March 23, 2010
The bus ride to Phnom Penh was five hours of Cambodian karaoke and one hour of a Cambodian comedy show. We stopped at a rest area where they sold delicacies such as toasted locusts and fried spiders. I bought a cut-up pineapple for 50 cents. She told me that it was Cambodian pineapple. “In Phnom Penh you get Vietnam pineapple--no good.” The tuk-tuk drivers fought over me as I climbed off of the bus. They see my white skin and think that I have a bunch of dollars and absolutely no sense, but at least I can now say that I have had men fight over me. I turned them all down and walked about a mile to find a guesthouse. I headed towards the lake for the cheap rents. I looked at a couple of places that were dark and skuzzy. I was getting tired of dragging my bag around and tired of turning away the moto and tuk-tuk drivers. I settled on a room that was $6 a night, and while the place was clean, it had the faint smell of urine and old cigarette butts. My camera was still not working 100% of the time so I found a camera shop that offers a repair service. I prayed that the problem with my camera could be fixed because, so far the cheapest digital I could find was $129.
March 24, 2010
Left my room early to hike to the Vietnamese embassy that was located about 5km south of where I was staying. I handed over my passport, the visa application (with a picture), and $40. I was surprised when they told me that I could have it that afternoon. Because of my camera, I didn’t know what my travel plans would be. I did not want to go on to Siem Reap without a camera. I backtracked to Sorya shopping center where I bought new shoes and visited the food court. I tried a Cambodian dish with rice noodles and fish balls. Wasn’t impressed. Maybe I didn’t season it properly. The Sorya shopping center is near the city center market, a vast set-up of vendors in tents and pre-fab buildings. I browsed until the smell of dying fish chased me from the area. I checked on my camera, “we need another day.” I agreed. I spent the afternoon and early evening at an internet shop so that I could wait until dusk to go back out. I got back to my room where the smell was waiting for me. I ate some fast-food chicken and watched television (there is no sink in the bathroom, but I got cable). I had bought a large bottle of cold water at the convenience store downstairs. In a very short time the water was warm and the bottle was sweating as profusely as I was. The fan helped to cool me a little, but mostly it was good for dissipating that smell.
March 25, 2010
Back to the Vietnamese embassy on foot. On the return trip, I found a better room in a more pleasant area. It was $6 a night, but the room was bright, clean, very basic, and on the seventh floor….with no elevator. Not a problem. I have been enjoying all of the exercise. A little more won’t hurt. I checked out of my smelly room and I got a motorcycle cab to my new one. I spent the afternoon relaxing in my room and hand washing my clothes. The tee-shirt I wore yesterday is caked in salt from all of the sweat. The shirt that I wore this morning is still wet from my 10km hike to and from the embassy. Around 4:00pm, I go to the camera shop to check their progress. They tell me that it needs a need “membo”, but it can be fixed for USD40. “What is a membo,” I ask. The young saleswoman goes and gets someone whose English a bit better. When he says “membo”, I understand. “OH, MAINBOARD!” No problem. “You can fix it for $40?” She nodded. I held up four fingers and looked at the other one. “$40,” I repeated, and they both nodded. I can live with that.
