peace and blessings

"I thought you were just being nice..." I trailed off, confused. Who says that to a monk!?

Yep, it was me. I was walking down the street one morning and a monk handed me a card. It was gold and it looked like a bookmark. She says to me, "Take this card and receive peace and blessings."

"Thank you!" I exclaim. What a nice gesture if only everyone was this nice in the mornings. She follows me along the road asking me where I'm from...the standard travel questions. She then hands me a pad of paper and asks me to sign it. I see a slot for a name and then a slot for an amount of money donated. She wanted me to donate money for the card! I guess I should have expected a donation would have been wanted, but she caught me completely off guard!

I tried explaining that I didn't want to give a donation and that I didn't have any money (I really didn't). She really didn't understand and I didn't wanna be rude. So my tactful response is... " I thought you were just being nice..." I tried handing the card back, but she refuses to take it. After all, you can't really take back peace and blessings after you hand them out, can you? I grabbed the card awkwardly and walked off... what a weird way to start the morning!

On another note, tonight is my last night in Cambodia. We head for Vietnam tomorrow. Morgan, Alexis and I explored the capitol, Pnomh Penh for a few days and then headed south to Sihaunouk Ville for some beach time. We are back in the capitol until we leave for Vietnam.

stopping for cows

I've decided to start keeping track of the things that are becoming "normal" to me as I have been traveling. A few months ago I never would have imagined I'd be writing this list:

1) stopping for cows- cows are just always on the road here. it is common while traveling, no matter what the transportation is, to come to sudden stops because a cow just won't move

2) monks smoking (or doing anything)- it's common for saffron robed monks to be out and about wherever you are. it took me a while, however, to get used to seeing them in computer labs, on motorbikes, and smoking...go figure.

3) seeing animals tied to motorbikes- yep, i think i've seen it all. I've seen about 20 chickens hanging from the handlebars of a motorbike- and yes, they were all alive. I've also seen 2 men on one bike each holding enormous pigs!

4) wearing my clothes according to "sweat factor"- the weather has been so HOT! Hanging out in mid to upper 90's temps makes anyone really sweaty! because I've only packed a few items of clothing I need a system to make them last as long as possible. I've now separated my clothes into 2 categories: really sweaty and sweaty! the really sweaty clothes i wear in the daytime, when I get the most sweaty. These clothes can be reworn a few times because I know they will end up smelling the same anyway. My "sweaty"clothes I wear at night when I'm cleanest and coolest. Once they have been worn a few times they move into the "really sweaty"category and can be worn a few times before washing. Yep, it's official...i've become one of those dirty, raggedy, and somewhat sweaty travelers! I'm not gonna lie, the pants I have on I've worn for about 7 days without washing them. I've had the same shirt on for the last 5... the funny thing is, i don't even feel that gross!

ok, enough of that list for now. I'll keep updating it...

Other than that, we've made it to Phnom Penh. Alexis, Morgan and I are looking for a new place to volunteer at while we are here. It's the king of Cambodia's birthday today. I tried going to the king's palace today to take a tour, but apparently I wasn't dressed nice enough! haha...i'll have to put on my "sunday best"and try again!

wrong answer...

(when looking for a functioning ATM...)"Hi, can I help you?," asks the man at the only bank in town.
"yeah, do you have an ATM?" ask the weary travelers down to their last bit of money.
"yes, of course...do you have visa?"
"Yes!!"the travelers exclaim, their worries are over...
"Impossible!" says the man at the bank. "We only take local cards..."
yep, I'd say that was the wrong answer.

tuk tuk to the moon?

I still find it funny, even after traveling through Asia for over two months, that the cab and tuk tuk drivers still call out to you on the street. Not that I'm an expert in the art of hailing cabs, but I'm used to having to flag one down, not having a driver walk with me down the street trying to convince me to ride in his tuk tuk. I have gotten used to it for the most part, but found it particularly funny tonight when a guy asked me if I wanted a tuk tuk to the moon.

