Ending Adventure #1 at one of the Wonders of the World

We left Vietnam (sniffle, sniffle) and drove to Cambodia. We took a public bus, and to the joy of all it was like a nicer version of Greyhound, bathroom and all. The one thing I did discover though is that the bathrooms were made for little Asian people and not tall Americans. This became apparent first when I smashed my head and then scraped my arm. When I finally wedged myself out of the bathroom everyone said they heard my head bang and were worried I wouldn't be bale to squeeze out of the door. The border was uneventful my EVisa worked like a charm. We got to Phenom Pehn, the capital of Cambodia and settled in our icky hotel. Joanna and I were sharing a room and switched rooms 3 times until we found one that was clean and not bug infested. After we settled in we took a cyclo ride around the city. Cyclos are essentially a bicycle with a carriage seat attached to the front of it. Quite a lovely way to travel indeed. (except for that occasional car that got a little too close) We saw a bunch of the city and then went for drinks at the FCC (The Foreign Correspondence Club). Not sure what the big deal was with that place, but it had a nice view. Funny enough, we saw an elephant walking down the street and all of the native Cambodians had their camera phones out snapping pictures, so I figured it was an unusal occurrence and snapped some picks as well. We the went for dinner at a deliciuos restaurant that helps disadvantaged kids. It felt good to do something good for society while eating yummy food.

The next day was very rough. We visited the Killing Fields and the prison that housed all the prisoners during the time of the Khmer Rouge regime. Aside from the absolute atrocities that occurred and the amount of people killed, there was a huge anti-american sentiment that didn't sit well with me. I also don't like the way that there is no sanctity or real reverence or memorials for the people who died. It seems more of a "tourist attraction". That afternoon a few of us toured the city and saw the sites: Palace, Stupa, monkey temple, etc. It was so ridiculously hot, we all felt like poo.

The next morning we packed up and got ready to fly to Siem Reap. Just my luck it was a propeller plane. Mind you, it was a big one, but it still freaked me out. Fortunately, it was an uneventful 35 minute flight. When we arrived at our hotel in Siem Reap, I was so excited. The hotel was beautiful and we were going to spend the next 3 days visting Angkor Wat and the surrounding Temples. We spent the afternoon visiting one of th efamous temples whose name I can;t remember at the moment. It was absolutely fascinating. I took a ridiculous amount of pictures and really took a step back to acknowledge where I was and what I was experiencing. We also visited the Landmine musuem, which although depressing was really interesting an informative. That night we went to what we though was supposed to be a cello concert at the local children's hospital. There is a Swiss doctor who is also a famous cellist. He spends all of his time doig concerts here and fundraising money for the three local children's hospitals. What we didn;t know was that we were actually going to see a movie he made and not the concert. It was so sad to see the poor level of health care and global support that the Cambodian children have access to. I was so sad at the end of it that I decided to cancel the rest of my trip and give all my money that I would be spending to this charity. Then my mood lightened and I changed my mind and decided to buy a t-shirt and donate $20. We did find out though that the cellist will be performing tonight, so we are going back for round 2.... I will let you know how it goes lol.

Yesterday, we spent all day touring Temples...it was so unbelievably amazing, words can not describe it. When I show you all my pictures you will understand a little better. We all went back for naps (the ridiculous heat is so draining) then Jo and I went to dinner and did a little shopping at the fun night market. Today we woke up at 4:30 and watched the sunrise over Angkor Wat...phenomenal. Then we toured the temple which wasn't too shabby lol.

I am now completely sleep deprived and having trouble typing, so I will sign off here. We are off to Bangkok tomorrow and will finish our tour the next days. I feel like summer camp is ending and I have to say bye to all of my friends. I am especially sad to leave Karis our tour leader who has become an amazing friend. I am excited at the same time knowing that I am beginning the next leg of my journey. On Monday, Joanna and I head off to Koh Phangan Island where we will reunite with some friends from the first leg of the trip and we will spend four days on the beach sunning ourselves. After that it is off to Nepal. I will write more from the beach..

Hope you are all well!!! I am still awaiting news of the newest lil' member of the New City Crew..

PS These internet cafes are all a bit shady so I haven't been able to upload pics. I will try to do it at the next stop. Also, I am very tired writing this post, so I hope it is coherent...I'm off to nap

XOXO