Cambodia: Day 1

Falling into the routine of Cambodian life is coming along pretty well. We woke up yesterday at about 6 AM and began our day. We weren't exactly sure what to do about the breakfast eating situation; we didn't want to make it look like we were expecting breakfast or anything, even though we were starving. We walked around downstairs for a little bit and eventually a young boy showed up at the front door with a couple of styrofoam containers filled with rice, chicken, and other vegetables. It was a pretty solid breakfast, including noodles and some type of beef stir fry. My favorite dish, however, was some sort of greyish soup containing bananas and tapioca. I definitely want to learn how to make it before I leave.

After we ate, Lauren and I returned to our cool bedroom to read a little bit and do some journaling. After some time passed, we went downstairs to read near Om Lon as she made what looked like lunch. We gave her our gifts of American candy (a bag of Starbursts and Jolly Ranchers) and a book filled with pictures of Utah. She loved the book and looked at every single page.

Lunch was ready and I was excited to see what we were having to eat this time. I stared a little hesitantly at a fish, head and all, fried and garnished in a bowl. The presentation was actually quite beautiful, and I was excited to dig my fork into it. Rice and another stir fry concoction sat on the table.

We went to work. The fish was DELICIOUS. Seriously the best fish I've ever eaten. Despite it being kind of scary with that eye staring back at me, it was divine. Spencer called us during our meal and told us to head over to Mike's apartment and said he'd meet us somewhere. We promptly finished our meal, did our dishes, and headed out.

Mike found, we got on a tuk tuk and asked our driver to go to the Hotel Intercontinental, our meeting place. We drove around for quite a while, got dropped off at an intersection where three dogs were getting roasted on giant spits, and went to work to find Spencer. It wasn't long until we found out, however, that we were not in the same place he was. Another tuk tuk driver was employed and we headed back to where we had come from.

It began to pour buckets of rain. The driver, soaked as he was, stopped the tuk tuk and got out of his seat to put down the flaps to cover our tuk tuk and protect us from the surging water. The tuk tuk sounded like it was in its last moments, making the noises of a remote control car that was quickly losing its battery power. We continued onward, however, and eventually made it to the right place.

Spencer met us across the street on his bike. Another tuk tuk took us to a ritzy (by Cambodian standards) apartment complex. This was where Spencer and Kaitlin were living for the summer. We were able to use their wireless internet to email our parents and let them know we were alive and well. After that we had a brief Cambodian lesson and went to find something to eat. I wasn't that hungry; I'm still trying to get my appetite back. I'm a little afraid of getting sick, but I know it's inevitable. I'm going to get diarrhea eventually and there's nothing I can do about it. Anyway, we found a nice outdoor restaurant and feasted on grilled beef, stir fry, and rice. It was pretty tasty. We still had a lot of time to kill, so we went to an open-air market nearby and checked out all of their goods. I'm for sure going back to do some major shopping, that's for dang sure. I had to control myself for the time being, though.

We walked around the entire market and came to the food section. All different types of exotic fruit sat in baskets on the ground, dead fish and poultry lined the walking areas, and I couldn't help but be apprehensive that I was going to find someone selling fried tarantulas. Lucky for me, though, no tarantulas were found.

We continued our journey onward to an entire section dedicated to people selling flowers. Absolutely beautiful arrangements containing well over a dozen roses and other types of flora were for sale. A bouquet that would have easily cost over $100 could be purchased for around $15.

After we had navigated our way around the place, we decided to hit up the mall. My favorite part? An entire half of a floor dedicated to pirated movies, games, and software. I found a cd with the entire Adobe set of programs, including Photoshop, only for eight bucks. Normally that would easily be $500 in the States! I also found the entire series of Lost for about $23. Many movies were only $1.50, some of which had just come out into theaters days earlier. Yes, I think it's fair to say I'm going to be going back to that mall to make some purchases.

We finished up at the mall and headed back home. Our tuk tuk carrying all five of us popped a tire, so we had to wait a few minutes on the side of the road for a new one. We made our way back, said goodnight to Om Lon, and hit the sack.

I slept like a baby, I was so freaking tired.

First impressions of Cambodia:

1. It is a lot more modern than I thought it would be.
2. It's pretty clean. They have workers who go out and clear the streets of trash and debris.
3. People are very friendly.
4. The food is pretty good. It's definitely growing on me.
5. Surprisingly, the bidet is also growing on me.
6. Even more surprisingly, I'm loving the heat. I love to lay in Om Lon's hammock and read.
7. I have yet to feel really unsafe. I'm still trying to feel everything out, but for the most part I think I could walk around by myself and feel fairly comfortable.

[The photo above is my home for the next three months.]