oh le cambodge

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Early this afternoon we arrived in Siem Reap from Kompong Cham ( a smaller sized town in central Cambodia where we spent the night after crossing the border from Laos). We had a relaxing stay in the 4000 Islands. One of the days Adam and I rented some bicycles to explore the Island. I think we lasted about an hour and half before we called it quits because we had actually sweat all the water in our bodies and were beginning to sweat visible salt grains. Our average bedtime in the 4000 islands was 9 pm because we got up at 6:30/7 everyday with the locals to enjoy the cooler part of the day. Adam tried some culinary delights in the 4000 Islands, including Amok (fish meatloaf cooked with coconut milk inside a banana leaf) and some of the best non-traditional pizza he has ever had. Also, I will always remember the owner of our guesthouse in the 4000 Islands. The morning Michael Jackson was pronounced dead, he could barely wait until we had got outside our bedroom door to tell us. It blew my mind that an Island that didn't have electricity 5 years ago, and now runs on generators was up to date with MJ's passing. We truly live in the age of information dissemination.

Adam and I were both sad to leave Laos, especially because now we have to learn a whole new wack of words in Khmer. We had really gotten used to saying "sabaidee" (which is Hello in Laos). Adam actually started saying "sup buddy?" and "Somebody" to see if people still knew what he was saying. They did, I'm sure they just thought he was an idiot.

One thing I have noticed about Cambodia so far is that you need to be a quick learner. I haven't been here for 24 hours yet and here are a couple of things I have deduced from both experience and observations:

1. Bribes are common. In fact, they are so common that most of the time you might not even know that the person is asking for a bribe. For example, when we were crossing the border into Cambodia, we were told to pay $5 US to get our passports stamped. I just payed the five bucks, because I was told to. I thought it was a little strange seeing that Adam and I already had our visas. The man kindly told me that this was an "administration" fee, so I just went along with it. The man behind in line started making a scene (I bet you could easily guess where he calls home), saying "it sounds to me like you are asking for a bribe". This is quite possibly the most stupid thing you could say... his bribe amount was doubled.

2. In Cambodia the currency is US cash. When I was reading my trusty guide book, they quote all the prices in Riel (which is Cambodia's actual currency). When we arrived, we discovered that Riel is only used for amounts that are less than 1 US dollar. The ATMs here even dispense US cash. It seems kind of bizarre to be using American money and not to be in America. I had kind of gotten used to being a millionaire in Laos where 1 Canadian dollar is about 7500 Kip (I can't wait to be in Vietnam and use Dongs to buy things!)

3. If money isn't perfect you can't use it. At lunch Adam and I tried to pay using a ten dollar bill that had a small rust stain on it. Apparently that bill is now like an old maid bill that we need to try to sneak to someone over the next week while we are here so that we can get rid of it. Worst case, we'll keep it until we get home and just exchange it at a bank at home.

4. If you tell a local that anything is beautiful, they will follow up with some kind of comment about suffering. Let's just be clear, I am not trying to diminish any of the suffering that has happened in this country over the last century. It's just not a response you would typically expect when giving someone a compliment about their country.

We are going to tackle Angkor Wat tomorrow. We haven't decided if we are going to get the 1 day, the three day or the week long pass, althought we are leaning towards the 3 day. The grounds are supposed to be rather large and we definitely want to see as much as we can while we are here.

More post-Wat.

Lots of Love,

Nicole/Poke/Coco
xo

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