Saturday, July 25, 2009 – Day 1

Something.... not sure what it is yet.


Independence Monument above.

Ad for Bath & Body Works & Victoria's Secret - thought it was funny
The university...


Traffic around every circle

2 guys playing hackey-sack by the Independence Monument.
This area is like a mini park.
Hackey-sack


Vietnam-Cambodia Memorial



French architecture from colonial times - I love it.




What is this? Dragon? Phillys baseball mascot?




Tuk-tuk... everywhere


Gate to Royal Palace - didn't go inside.

More French architecture.




National Cambodia Museum - has old ancient relics
National Cambodia Museum - courtyard with ponds full of carp, lotus

National Cambodia Museum - look at these ancient pieces just sitting out in the sun and humidity. People also touched them while taking pics... what a shame. A lot of old priceless treasures have been stolen from the country and smuggled to sell to ... collectors, including many Westerners.
Beautiful wooden piece - used to be painted.



Ganesh statue in the middle.


My "pat thai" and overpriced Coke



Riverfront boats. I could rent one of these by myself but decided that was dangerous given I don't know the guy steering and I can't swim.


Mango "shake"
Sign for mango and lychee shakes.


Pics from the tuk-tuk ride.

Expensive cereal and Asian buns and $0.75 strawberry jam.
Peanut butter and 1/2 of the jar was butter.
My mini nightstand with full set tea pot & cups. They love tea here.
Entrance to bathroom
Closet on left, door on right.
BIGGGG bed.
Urinal I can't use.




I am sitting here in Seoul, South Korean airport, still in disbelief about where I am and what happened the past couple of days.

Thursday morning - finished my Epidemiology final for the last MPH class. I was taking public health classes for the past 10 weeks and they were quite interesting and will supplement my medical classes well because they provide a broad perspective about health and policy issues. Then I packed and cleaned like a fiend until Friday 10:40 AM, when I had to depart for Dulles airport with Sally, who took me in her nice Lexus =).

Friday:

11:35 - arrived at airport to check-in one suitcase and carry-on another suitcase and backpack. Attendant begins speaking in Korean... all I understand is "ahn-yo hah-say-yo," which means "hello." Suitcase max weight was 23 kg - mine was 25.4 kg. Carry-on suitcase max weight is 12 kg - mine was 13.4 kg. Go figure... so I check both and my only carry-on is my pink backpack.

12:55 - I board the plane and say thanks to that same attendant who mistook me for a Korean girl. My seat is 39J, by a window, with no one next to me! The guy sitting on the aisle seat looks mean and I make sure I keep my bag with me every time I use the restroom, which I think was twice as often as he did =) He gave up getting up for me after the first few times.

1 - 3ish - my plane ride was 13 hours and 16 minutes. This was the best plane experience I ever had. Korean Airlines does a good job with customer service (everyone is so nice, friendly, smiley, and demure). The first meal was a Korean beef bulgogi. The snack was a banana or beef bread - I took the banana. The second meal was chicken & rice with the best potato salad ever. I watched "He's Just Not That Into You" and another chick flick.

4:55 PM - land in Korean airport, Korean time. Everything is in Korean Yen currency and I have no idea if my USD works here or what the exchange rate is, so I skip buying anything and use the free internet kiosks here. There are egg-shaped chairs with free music (Rihanna's Umbrella was blasting and now it's a Korean pop song) listening stations and mini tables with MacBooks and Sony Vaio laptops for use.

6:10 PM - board plane for Cambodia!
The flight into Phnom Penh was quite uneventful. One meal, 0 movies, a couple hours of sleep, and 5.5 hours later, I landed into the PP airport at 9:47 PM. No flashy skyscrapers greeted me, as it did in Hong Kong. Just flat land amidst the black night sky with the airplane landing strips neatly decorated with yellow lights. I passed through customs check easily and was checked by biothermal imaging for any signs of H1N1 or influenza, which is quite good, considering the US isn’t even doing that. I find it ironic. Most of the cases to other countries are brought from the US, Mexico, and Canada – shouldn’t primary prevention be to check those departing those countries to help mitigate spread? Just a thought for the Department of Homeland Security…

I asked a sales clerk if I may borrow his phone to call Buddha, the guard of the house I’m staying at, and say that I would be arriving soon. He said he had no money on his phone so I went to grab my suitcases, after which the clerk waved at me and pulled out his mobile phone and let me use it. I was very grateful that Buddha picked up and spoke good English. The last check before leaving the airport was handing a customs paper to a guy who asked me if I was American. I said yes. Korean-American? No, Chinese-American. He said something in Khmer (Cambodian language) and the other guys laughed. Given the history of the country’s relationship/political interactions with China, I don’t think they appreciate Chinese presence.

I left the airport and immediately a man walked over and said taxi? I nodded and another guy appeared and grabbed my suitcase (the large heavy one) and put it in the trunk of a labeled TAXI car, which was good, because I would not get into a car that was unlabeled, and as most taxi cars are unmetered, it’s hard to tell if a car is a taxi. The man said $10 and I replied “I thought it was $7.” No, he shook his head, $10. Ok ok. I figured he helped me with the suitcase, it’s late, and I want to get inside. We drive to the city and as I look around, I see paved roads with dust spiraling everywhere, motos zoom by, store fronts and buildings look old, and everyone stares at my taxi like it’s an alien. Everyone pays no attention to traffic lanes and red lights are quite optional, even though there is a countdown to when the light turns green. I note how similar this seems to some rural parts of China.

After driving around for 20 minutes, we spend another 20 minutes trying to find Street 288. We circle around Boeung Keng Kang I, a district known for expats and NGO-land. I see tons of people chilling outside and inside bars. The area is dark, except a few larger streets. We stop by a small store and the taxi driver opens his door, commands something in Khmer to a diligent young woman working inside the store, and she comes back with a mobile phone. He calls Buddha and is given directions. The man pays the girl some riel, the national currency. $1 is about 4300 riel. We take off again and circle back again to the same store/girl and repeat. We finally get to Street 288 and find the place we wanted. Buddha is waiting outside and immediately smiles and shakes my hand. I pay the driver $11 but he frowns because he sees the $1 and $5, but perhaps didn’t notice the 2nd $5 bill underneath. This was the first of many encounters where money exchange is not met with a smile, even if you tip them.

We open the green metal gate and immediately 2 dogs bark at me. I put out my hand for them to smell and they quiet down. Pushy has cataracts and is a golden-colored mix with a stumpy tail. The other dog has a Khmer name and is black and looks like the Tramp from “Lady and the Tramp.” I see a teenage boy staring at me – he is Buddha’s nephew. I smile and say hi and get a nod back. He’s shy I think. We pass a mini courtyard and Buddha opens the screen door to a tile floor that spans across the house. This definitely reminds me of the large 3 story houses in rural China. Buddha lugs my heavy suitcase up 3 flights of stairs and I huff behind with my oversized carry-on suitcase. I look into my room and I am quite impressed. Queen-sized bed, mini bed stand, large closet, marbled counter, huge personal bathroom with tub, toilet, sink, and mirror. I finally get the princess suite I’ve wanted since I was a girl. Better yet, I have air conditioning! I open my suitcases and my clothes are damp – the contact saline solution burst from the pressure and my light-colored shirts are stained with the navy blue of my pants. I spend quite some time washing them by hand and showering all the travel grime off. I hop downstairs to use the internet and then fall asleep quickly that night.