Moto Madness and Monster Prawns: Welcome to Cambodia

Here we go! Today has been a wonderfully productive day in the quiet, if not lazy, river town of Kampot, Cambodia...let's see if I can bring you, the reader, up-to-speed on my latest adventures.

I last gave you an epic entry only because I had had an epic experience through southern Lao. My last three weeks will be easier to describe, though they were no less eventful.

When I finally pulled myself away from Si Phon Don (not much choice, the visa ran out that day) I felt ready to go. It's a good feeling to enjoy a location to the fullest extent and actually long for the next adventure. Don Det had been a great place for me and I'd met many wonderful people, even reunited with several travelers from my preceding path.

Buying my ticket to Kratie, Cambodia for no reason other than to avoid jumping straight into the wild wild capital of Phnom Phen, I knew practically nothing about the country I was about to enter. I had been warned, however, of the border crossing. I was told by several travelers and the Lonely Planet alike that border guards notoriously fleece travelers out of extra cash whenever they can. I had purchased my visa in Vientiane and asked if there would be a charge at the border. The answer was no, and I was determined to enter without paying corrupt surcharges. As I psyched myself up for battle, I was completely blindsided by an EXIT charge from the Lao border guards. Crushed after such a positive experience in their country I muttered a few veiled obscenities and threw them a wadded up dollar bill, yanking back my passport. I quickly rebuilt my bravado for the showdown with the Cambodian corruption patrol. Learning the Khmer term for "hello" on the 200 meter walk from the Lao border station to that of Cambodia, I greeted the guards with a smile, "sua s'dai," and all necessary papers. A stampity-stamp later I was asked for a dollar. I said in very clear, slow, and stern English, "No, your embassy said I would not pay at entry," and walked to the side window of the booth, allowing the line behind me to proceed. It took only a cold, determined stare for the two men to realize that a fight with me was not worth a dollar. I walked into Cambodia with my stamped passport and a smile.

At the van's first stop inside Cambodia, I was practicing my Khmer when I heard a familiar and very unexpected voice behind me say, "Welcome to Cambodia!" Lisa, a Swiss woman I'd met on Don Det a few days earlier, had made the same stop in her van to Phnom Phen. She suggested that I meet her there, as she knew the city well but hadn't yet completed the tourist circuit and would be happy to share my company. So I decided to go to to Phnom Phen that night. Such is the nature of my travel.

Another van stop was, unsurprisingly at a cousin's establishment tied to someone in the transporation service...that's just how it's done here. I got to know two wonderfully kind Korean female monks and a few of my other vanmates and by the time we reached Kratie, I'd come to like them all. I passed around a bag of oranges I'd purchased at the Kratie market along with an OSU-themed orange and black krama (a checkered scarf--typically red and white--worn and used universally throughout Cambodia). Within a few more hours of travel, we boys on the van were cheersing with Cambodian Anchor beers and the rest of the ride to Phnom Phen was fun.

Phnom Phen: An Urban Wilderness

What a beserk city, Phnom Phen! Against all recommendations and probably common sense, I rented a motobike with Lisa and spent the days touring the city and its sites, running errands, and eating Western food. I tried to give blood at one of the blood banks but they turned me away on account of my previous donation in Luang Prabang. Ridiculous! Can someone explain to me why the Red Cross in the U.S. lets me donate every 52 days and Cambodia insists on a waiting period of 120 days? Oh, and apparently my O-negative blood, which causes a commotion of demand in the states, is not a hot item here in Cambodia. Eh well, I'll still let it drain.

I would be a fool and an irresponsible global citizen to visit Phnom Phen and not take time to reflect on the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge. So, in opposite order, I visited the S-21 prison at Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields. Taken independently, the two sites jar one's nerves and unsettle one's soul. Taken together, these locations--so recently the stage for the unthinkable acts of Pol Pot's regime--are a gut-wrenching and sobering reminder of the evil to which humankind can inexplicably succumb. Not every day on holiday is a happy day.

However, while such dark lessons should not be lost, they are best absorbed quickly lest the light of the present be missed. So I took to my moto and kept up my thorough exploration of the sprawling, screaming, stifling city of Phnom Phen. I fixed my new camera (which had seized up on Don Det) for $25 and started snapping photos again. I also got into a minor wreck on my moto...I paid the guy $24 for a bent license plate and he drove off...I still feel awful and have no idea whether or not he was injured. I also got flagged down by the police for an "illegal" left turn...though everybody else was doing it! They tried to slap me with a $5 fine but I bantered with the little Khmer I'd picked up, smiled a lot, ran an errand while they watched my bike (ha!) and asked politely for a receipt. I happily paid the Cambodian equivalent of $0.50 for ten minutes of enjoyable banter.

