Phnom Penh: Hustling Bustling City

After having "breakfast" at 9am, which yummily consisted of chicken fried rice, morning glory and noodles, Kit took me on quite an intense tour of Phnom Penh. A traditional tuk-tuk brought us all around town - to the Royal Palace, the Genocide Museum, the mall, the market and some other local sites. The brutal history here, a combination of the Vietnam War and a wannabe holocaust lead by General Pol Pot, is quite horrific. Every single living Cambodian has scary stories of the past to share, yet it does not particularly show in their eyes, which are hopeful and happy. It's very humbling to see people conquer the struggles of such a burdened history with an optimistic eye. It puts many things into perspective.

The city is definitely alive and the traffic is anarchic. Sometimes a family of 4 ride on the back of an old motorbike, more often a tuk-tuk U-turns in the middle of the wrong side of the traffic. It's the law of the jungle in this town and of course street lights and road signs aren't apart of its landscape.

There are no shortage of street vendors selling food and snacks, postcards, and other various things and here and there you'll see an old man or lady carrying a scale, trading a few riel to people who want to know their weight. There are plenty of exotic fruits (as well as smells) and the streets are fairly dirty, but overall the city does not feel threatening and its people are extremely nice and humble. Taking a photograph of a kid or a monk is well received and it seems westerners are quite appreciated.

We went through the clothing and jewelry market to check out all the goods and I bought a North Face backpack for $9! WTF - Paragon Sports owes me 90 bucks... Kit took me to the top of the mall, which was awesome, not only because it had AIR CONDITIONING, but because at the very top I got to snap some shots of the rooftops of Phnom Penh, something that isn't very easy to do here as there aren't hardly any high rise buildings. There was a rollerskating rink at the top where the local teenagers claimed as a hot spot. It was crazy cool! It had ramps in it and a couple of the kids were doing some bad-ass skating and falling, worthy of a good ol' American lawsuit...

We took a tour of the slums, which were pretty hardcore, but I didn't feel that they were as bad as they were in India by comparison. Here, there doesn't seem to be a huge gap between the rich and the poor - it seems much more homogenous in general. Poor, but homogenous.

This evening, Kit, Ream, Courtney and I tuk-tuked to the other side of town to grab some dinner at a Westernized sort of spot, but I had a local curry dish and a banana-pineapple-coconut smoothie. Was quite good and now I AM EXHAUSTED and ready for BED.

Arrival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

As the plane hovered over Phnom Penh, my heart started to beat pretty fast. After 4 months of planning and reading and preparing and planning and reading and preparing, I'm finally here! After disembarking the plane, I was ushered to a line to get a visa. It was as easy as 5 minutes and $20. I wish France would take a hint...

It's 90 degrees and HUMID. Probably something like 80%. Mosquitoes already started to swarm into the baggage claim area and I was really hoping I had my little citronella magic potion mixture on me, but I didn't. At baggage claim I already noticed one young woman, who was quite attractive and nicely dressed... and missing a leg. My heart sunk - all the stuff I had read about the dangers of land mine explosions instantly became real.

Kit Carson, a native of San Diego, and his Cambodian wife, Ream, were waiting for me at the airport. They seem like wonderful people, I'm sure this week is going to be a lot of fun. They drove us to the hotel in the middle of the city, the Royal Palace, with a bright neon awning, you can't miss it. At nighttime, everything is pretty much shutdown and dark. By the time I got settled into the room, it was about midnight and Kit told me he would be happy to take me downstairs for a stroll where a massive amount of street vendors were sleeping outside with their fruits and vegetables ready for delivery the next day. He said by the time we make it outside in the morning, most of the produce would be gone. It was a really interesting sight - people sleeping in wheelbarrows, on lounge chairs, chatting, eating and naturally as we were making our way up and down the main street with my big camera and tripod, we seemed to be the center of attention. For one thing I am SO thankful: Cambodians LOVE the camera! This will make my task incredibly easier.

