I am now back in Phnom Penh, counting down the hours until our departure tomorrow. I have loved so many aspects of this trip, but it is time to go. I am ready to get back to California and hunker down to work for the next week. I think that all the girls are feeling this way. We are a very eclectic group, and I think that our differences are driving each other crazy. There are a few girls who I could spend the rest of my life traveling around with- they are so chill, unassuming, down to earth, and kind. But even my patience is being tried by some of my groups’ antics, and I like to think that I am a relatively patient person. So, I guess, yay for God growing me in that… :)
Siem Reap was beautiful, but it was so different from Phnom Penh: 1) It was less crowded. 2) It was cleaner. 3) It was smaller. 4) It was swarming with tourists. Phnom Penh, even though it is the capital city, does not attract tourists the way Siem Reap does. Because of the famous Angkor Wat temple complex and the historic nature of the city, it caters to Asian and European tourists. There is a whole street of five-star hotels just a couple minutes away from a street that is closed off to cars and is home to bars and restaurants and dance clubs. It literally is called ‘Bar Street.’ Walking there last night was so strange. We were walking in a swarm of rich tourists from all over the world, the restaurants boasted amazing Mexican food, Italian food, Japanese, Moroccan, Indian… you name it, they have it. Not to mention the fact that the tuk-tuk drivers and the children who sell you stuff in the streets are SO much pushier in Siem Reap. They know that you have money to spend, and they will go to any length to get you to spend it. The children can name the capital of any US state, they can tell you what countries we are situated between, and they can even tell you the names and ages of Obama’s daughters… The first time I was impressed, but it got to the point where I would stop them dead in their tracks, put my hands on their shoulders, look them in the eye and tell them that we were not going to buy their bracelets/post cards/books/scarves/water bottles and that they should go talk to someone who would. I don’t think they get touched much… that technique was the only one I found to get them to stop trying.
It was so weird to think that just a few hours away from that happening street were people living in shacks, eating off the land, bathing in the river, and trying to bury their country’s history of genocide… I wonder how many of the tourists know?
Yesterday I had an amazing morning to myself and they met up with the group for lunch. We shopped at the market again and then went back to the Angkor Wat area to ride elephants up to a mountain top temple. I had never been that close to an elephant before, let alone on one, so it was a really cool experience. We sat in a box on the elephants back, and we had to enter and exit from a loading platform… crazy. Pictures to come.
It is nice to be back at Villa Langka, our hotel. The guys who work here are amazing, and I am going to miss seeing their sweet smiles every morning and evening. I have gotten a bunch of work done and have had some quiet time, too.
20 hours and 45 minutes from now my plane will take off from Phnom Penh International. I am ready to be home. See some of you soon, and talk to the rest of you, hopefully! I am so grateful to you all for your constant support and encouragement.
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