May 30
12:13am Cambodian time
Today I don't think I have too much to say.
We had a leisurely morning which was obviously amazing. I set my alarm for 9am but, of course, I woke up at 8am. Damn! Then I spent the morning doing nothing and packing. I had breakfast at the hotel again, included meals are one of the best things ever.
We met around 11:30am to head to the bus station. The bus station actually looked more like a normal bus station. Like in Greece or something. There was a covered garage area for buses to park with little stands to buy food in the garage area. In Nepal and India the bus stations were just open dirt square areas. So I was a little bit surprised, especially since people have said Cambodia is like Thailand 30 years ago. I really had no expectations other than hearing about that. So I have been pleasantly surprised.
Our bus was leaving for Phnom Phen at 12:30pm so we waited a while. We were taking a public bus and I was pretty much expecting it to be like the buses in Nepal. Again, I was blown out of the water. The bus was not only not like the buses in Nepal but it was better than most charter buses you would even take in America!
There was AC... Like real AC not just oh there is warm air moving around here. There was also a karaoke thing. Microphone, TV with music videos and words. Like flat screen. I was like what! Am I in SE Asia!? We were even given a cool cloth for our faces, a bottle of water, and a large package of coconut biscuits for free!
We were told to bring ear plugs for the bus due to the karaoke but no one did it. I was kinda sad. I don't know if people usually go up and sing or if it is just them playing the music which is what happened. They also showed a movie ... Mission Impossible: ghost protocol (I fell asleep during this thanks to moving object syndrome... Still claiming that is a real disorder) and then they showed a Cambodian TV show. The trip was 6 hours.
Although I think I was dozing for a fair amount of the trip, every time I did open my eyes it was really pretty. There were areas that were jungle like. They had all the houses and shops but under or in between all the trees. It was really beautiful with all the green. It's still very flat though. The houses are up on really high stilts. It's pretty amazing. The houses also varied from little shacks to nice looking houses. The streets (maybe even the highway? I think that is what we were traveling on) in some places were also lined with a bunch of little carts and wooden stands selling fruit and other food.
My butt hurt from sitting. The seats weren't super comfortable cushion wise I guess. But the bus was so nice I don't know how I can complain about that... Or really even care ha.
I really like the parts of Cambodia I have seen so far. It's very cute. Kind of has a small town feel to it. It doesn't seem super safe though based on the experience April, Courtney, and Robyn had yesterday. Also a man, one of Matt's friends, at dinner was telling us not to go down certain streets because people have been getting mugged. He even said women have been going far enough as to throw their baby at someone so when they catch them they can steal their wallet and run. It's kind of sad.
At the bus station in Phnom Penh, we had to transfer buses and then that bus dropped us off at the hotel. The hotel is really nice. The room is really spacious and we even have a balcony. The view is pretty nice as well. It looks a lot more like a city here. Taller buildings. More lights. Our hotel is right near the royal palace which I am planning on seeing tomorrow.
We had some time to rest and get settled in before dinner. We met back downstairs at 7:30 to walk to dinner as a group. I really like Matt. Not only is he very knowledgable but he is super organized. I feel like I always know what is going on and when and he is very easy to talk to. It's been really nice that he takes us to dinner.
At dinner I had a traditional Cambodian dish. It is called Amok. They had a fish or chicken option. I asked which one was more popular and the woman didn't really have an answer. I chose the fish. Earlier Matt had said that the fish has no bones so I figured it would be good. It is a Mekong catfish. Amok is a curry with coconut sauce. It was very light and refreshing tasting. Not too spicy but still a little bit of a flavorful kick. The fish was amazing tasting. It was really tender and it didn't taste fishy. It was very good. Obviously this was served on a bed of rice because I wouldn't be in Asia without eating rice or noodles for every meal. The chef is French and a lot of the locals go to this restaurant. I can definitely see why. The drinks were super cheap too! There was a Long Island iced tea on special for $2.50... Good thing that's like 8$ to $14 in the states. I didn't try it. I really have a difficult time drinking alcohol and combining that taste with food. They're both such strong flavors and in my mind they totally contrast each other. Maybe I'll learn one day. Tomorrow night I need to try the other traditional Cambodian dish. I'm looking forward to that :)
At dinner I had a chance to get to know Ashleigh and Imad better. They are from the US, going to school at NYU. But they missed the first day or so of the trip because they missed their flight in the US. I also got to talk to Matt a lot. He is a trivia buff which is really fun. I learned this from him tonight: what is the only state in the US that has the stripe part design of the British flag on its state flag? We totally thought it would be a northeast state. It's not. It's Hawaii. I guess Hawaii gained their independence from Britain. He said he has a lot more of these coming. Get excited!
After dinner we headed back to the hotel. I wanted to go explore the river front but didn't want to walk alone at night in the dark. Ashleigh and Imad were going to a bar or 2 but they are not going to the killing fields so i didn't want to stay out all night with them when i had to be up at 7am. So i gave in and went back with everyone else to the hotel. Wasn't too exciting of a day. Tomorrow on the other hand will be intense!!! Killing fields in the morning and then I'll take the afternoon to do the Russian market, 2 wats, and the royal palace. For the palace we have to wear pants that cover the ankles and have our shoulders covered. We also cannot wear flip flops to the palace. I will be sporting my super light wick away pants all day! They're great.
I have no idea how any of these are spelled (like I just made up the Thai spellings) but thank you in Khmer is "ah coon"... I think. And no is "ah tai".