I started volunteering yesterday at a really cool center that helps street kids in the area. I've only been volunteering two days and I'm already in love with the kids and the vision of the center! I'm not sure how long we will be able to stay because of visa length and not having school next week because of the king's birthday, but I think I'd be willing to come back some day. The center is doing some great work, teaching English and Khmer classes, creative art projects, rice rations each week for the family, lunch every day, and facilities for the children to shower and wash clothes. Today we helped out with a photography project. The kids had a great time and took some beautiful pictures, which I'll post later.

I've really been enjoying my time traveling, but it feels great knowing that I can also do something worthwhile at the same time!

sunrise with the gods

This morning I got up at 4:30 am, along with Alexis and Morgan, so we could get our butts to see the sunrise at Bayon, one of the many temples of Angkor Wat. Since the morning is the coolest time to explore the temples, it was a great surprise to us all to find that Bayon was deserted! The fact that it is surrounded by trees probably helps detour visitors from making it a sunrise spot...which is precisely why we chose to go there! There is something magical about walking into a temple free of guards or tourists when the mist of the morning is just clearing. I felt like we had just stumbled upon an ancient secret-it was just us and the gods... a great way to start the day!

As you can tell, we've made it out of Ban Lung and into Siem Reap. From Ban Lung we stopped in Kratie, where we took a boat and saw the slowly becoming extinct Irrawaddy dolphins. The dolphins weren't too spectacular, but I've never seen dolphins living in a river before so it was worth the trip. From Kratie we took a 10 hr bus trip to Siem Reap. For those of you that are fond of Cambodian ballads, you'd be happy to know that the tv on the bus blared them for the whole trip, including words on the bottom of the screen in case you want to sing along.

I wasn't sure what to expect driving into Siem Reap. I expected a lot of guesthouses and backpackers, but I guess I had no idea that there would be a ton of really nice hotels and restaurants! Staying in those nice hotels are loads of Japanese, Korean, and other people with enough money to stay in luxury while visiting Angkor Wat. The city's boom has been great for the economy and has been providing the locals with lots of work and opportunities.

The temples of Angkor Wat were amazing! Again, I wasn't expecting much because I didn't want to be disappointed...but all I have to say is WOW! The temples, which are all that are left of Cambodia's ancient Khmer empire, spread out for miles around Siem Reap. We bought a 3 day pass to explore, but could have easily spent a week exploring. The greatest part about the temples is that not much of them are roped off, giving anyone inclined the opportunity to climb amongst the old ruins, through the old hallways and rooms and over all the rocks laying around. I'm sure in a few years areas will become off limits, but for now it is a free for all. The freedom to explore makes each person feel like they are discovering the ruins themselves.

We have finished our explorations of the temple. Yesterday the three of us went to a lake frequented by locals and taught 3 Cambodian guys how to play marco polo, which they loved. We then ate three whole, but small, chickens (bones, beaks, and claws included) with rice.

Tomorrow we start volunteering at a center for street kids. We will be holding creative arts workshops, teaching English and helping out where needed. We are planning on volunteering for a week, but we'll see how it goes.

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!

one more thing...

In a previous post I was trying to tell a little bit about Laos history but wanted to get my facts straight. Here is some info, directly from Lonely Planet:

Between 1964 and 1973, the USA conducted one of the largest sustained aerial
bombardments in history, flying 580,344 missions over Laos and dropping two million tons of
bombs, costing US$2.2 million a day. Around 30% of the bombs dropped in Laos failed to
detonate, leaving the country littered with unexploded ordnance (UXO). For people all over
eastern Laos, living with this appalling legacy has become an intrinsic part of daily life.
Since the British Mines Advisory Group (MAG) began clearance work in 1994, only a tiny percentage of the quarter of a million pieces...has been removed. ...at the current rate of
clearance it will take more than 100 years to make the country safe.

Thank you, Lonely Planet, for filling me in on a piece of US related activity that I never knew happened. Funny how certain parts of our history are just "left out" so easily.