More about my travels and lots of rain

I have arrived safely by bus to Siem Reap (about a 6 hour bus ride from Phnom Penh). It is again late in the evening which is the only time I find time to write anything. It has been raining for two days in Cambodia, which is unusual as this is suppose to be the dry season. Apparently, it hasn't rained in 3 months, and it has rain not only yesterday and today, but may very well rain tomorrow. I hope it doesn't as I want to venture to the temples and it will make the conditions slippery and wet, not to mention all the mud that I accumulate on my pants and feet.

I have been so impressed with the food in Cambodia. Each day I try to get a different Khmer style dish, and it has all been great. They do have some delicacies which I have not tried, nor do I think I will ever try, for example, fried tarantula and other sorts of insects. Here is a picture of a woman selling them at a roadside stop on our way from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. She had a bucket full of live tarantulas as well as some sort of beetles and maybe grasshoppers. I wasn't really sure because I stayed on the bus.

The people of Cambodia have also been great. They have been very helpful and friendly. At one point in Phnom Penh, I was standing on the side of the street which had six way traffic and I was trying to figure out a way across. Normally, if you go at the same speed across the traffic will go around you, but the traffic was coming from too many different directions. Anyways, this cyclo driver I was chatting with a second before walked up to me, grabbed my hand and safely brought me to the other side of the road. It was actually very nice and a little embarrassing as I felt like a child being led by a parent. Cambodia is filled with people like this. However, the next morning I woke up to learn that a fellow traveller staying at my hotel had been robbed of all of his money, passport and credit cards the night before. Phnom Penh is a little sketchy at night and it is recommended that in the evening you shouldn't carry any bags. I also learned from Neil Weinstein, former RJO partner, that a few weeks ago he was walking late at night with friends when they were held up at gunpoint. One of the woman in his group had a bag which most likely made them a target. Everyone was safe thankfully. It is a good reminder not too get too comfortable here. Aside from that Cambodia is a very charming place and the people are very warm.

Anyways, it is late yet again and I must go off to sleep so that I can wake up early to explore the temples. I am again attaching some photos of my trip. Hope everyone is well.

Monks walking down my street in Phnom Penh. I was staying near a Buddhist monastery and I easily saw 20 different monks in a day. I loved their orange robes.

A random elephant walking down a main road along the river in Phnom Penh. I wasn't sure why he was walking down the street with his handler and couldn't get my camera out fast enough to get a front shot.

I got caught in the rain and bought this poncho which resembles a trash bag for $.50. The best fifty cents I ever spent. I have used it for 2 days straight and likely again tomorrow. A few of the locals laughed at me when I was walking down the street with my new poncho, but I did not care because it kept me dry.

Me in front of Wat Phnom (also known at Hill Temple). At the top of the hill is a small temple where you can burn incense and pray to buddha. There were three monks inside when I went to pray. One of the monks had a cellphone in his bag which kept ringing, but he kept praying. I was wondering who was calling him. He wasn't the only monk I saw with a cell phone. I guess they also need to keep in touch with people. Earlier at the King Palace, there was a monk with a digital camera taking pictures of all of the foreigners waiting in line to buy an entrance ticket. He seems very intrigued with us. Funny because I really wanted a picture of him.

As Lisa and I walked around Wat Phnom, we noticed a man placing unused condoms all around the area. He was working for an NGO called PSI who is trying to prevent the spread of HIV. Apparently, in the evening people come to Wat Phnom to engage in this sort of activity. Later I saw a bowl of condoms in the bathroom at the Ramdun restaurant.