adios kampuchia

we've been busy.... we've gotten a bit behind again.

the rest of our time spent in cambodia was good. it was unrushed and thanks to carrie, it felt like we experienced the country in a much more genuine way. after a couple more days in siem reap we were back to phnom penh. some highlights included getting what we termed 'cambodian princess' pictures taken. basically we walked into a little photo shop where cambodian women put tons of make up on us. used lots of hairspray and fake hair to give us fancy up-dos. and put us in lots of jewelry and very shiny, brightly colored cambodian dresses. we looked fairly similar to vegas showgirls only not quite so scantily clad.

during our time in phnom penh we also visited toul sleng or s21 as it was also termed. it was a high school that had been converted to a prison during the khmer rouge. before this trip neither of us had known much about the genocide that took place here not all that long ago. it's hard to imagine all of phnom penh being evacuated and 1.7 million people being killed as recently as the late '70s. toul sleng was a hard place to visit. it's set in a fairly quiet residential neighborhood which makes what happened within hard to fathom. thousands of men, women, and children who were thought to be enemies of the regime were brought there. only 7 ever made it out alive. all the prisoners were photographed when they arrived. many of the photographs are on display today. it's hard to comprehend how children young enough to barely sit on their own can be viewed as dangerous enemies. it was an educational but depressing day. soon after we left cambodia we saw a news blurb that the head of toul sleng is now on trial. we're not sure why it's taken as long as it has but we're anxious to hear the results.

on a lighter note.... here's a list of things we like and think are interesting about cambodia:
-babies here can balance on a bicycle or motor bike as their parents drive. seriously... they can barely walk but they can hang on at 50km an hour.
- moles with lots of hair growing out of them are considered beautiful here. the longer the hair the prettier they are. if you should cut or pluck the hair bad luck will surely strike you.
- long nails on men are also quite attractive. usually it's just the pinky nail but sometimes it's all of them.
- traffic can come at any direction at any time, including on a sidewalk. pedestrian right of way means less here than it did in thailand. even if the light is red and you are crossing in a crosswalk at an intersection... you could die and you are at fault.
- we'll miss seeing carrie put a "man flock" of tuk tuk drivers in their place. she can barter with the best of them and she knows what a fair price is. they don't often expect that from a white woman.
- celine dion music will pop up at the most interesting times. we've not heard "my heart will go on" this frequently in a long long time.
- kareoke videos are endlessly entertaining.


thanks again to carrie and her roommate rachel for being such wonderful hostesses for us. we had a fabulous time and it's mostly thanks to you!