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It is great to be back in Cambodia. It is such an interesting country. There is always an adventure just around the corner or a cool photo somewhere. On every corner there are things that seem so strange and foreign to us. Bangkok has an organized chaos that wears on me. On the other hand Phnom Penh is just chaotic chaos and I love it. I find everything about it amusing and enjoyable.
As I come back here I am once again struck at the poverty here. I have been here before so I knew what to expect and yet it still has such an effect. It almost makes you want to cry it is so powerful. Unfortunately you know there is not much you can do other than try and practice responsible tourism. I also, as a rule, don't usually give money to beggars. I will always on the other hand buy a bracelet or some other small trinket from somebody who made it and is doing whatever they can do do something. I feel that if you give a beggar money, others will see it and in turn become beggars themselves. If they see a kid make a
Into Oncoming
Can you tell we are already driving in the oncoming lane? I guess he thinks they will move if he puts his hand outpalm leaf bracelet and sell it, then they will do that instead.
Jeff had a real kick of culture shock here. He was a bit overwhelmed by it all yesterday. I am still not sure how much he is enjoying his trip, but I guess we will see at the end.
Yesterday I took Jeff for a wander down a real Cambodian neighborhood. You can tell nobody goes there because everybody is very curious and stares at you. We walked down a little wooden walkway into a row of houses and immediately we were invited into a home to have a drink and talk. One of the men there spoke decent English and he was very happy to have people to practice with. We wound up staying there for 3 hours drinking Khmer rice wine and eating strange fruits we had never seen. It is a little worrisome eating whole fruits with the skin on and everything in these places because a good rule of thumb is if you can peel, cook it, or wash it with clean water you are okay. We were obviously able to do none of that, but never fail to be polite right.
Great Skies
It may be hard to see in the photo, but Cambodia has some of the most amazing sunsets and rises I have ever seen. It is something about the way the light angles through the clouds. So we drank the murky wine and ate the weird fruit. We may pay for it a little, but the benefit will far out weigh any negative. tonight we are going back to their house for dinner. We will bring our cameras then so expect some interesting photos.
Today Jeff and I split up. He is off to the killing fields and s-21 prison camp. Both are things I have already done so I will head over to the Tonle Sap river and wander the banks for a while. Perhaps check out the palace.
Time to be off.
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Sebastian Crumpler
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Bad Grasshopper!
Oy vey Grasshopper, have I taught you nothing? Strange fruit without peeling or washing? Murky wine? Going back for dinner? I forgot, you also like bugs. Remember, you can never go wrong with a few slices of happy pizza. Ummmmm, happy pizza.