Where Odds are Luck

Today was my first full day in Cambodia, quite eventful.  The day started with breakfast in the hotel, mostly westernized menu with some Cambodian dishes.  Over breakfast I spent some time getting to know fellow LCs.  Many are from all over the US, 1 from Germany, and 1 from Scotland/Sweden.  Nearly all of us have prior international experiences.

After breakfast we toured a local market and found a temple-like sanctuary. Lets just say that the walk to and from involves a lot of street-going activity.  As far as Cambodian traffic goes, the best way I can describe it, “side-walk rules,” just avoid running into someone.  When you cross the road in oncoming traffic you trust that buses, moped, vehicles or all sort slow or halt as you cross. The sounds of mopeds, dirt-bikes, tuk tuks, are what constantly streamline the roads.  Interestingly, when I in my tuk tuk approached the front of the hotel, there is NO turning lane.  “Are we driving in oncoming traffic? – Hannah.  Yep! Therefore you turn into the oncoming traffic lane and hang a left into the hotel’s mini-lot. These peeps know how to use their horns effectively; I haven’t heard any yelling though. I think they just like the sound of the occasional horn.

I digress, on the way back from the marketplace a couple of us stopped at the edge of a bridge near our hotel and talked with some Cambodian boys, ages ~7-10 years (looked much younger).  They were so cute!  They were bashful at first, but then warmed up to use and taught us some Khmer, they sang us the alphabet in English and proceeded to dance and sing Gangnam Style. This made me think of Elliott, he would have loved this.  Luckily I have some of it on video, just not sure how to transfer it via web.

We made it back to the hotel and then went for a tour to the Grand Palace via tuk tuks.  We saw two palaces, not recalling the name of the first Palace as it was written in Khamer.  They were both gorgeous.  Gorgeous vegetation surrounds the grounds.  Enroute there were many monks and Cambodians gathered around the palace grounds.   There was signing and cleaning/prepping for the funeral of the King that passed in October.  The funeral is to take place in the next week and is expected to attract thousands of people to the city.

The palaces are located along the Mekong River.  As we traveled parallel, there were houseboats in the water, people fishing, and exercise equipment facing the river bed.  As present the water level is low but rises significantly in the rainy season.  Interestingly, the Mekong is the only river that runs N to S and switched S to N, 7^th largest river in Asia.

We stopped for lunch at Metro, along the Mekong.  I would say this restaurant was upscaled.  I paid $2.40 for ginger lemongrass satay (chicken spiked through lemongrass strand), served with a mayo-mustard and chili-sweet sauce.  It was good.  I also tried squid with peppercorns, this was interesting.  Surprisingly the texture didn’t throw me off, the dish was quite beautiful.  In addition I did sample duck-noodle soup, which I didn’t care as much for.  Departing the eatery we saw hundreds of monks dressed in golden robes pass in front of the palace park.  It was quite a site.  Music lingered in the streets as we passed by.

Form there some of us went towards the shopping districts, as one LC lost his luggage and needed clothing.  I was able to tour a grocery store, quite fascinating.  Crazy foods and items fascinate me.  Whitening lotions, to cheeses, oreos, and. Milk, etc – yes, milk I saw low fat milk and wanted to take a picture..but it is not allowed.  A half gallon is $4.50.

Arriving back at the hotel, we regrouped and met with the LC coordinator. He laid out the main things we should know for the upcoming weeks.  We placed our supper orders so that they would get to us in an organized fashion during our group dinner.  Well, lets just say that Asian kitchens typically fashion out 3-4 meals at a time.  Perhaps a few rogue plates came out, some confusion.. I think I got my meal 1 hr and 15 minutes after the first meal was brought in. Makes me smile! After the meal we watched The Killing Fields, interesting movie on Cambodia early 1870s – If you have interest in this you may wanna check it out. Not the best actors, and not a happy film but gives some real depth on history.

I will work to get some photos up to fill you in on the days events.  Tomorrow, 1/28 starts my first day of class.  I leave 8:20 via Tuk Tuk for the University.  Our class training is 9-5:30, M-F.