Also noteworthy of my stay in Phnom Phen: A leisurely stroll through the opulent grounds of the Royal Palace, eating snails along the Tonle Sap river while witnessing the onslaught on a massive thunderstorm, purchasing a new, functional compass from the Russian Market, eating really good food and drinking really good coffee, and stumbling across the biggest nightclub party of the month for expats and NGO workers at the aptly-named Elsewhere Bar.

Thailand Reunion: South to the Shores of Sihanoukville.

Good fortune alone reunited me with the Alaskan fisherman and Pacific Northwest native, Dwight Barton. I had made travel arrangements to meet him in Siem Reap but caught an email from him 15 minutes before my departure saying he was already en route to Phnom Phen. When we met at my guesthouse he said he was chomping at the bit to get to the beaches, as he'd had too much of big cities in recent weeks. So, on the turn of a few minutes, I packed my life into my backpack and we were crammed into a crowded van headed south for $10 each. Arriving in Sihanoukville with time left to hit the bars, we were giddy with anticipation for the days to come. Two of Dwight's traveling companions, Jarno of Finland and Ryan of Hawaii, were due in soon. I'd met both of them, along with Dwight, on Ko Tao, Thailand back in early February. The boys were back in town...

Then...also as good fortune would have it...Dwight and I rounded a corner to a row of guesthouse rooms to find the delightful Miss Vicki Cunningham enjoying a mellow night with a few of her travel friends. If ever there was a time when crossed paths felt significant, that was it! This is the same Vicki I'd met, and spent considerable time with, on Ko Pha Ngan and again in northern Lao. Well, we teamed back up and enjoyed a full 10 days in Sihanoukville together.

Sihanoukville can easily be described as the land of the lotus-eaters. It is an eddy in the flow of the travelers' circuit, trapping those who don't have the energy or desire to pull themselves out. The days passed in similar fashion, centered primarily around food. In fact, the biggest decisions of each day were typically what and where to eat, and with whom. These decisions and their execution would easily eat up several hours at a time, peppered with sunbathing, motobiking, and general lounging about. Fortunately, Vicki and I motivated each other (or maybe she motivated me) to get out and about and see a few of the surrounding sights. But when it came to gluttonous hedonism at mealtime, we were on the same wavelength...I enjoyed the following exquisitely inexpensive meals:

• Beach BBQ'd barracuda, shrimp, squid, and MONSTROUS prawns
• Multiple trips to Saigon 199, the cheap and filling noodle soup joint favored by Dwight and Jarno
• A two course meal of barracuda ceviche and prawn-stuffed beef tenderloin (with Aussie wine)
• A massive bowl of yellow curry with beef
• Several tasty bubble teas and a "hamburger"
• Countless different styles of Cambodia's characteristic dish, fish Amok (curry and coconut milk)
• A few helpings of the traditional English breakfast treat...baked bean toasties
• A scrumptious pizza
• One family-style meal of rich Indian food...not the best, nor the worst
• In the company of three Swedish women, traditional Swedish sausage with cream-sauced pasta
• One late-night hot dog
• And no doubt several other dishes that have slipped my memory...

I want to note that I danced a lot with the late night crowd at the beachfront bars. I think this exercise offsets the aforementioned gluttony. I think. In any case, Vicki and I realized that, for our last two days together, we had to escape Sihanoukville. So we booked a ride to Kampot and enjoyed one last night with our good friends.

On Kampot:

I have been here for seven days now, and I love it. Vicki and I had a great time for my first two days here, which brought her total to seven days in Kampot. We moto'd to Kep, a nearby resort town recently pulling itself up after hard times. This ride was one of the most beautiful I've experienced...so lush and GREEN! On our last night, Vicki used the birthday cash sent by her friend to treat the two of us to what is arguably the best meal I've had on this trip. I had a New Zealand rib eye and Vicks had the Argentine rib eye (mine was better, but we split them) and a fantastic bottle of Australian Shiraz-CabSauv.

Since Vicki's departure, I've been puttering around this town, surfing the web, enjoying coffee, feasting on the occasional "expensive" Khmer dish at a western-run restaraunt, and wolfing down more than enough tasty street meals at $0.50 each. This brings me full circle and finally up-to-date on the blog.

The latest news, however, is that I may return to Kampot to stay for a month. I met today with Hallam Goad of the Sugar Palm Project. This non-profit association works with local families and the...ever so cooperative...government of Cambodia to carry out urban planning and community development projects. I told Hallam, straightforwardly, that I wanted to stay in Kampot for one month of my travels and have some positive effect on the people and community around me. I mentioned my interest in working in water resource management and sanitation but said I'd be happy to dig holes, paint walls, or write e-mails if I knew it was for something good. He was visibly pleased to have an eager volunteer and told me he'd set about immediately finding the best fit for me. In the mean time, tomorrow I strike northwest to Battambang and Siem Reap (for the temples of Angkor) before my visa burns out on the 31st. Once a position is secured, I'll renew my visa in Phnom Phen and spend May in Kampot.

That's literally my journey in a nutshell, thanks for tuning in.

Until next time...stay classy, world.