12:13am Cambodian time
Today I don't think I have too much to say.
We had a leisurely morning which was obviously amazing. I set my alarm for 9am but, of course, I woke up at 8am. Damn! Then I spent the morning doing nothing and packing. I had breakfast at the hotel again, included meals are one of the best things ever.
We met around 11:30am to head to the bus station. The bus station actually looked more like a normal bus station. Like in Greece or something. There was a covered garage area for buses to park with little stands to buy food in the garage area. In Nepal and India the bus stations were just open dirt square areas. So I was a little bit surprised, especially since people have said Cambodia is like Thailand 30 years ago. I really had no expectations other than hearing about that. So I have been pleasantly surprised.
Our bus was leaving for Phnom Phen at 12:30pm so we waited a while. We were taking a public bus and I was pretty much expecting it to be like the buses in Nepal. Again, I was blown out of the water. The bus was not only not like the buses in Nepal but it was better than most charter buses you would even take in America!
There was AC... Like real AC not just oh there is warm air moving around here. There was also a karaoke thing. Microphone, TV with music videos and words. Like flat screen. I was like what! Am I in SE Asia!? We were even given a cool cloth for our faces, a bottle of water, and a large package of coconut biscuits for free!
We were told to bring ear plugs for the bus due to the karaoke but no one did it. I was kinda sad. I don't know if people usually go up and sing or if it is just them playing the music which is what happened. They also showed a movie ... Mission Impossible: ghost protocol (I fell asleep during this thanks to moving object syndrome... Still claiming that is a real disorder) and then they showed a Cambodian TV show. The trip was 6 hours.
Although I think I was dozing for a fair amount of the trip, every time I did open my eyes it was really pretty. There were areas that were jungle like. They had all the houses and shops but under or in between all the trees. It was really beautiful with all the green. It's still very flat though. The houses are up on really high stilts. It's pretty amazing. The houses also varied from little shacks to nice looking houses. The streets (maybe even the highway? I think that is what we were traveling on) in some places were also lined with a bunch of little carts and wooden stands selling fruit and other food.
My butt hurt from sitting. The seats weren't super comfortable cushion wise I guess. But the bus was so nice I don't know how I can complain about that... Or really even care ha.
I really like the parts of Cambodia I have seen so far. It's very cute. Kind of has a small town feel to it. It doesn't seem super safe though based on the experience April, Courtney, and Robyn had yesterday. Also a man, one of Matt's friends, at dinner was telling us not to go down certain streets because people have been getting mugged. He even said women have been going far enough as to throw their baby at someone so when they catch them they can steal their wallet and run. It's kind of sad.
At the bus station in Phnom Penh, we had to transfer buses and then that bus dropped us off at the hotel. The hotel is really nice. The room is really spacious and we even have a balcony. The view is pretty nice as well. It looks a lot more like a city here. Taller buildings. More lights. Our hotel is right near the royal palace which I am planning on seeing tomorrow.
We had some time to rest and get settled in before dinner. We met back downstairs at 7:30 to walk to dinner as a group. I really like Matt. Not only is he very knowledgable but he is super organized. I feel like I always know what is going on and when and he is very easy to talk to. It's been really nice that he takes us to dinner.
At dinner I had a traditional Cambodian dish. It is called Amok. They had a fish or chicken option. I asked which one was more popular and the woman didn't really have an answer. I chose the fish. Earlier Matt had said that the fish has no bones so I figured it would be good. It is a Mekong catfish. Amok is a curry with coconut sauce. It was very light and refreshing tasting. Not too spicy but still a little bit of a flavorful kick. The fish was amazing tasting. It was really tender and it didn't taste fishy. It was very good. Obviously this was served on a bed of rice because I wouldn't be in Asia without eating rice or noodles for every meal. The chef is French and a lot of the locals go to this restaurant. I can definitely see why. The drinks were super cheap too! There was a Long Island iced tea on special for $2.50... Good thing that's like 8$ to $14 in the states. I didn't try it. I really have a difficult time drinking alcohol and combining that taste with food. They're both such strong flavors and in my mind they totally contrast each other. Maybe I'll learn one day. Tomorrow night I need to try the other traditional Cambodian dish. I'm looking forward to that :)
At dinner I had a chance to get to know Ashleigh and Imad better. They are from the US, going to school at NYU. But they missed the first day or so of the trip because they missed their flight in the US. I also got to talk to Matt a lot. He is a trivia buff which is really fun. I learned this from him tonight: what is the only state in the US that has the stripe part design of the British flag on its state flag? We totally thought it would be a northeast state. It's not. It's Hawaii. I guess Hawaii gained their independence from Britain. He said he has a lot more of these coming. Get excited!
After dinner we headed back to the hotel. I wanted to go explore the river front but didn't want to walk alone at night in the dark. Ashleigh and Imad were going to a bar or 2 but they are not going to the killing fields so i didn't want to stay out all night with them when i had to be up at 7am. So i gave in and went back with everyone else to the hotel. Wasn't too exciting of a day. Tomorrow on the other hand will be intense!!! Killing fields in the morning and then I'll take the afternoon to do the Russian market, 2 wats, and the royal palace. For the palace we have to wear pants that cover the ankles and have our shoulders covered. We also cannot wear flip flops to the palace. I will be sporting my super light wick away pants all day! They're great.
I have no idea how any of these are spelled (like I just made up the Thai spellings) but thank you in Khmer is "ah coon"... I think. And no is "ah tai".
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