Pittsburgh to Phnom Penh

I left the “burg” on Friday, April 19th. The plane to Newark was delayed for 1.5 hours due to air traffic. I thought I would miss my flight to Hong Kong but all my flights were late so I was able to arrive in Bangkok about 25 hours later.Because I arrived at 1 am and I was leaving the next day for Phnom Penh, Cambodia, I stayed at the airport. Gina gave me some homeopathic anti-jet log pills and I think they worked but a shower and bed felt really good.

This is the capital of Cambodia and has a population of 2,000,000. I am glad this was my first destination because it doesn’t feel like a giant city.

Some of my first impressions:

* I never realized how tall I am–taller than most men and “for sure” all the women

* Plane rides are very civilized–every time we take off they feed us good meals/wine

* Driving is very uncivilized–I think everyone has a scooter/motorcycle

* Lines at airports are long but move surprisingly fast

* I haven’t seen anyone smoking (Europe was full of smokers)

* US dollars are very popular because the value does not fluctuate

* Citizens very friendly and many speak English

I meet up with my tour group tonight so I had today to self explore. I spent some time at the National Museum. Nice open air building with lots of sandstone and metal Buddha statutes.

It is hard to walk about because the sidewalks are really parking lots and it was hot!! (It’s hard to believe I was complaining about 41 inches of snow in Colorado last week).

It is soooo easy to get a Tuk Tuk. You can’t walk outside without a driver soliciting. Very inexpensive and a good way to “cool off”. I took 4 rides today.

After the Museum I had to have a lemongrass massage. It was “heavenly” –$32 for 90 minutes. Next, I went to the Central Market. I have never seen so much jewelry, clothing, shoes, flowers, etc. in one place. There are four giant doors/hallways.

For lunch I tried a Cambodian favorite: Amok–a fish and coconut dish that is steamed in banana leaves–it was yummy.

I am being really careful with the drinking water (especially since my Mexican flu in December). I purchased a Steripen that kills 99.9% of everything with ultraviolet light rays. It is rechargeable and fits right into my water bottle.