dust in the wind...

and in my hair, lungs, all over my clothes...basically dust, everywhere! I'm in Ban Lung, Cambodia, supposedly the dust capital of the country. Ban Lung is in the northeast corner of the country and, according to Lonely Planet, "off the beaten track" for most travelers. It seems to be true, as I've only seen a few other foreigners here. My first impressions of Cambodia haven't been the most aesthetic, to say the least, but I'm getting sick and have been really tired so my thoughts in general haven't been the most optimistic. Ban Lung is a small town...here is the main road: for some reason I happened to get a picture with only a few motorbikes in it, which is rare. Add about 15 more motorbikes, 7 bicycles, 12 people walking, 3 or 4 half naked kids, and about 4 should be "white"dogs that are so dusty their fur is a rusty orange color...That's a better picture.
I've been really surprised at how dusty everything gets. We are coming up on the rainy season which will soon turn everything to mud...I can't decide what will be worse, I'll let you know.
Here are my feet after walking to the main road and around the market. They were clean three hours ago... yep, let's just say I'm really getting a chance to be a "dirty"hippie, as some of my friends like to call me. There really isn't a point in showering...haha.

We went to the market today and yesterday. I wish I could have taken pictures of everything, but I can't figure out quite yet how to take the pictures I want without being intrusive or looking too much like a tourist. I was really struck by all the garbage I saw everywhere, garbage cans don't seem to be the popular thing around here. I also loved seeing all the food on display. There were fruit and veggie stands, but my favorite were the meat stands. Chunks of meat, all out in the open, covered with flies. The best part is that the whole animal is out on display, head and feet included, just cut into chunks. The market seems to be the main hub where people gather to buy/sell, eat, and hang out. I really liked it, although I wouldn't suggest going if you are feeling nauseous.

We also rented bikes and rode to a lake. My bike was stuck in the highest gear, making hills a killer workout! I actually had to walk up a few...

Today was spent getting bus tickets sorted and just resting. Morgan and I have killer colds, making it hard to be motivated to do anything! We are headed to Kratie tomorrow, where we will try and catch a glimpse of the few remaining Irrawaddy dolphins that live in the Mekong River. It should be "splashes"of fun, haha!