunset. As the sun set, he sang American songs as well as tra

ditional Cambodian hymns. Two pieces of wood and the side of the boat served as a drum set. For every two songs he sang, I sang one. We even rapped the ABC's. One hour on that boat for $1. Perhaps the best dollar I've spent. An audio clip from that hour would be priceless!

A couple other worthy mentions? A boat ride through a Floating Village one day. And one

evening, I ended up buying a few cans of canned milk for a woman selling books on the street. She is pregnant and the milk was for her and her one year old son.

Mike and Diane, I look forward to your visit in Chicago!!

Taylor, you will have moved to Chicago by the time I return. See you there!

The Roads of Cambodia

One backpacker says to another backpacker, "have you yet traveled the Cambodian road between the border and Siem Reap?" I can now answer "yes" and understand the burning question that always pops up at story time. Three hours of the five hour ride is a spine splitting, mind-numbing road that forces you to grind your teeth and wonder if your insides will stay intact. The so-called road is full of crater-sized potholes encountered at 40 mph while swerving crazily to avoid children on bikes, ox and other cars. My window refused to stay up so I was repeatedly splashed with the water of the monsoon type rain that detained us from leaving the border for a period of time. I spent that short while talking to the border patrol and attempted to learn the card game they were playing.

Arrived in Siem Reap to the organized chaos that is Siem Reap. I spent the first two days exploring the huge Angkor Wat area. On the second day, I left my guesthouse at 5am to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat itself. After a peaceful sunrise (largely lacking of sun due to clouds), I positioned myself in the "Corridor of Echos"to enjoy a bit of peace. I sat staring ahead and a monk appeared in the archway. I suspect he had hidden himself behind the cove to enjoy the sunrise in his favorite spot. The bright orange of his robe contrast against the morning sky and stone structure was breathtaking.

Angkor Wat is magnificant. The town of Siem Reap is a different story. After talking to a man from London who has owned a home in Sieam Reap for the last five years, I imagine I would have enjoyed it much more two years ago or more. It's a haven for tourists. Constantly hassled to buy things from all ages of street vendors selling anything they can. Always asked for money by beggars who are missing limbs (and reminded of all the land mines dropped by you know who). And no matter what you need, it's overpriced. Meahwhile, there is no order on the streets. Motorbikes will run you over if you don't move, and they come from all different directions. I've learned a good bit of history by talking to locals or Westerners who now call the place home. They says it's changing and it's for the better. But if you listen closely and read between the lines, you hear what they're really saying...which I think is that it's not perhpas what they want but it does provide a better life.

I must give a nod to Paulo. Thank you for the intricately random course of conversation that filled a rainy afternoon. I had gone for a walk and got caught in the rain. I was soaked actually. The rain jacket and the umbrella served no purpose seeing as the rain was blowing sideways. I ducked into an area to wait it out and spent the afternoon having the most interesting conversation about life in Cambodia from a Westerners perspective who left London to escape Advertising and Real Estate. Cheers White Russian meets AK-47!

In Siem Reap, I met up with a couple people who I had met in Bangkok who had also made traveling companions of Mike and Kat. The five of us left Sieam Reap for Battambang to catch a train that I had told everyone I was going to ride. It's a local train that runs only once a week. It is to take 15-18 hours unless it breaks down or derails. It typically is not boarded by many tourists. It's old. With wooden seats. You can ride on the roof and interact with locals. Well...we arrived only to find out that it left that morning rather than the next morning as planned. So, a six hour bus ride for nothing. Let me just say that I was really looking forward to that train and may just make a special trip back through Cambodia to take it. We'll see. (Later, I met up with someone else I had shared the information with. He didn't plan appropriately but actually made the train! I saw his pictures...and think I will for sure find a way to ride that train...which ended up taking 24 hours to make the journey.) -- Back to the five of us. With no train as a possibility, we left immediately on a different bus (for the original destination by train) rather than waste a day of travel.

Arrive in Phnom Pehn after 13 hours on the two buses with only the 30 minutes of haggling and negotation between the bus rides. I must take a moment to share with you that the thing I think is most trying about traveling is first arriving to the next destination. Every traveler I've met agrees. When I'm on a local train, the drivers are on the train and hounding me before I even gather my belongings. I step off a train or bus (or even a Tuk-Tuk) and there are Tuk-Tuk drivers in my face. All talking over one another. Each traveler perfects their own style and I am developing mine. It's always a game. If you allow yourself to be annoyed and frustrated, you will be. I, however, think it can be fun. Therefore, I'm usually the one doing the negotiating, questioning, bargaining, etc. Each country and city requires different manuevering. I may not be at work but I still get to utilize strategy. Let the games continue.

I've made a promise to myself that I will blog more often than I have recently. 1) for you, 2) for me. I am now in Sihanouk Ville on the Southern coast of Cambodia. I spent the day on a secluded beach The next update, hopefully tomorrow, will bring you up to speed. Oh, and Cambodia internet is very slow so it's difficult to download photos from my camera to share. So, hope you enjoyed this text-heavy update.

Peace

Goodbye Thailand...for now

Yes, it's been a while, but I'm still around. I would like to first selfishly make a comment to any of you who read this blog. I can imagine it's fun to check in and see where I am, but it would be equally great for me to hear from some of you. (And to know that the time and money I spend to be online is worth the effort.) Thank you to the few of you that have posted a comment or sent me an email!

The past couple weeks were filled with more great memories before I hit the road. Although it's been great, it didn't seem like much to 'write home about'. I spent an evening with friends where I helped cook a traditional Thai dinner for seven people. My friend Kristen visited for 9 days. And after deliberating for two weeks to make a very difficult decision, I declined a great job offer in Bangkok. I trust I made the right decision but some days I wonder.

I can't thank my friend Brad enough for opening his home to me during my stay in Bangkok. Equally as nice as the comforts of his home was the introduction to his friends. Brad, and his girlfriend Note, showed me the side of Bangkok that tourists do not experience. How lucky am I?! Great times were had by all...and I can only hope that Ad Makers hasn't changed location by the time I return! I fear it won't be the same.