What a nice and relaxing day!!! Shopping, massage, working out, and lots of eating (had two fresh coconuts - it's great chilled!).
I went shopping in Phnom Penh today. I've heard everything is so cheap here, especially the clothes. I don't know where this rumor came from, but the shopping mall I went to had some pretty expensive stuff. I can get better deals shopping at Macys when they have their sales!!! They also had all the fake brand name purses and those weren't any cheaper. There was a fake Versace handbag that I liked and it was $110!!! The lowest I could bargain it down to was about $80 and even then, that was too much money for a fake! I'll wait till I get to Hong Kong since I hear they are all about the fake purses.
With everything being so expensive, we left and went to a flea market type place. Prices were much better here, but they just love ripping off the foreigners. You can go to one place and they will charge $12. Walk a few shops down, the same thing will be $7. Crazy stuff...I didn't buy too much since I still need to lug my suitcases around to a few more cities.
The great thing about being in Cambodia is that they accept US dollar. I don't have to exchange for any Cambodian money and don't have to worry about doing conversions in my head when trying to buy things. I think Americans are very fortunate...almost everywhere I've been to (in Europe and Asia), English is the language that most people will speak as a second language. It's funny how in America, you'll see signs in English and Spanish. In Asia, you'll see it in whatever the Asian language is and English. Why is it that most Americans don't speak a second language? Are Americans that self-centered that we expect everyone to know English?!!?
We are heading to Kratie tomorrow at 6:30am. These early mornings are killing me...but we want to be able to get there early enough to go sight-seeing. I found out I wasn't really born in Kratie when I spoke to my mom this morning. All my life...I thought it was Kratie since that is on all my official documents!!! There's another city close by Kratie (I don't know the English name...it's pronounce "seem-mock" in Chinese) and that's where I was born. I think it might still be in Kratie (where Kratie is the province and "seem-mock" is the city?!?!). I'm hearing different things...so we'll see if I can figure all this out tomorrow. It would be nice to know exactly where I was born. The house I was born in has been torn down, but my mom thinks the mid-wife that delivered me is still around.
Well, I'm off to bed to rest up for the long day tomorrow!!!
