So we'll start from where we left off! Our trip to Phnom Penh was AWESOME! The 8 hour bus ride... not so great, especially considering it was freezing cold!... Annnd that meant not much sleep for Friday! It made sense to wear our pajamas for the bus ride there because it was through the night.... but that was before we found out our hotel's check-in was at 2:00pm. We arrived in Phnom Penh at 5:30am :D Surprisingly, a LOT of people were up and running! (literally.) Toul Sleng (S-21/ interrogation camp of the Khmer rouge) was our first stop! It was quite the site to see... but words cannot explain the brutality of the torture from one man to another. There were some other people there that had picked a Jack fruit. They were really nice and offerred us some... ha. not the best thing we've ever had. It had really weird seeds that no lie looked like placentas with umbilical cords... not the most appetizing thing at 7 30 in the morning. After Toul Sleng, we went to find breakfast! It was harder than it may sound as we had a non-english speaking driver, and most restaurants were not suitable. We ended up going to a somewhat normal restaurant however, it was quite fancy. We felt right at home with our pj's on :P Our third stop of the day was the killing fields. Again, astounding but heart breaking at the same time. After these adventures it was still not quite 2:00 so we went shopping! It was a success! Annnd hot and sweaty too :) in. our. pajamas. Finally, at 3:30 we were able to leave the market and head for the hotel! We said good-bye to our Pj's and hello to the bathing suits! Yup. our hotel had a pool! It was glorious. For lunch/dinner we had a "western" meal :P but guess what! we're still in cambodia :P so lets just say... it was a good try...
There ended up being a slight disagreement due to out "unsuitable" money. It had a wee tear in it. It concluded with us relocating the next morning. That was okay though because we enjoyed the second hotel a lot better! and! it was cheaper! Before we left the first hotel though.. we had a strange breakfast to say the least. Another one of those "western" attempts... the pancakes and... the jam.... and the bread... and the "who knows".... yeah... they said something was fruit but we think it was rice bread.... and the sad part is that was the best part. but thank you God for food anyway! We moved on to the second hotel which had a total of 7 rooms... we took 3! Our room ended up being on the top floor with a balcony! :D it was great! For lunch we went to a restaurant that is an NGO called friends. All their profits go to keeping women and children off the streets. They also have a couple stores where they recycle garbage and elephant poop to make different products. It really cool! We went shopping for pretty much the rest of the day and then ate at the hotel. and this time. it was good "western" food. We all split our own ways and then the two of us talked for a couple hours (maybe like 5...sis talk ya know? :P) on the balcony :) it was a grand ol' time. It was as long and beautiful day with approx. 2and1/2 hours following. We jollily got up at 5 30 and joined "our" parents for a stroll by the waterfront. During our walk there were many sights to see! There was: excercise groups, yoga, hip-hop, volley ball with the feet, badminton, annnnnnd an elephant! On our way back we stopped at the "Blue Pumpkin Cafe" It had all sorts of different pastries and such with homemade icecream too! We had to try some :) We bought some treats for the road and some ice cream to go! Nothin' like ice cream at 6 30 in the mornin :) After breakfast at the hotel... it was delightful... we loaded up and headed for the door. of Phnom Penh. Our bus was late and we ended up transfering along the way to a "bus" that was shaped quite like a car if you ask us. This "bus" had brown and yellow stains on the seats. Mud was smeared all over the interior, it was... just... beautiful. Thankfully we only had to endure that for an hour. When we got back "home" Melissa (Morgans cousin) and Charlene ( White family friend) had arrived... along with our lovely neighborhood friends! ANTS. In. Our. Peanut butter. We could have died. Now. Lets just put this in perspective. This peanut butter traveled halfway around the world to find us. it was shoved and bumped and pushed thrown around and it made it here all the way from Canada. We were in longing for this stuff when we came home. Its the only peanut butter and not to mention the most home-like resource of our time here. We even locked it up so the maids wouldn't steal it. so you can imagine our repulsion to find it had been invaded by ants. but its safe and sound now! We couldn't just throw it out cause we were only 3 weeks into our trip and this was supposed to last us the entire time! We persevered and conserved as much PB as possible. This process involved scooping out every last ant and wiping it down and watching the PB go to waste one spoonful at a time. We almost cried.
But other than that everything in our lives is pretty normal! This week wasn't to elaborate. I (aryn) went to some villages on monday and got sick tuesday and morgan has been at safe haven all week! All of us kids decided that last night was in need of some excitement so rather than picking up bread from the market we got Ice cream! And surprisingly it actually tasted like icecream! and chocolate! It was to die for. It definitely won't be the last time we go :)
This weekend will be pretty chill... Morgans Birthday tomorrow!!! Yeah 17!... crazy. We might possibly go to Siem Reap to see the temples this weekend... but its up in the air at the moment!
anywho.... Know you're missed and we can't wait to see you all when we get back... and food parties anyone? we need some real "western" food :P
love ya!
No comments:
Post a Comment