In a way, the general sentiment in the street reminded me kind of like India and how friendly people are, regardless of the fact that I'm trespassing my massive camera into their territory. The men, however seem more approachable and sweet. I came across a dude in a pink Hello Kitty shirt who instantly became my muse, as well as a guy rocking a Subway cap. It kind of bugs me out how the US always has to slide its nasty fast food chains into people's wardrobes somehow or another, even if in 3rd world countries. A couple of adorable little kids were really intrigued by the camera so we had a little fashion shoot.

It's now 5:30 am, I have jet-lag and so I've taken this opportunity to work like any faithful workaholic. I just grabbed the AC remote to turn it down a bit, there are two buttons: "too hot" and "too cool"... That's funny.

Here are some images...

Seoul, Korea

After a pretty easy flight that had the best food I've ever had on an airplane, I am now in Seoul, Korea. The airport is really clean and kind of futuristic – it makes American airports look like L.A.M.P.. My first stop was to the Korea Cultural Experience shop where I got to make a broche for free with the help of a plastic butterfly, some glitter and some glue. My little plastic souvenir masterpiece is pretty cool I must say. I sat next to a Japanese woman who was just in New York and extremely excited to talk to me. A little too excited. I then cruised the shops, taking some pictures here and there of interesting cultural things and couldn’t help but stop to buy an extra tax-free camera (Canon EOS 450D) as backup. I figure if I’m lost in the middle of the Cambodian countryside and something happens to my baby, it may be wise to have an extra buddy there.

I’ve now scored internet and am getting excited for my next leg of the trip. Nine more hours to go…

Roissy Charles DeGaulle

Naturally, I start my first entry at the airport. I’m bored, waiting for the flight to board. First stop: Seoul, South Korea – a mere 11-hour flight. Help.

Since the beginning of the project, my plans in Indochina have slightly altered. Instead of going straight to the Anjali House in Siem Reap, Cambodia, I was invited to stay at an orphanage in a rural area just outside of Phnom Penh called A Greater Hope (http://www.agreaterhopeorphanage.org) that hosts about 30 kids. The founders, Kit and Ream Carson contacted me a little over a month ago to see if I could possibly stop by while I was in Cambodia in order to take photographs of their orphanage and their children for their website. Of course, this invitation was greeted with glee and so that will be my very first stop in Cambodia! The plan so far for the first couple of days is for them to show me around Phnom Penh and take me to famous sights like the Killing Fields and the King’s Palace, and then we will head to their orphanage where I will be staying for the rest of the week. There is one other volunteer so far at the orphanage: Courtney Cain, who is a 21-year-old girl from Missouri who has been there for a week now. I’ve been in contact with her and have read her blog so far – it seems that I’m in for quite an adventure!

The next step is to head by bus to the Anjali House, an NGO/school located in a smaller commune of Siem Reap, which is the village right outside of the Angkor Wat temples. I will be staying there for three weeks teaching and running some sort of an arts and crafts program. As of right now, I have NO idea what I’ll be doing specifically, the volunteers are trained upon arrival. There are approximately 80 kids there, from 5-16 years old. It’s run as a school and not as an orphanage – they take in orphans and children with difficulties, who would not normally have the educational opportunity, to get them off the streets in the daytime and prepare them for better jobs in the future. Many of the orphans and struggling children there would probably just become beggars or street workers had they not had access to an education. There is also an incredible amount of child trafficking and sex slavery there, which is one of the biggest problems Cambodian children may face, alongside catching fatal diseases such as AIDS or being victimized from landmine explosions, remnant of the Vietnam war.

After the stay at the Anjali House, I will have an extra week left to travel or do whatever else may come up. I’m strongly considering taking a bus to Ho Chi Minh and then flying to Hanoi to visit Ha Long Bay and other local sites – Vietnam sounds like a nice way to end the trip.