Cambodia - day 1

Update for Wed., Nov. 13.

Here we are, our last day in Cambodia and it is hot(ttt) and humid. I can't really tell you how hot it is because nobody reports the weather (or exchange rates) for any cities in Cambodia, or at least nobody reporting in English. I can only guess by the weather in Bangkok, which has a report of 91 F. Well, just imagine - walk outside, get drenched in sweat one minute later - that's how hot it is.

This is Kelly - I will be reporting to you about our first day in Cambodia. We arrived in Phnom Penh, capitol of Cambodia, to the smallest international airport I've ever seen. Our goal was to get to Siem Reap to see the ruins of Angkor, a Buddhist society which built massive stone temple complexes in the 13th to 16th centuries. So we decided to take the 40 minute airplane ride the 200 miles to get there since the roads are disastrous and a boat ride is a minimum of 5 hours, leaving only once a day.

If we thought the internat'l airport was small, the domestic one was a real shoebox operation - one check-in desk with a chalkboard that changed according the airline/flt going out. Yes, and you guessed it, we would be flying on a puddle-jumper. It was only when we began to board the old, dilapidated, tiny plane that we began to question -what are we doing? We are scared of U.S.A. puddle-jumpers and here we are on a third-world puddle-jumper that would be expected to jump over not a puddle, but a huge swamp! It managed to get up into the sky, but soon
afterwards Andrew said cautiously "look up there - " pointing to the ceiling vents where a misty smoke-like substance was descending. We were quietly panicking for a few moments until we realized that they were the clouds coming in - our (natural) air-conditioning, keeping us cool.

After we safely landed (never before had I wanted to kiss the ground as much as then), we realized that we had no idea where we wanted to stay that night. This was our first mistake. Upon exiting the landing strip, we were bombarded by locals wanting to transport us into the city. We felt like celebrities, although mostly they wanted to transport us by moto (motor scooter) for $1. Not even my frugal-side could convince me that this was the way to go, especially after the plane trip. When a taxi driver, who had the best English we'd heard yet in Cambodia, offered to take us into the city by car, we accepted. He seemed so nice.

As we drove into the chaotic city, I got my first glimpse, up-close, of an undeveloped nation - very little order on the streets as motorscooters (which ruled the streets), cars, trucks, bikes, people, cattle (!), etc. paid little regard to any assumed correct speed or direction. Yes, and of course the striking poverty of many locals and their ramshackle huts in stark contrast to newly developed/ing hotels and stores as more and more tourists are coming to Siem Reap. On the bright side, not a single Starbucks, McDonalds, or 7-11 has yet to be spotted by me or Andrew in Cambodia. But I digress. The taxi ride -

[Bright! Bright? Bright!?! I like my coffee DARK! - Andrew]

Not having any firm idea of where we wanted to stay in Siem Reap, we were basically at the whim of our driver, who we now believe, had a definite idea of where he wanted to take us. And we hadn't realized that by committing ourselves to his taxi was, in his mind, a commitment to have him be our driver for our entire stay. But prices are so incredibly cheap here that it is hard to complain - $1.50 for two beers, $2 for a big meal, $30/nt for a huge room with marble floors, elaborately carved wood furniture, air-conditioning, and satellite TV. And the people are very nice and mostly treated us like kings and queens - as we realized while we were waited on hand and foot over drinks and dinner.

Signing off for now...

- Kelly and Andrew