So it we've been in Cambodia for almost 2 days now. I tried explaining what happened yesterday but i was so delusional that i really dont remember too much of what i wrote. I just know i was extremely tired.
today was filled with activities including roaming through Battambang market, the bamboo rail, flashmob aerobics. Let me give you a few highlights of the last 48 hours.
The most popular form of transportation here is a moped and i've seen about 4-5 people packed in each one. it is like entire family transporting from one place to another. its really funny to see, ive heard that it gets up to to like 6 people on one. the trucks have like 20 people. definitely a site to see.
we woke up this morning in siem reape and we took a "private cab" 3 hour drive to this city called Battambang. this is where CFI is based out of and where Erik's brother lives. we paid a wopping $30 this experience. this is the equivalent of getting a private cab from Atlantic City to new york city but it in a much more chaotic environment. I'm still baffled but the extremely low cost/prices for food/activities here. it is really mind boggling to be paying $1.00 for a full lunch or dinner.
we arrived at our hotel in battambang called the Royal hotel. For the hotel rooms, we had 3 options. $9 for a 2 bedswith cold shower, fan, $10 for 2 beds, fan, coldshower or $20 for.. wait for it....wait for it...HOT shower, with 2 beds, fan, balcony and A/C unit. This is split amongst Todd, Erik and Me. for someone reason we've been trying to save $11 by NOT having hot water and A/C. if i am at any bit hot later tonight, i am getting my own room i dont care.
our hotel bathroom was an experience. this it the first time ive see a bathroom, shower and sink all in the same room. no doors to block each other. you will literally shit and shower at the same time. you can probably shit, shower and shave at the same time if you really wanted to. also, the most important thing is there is NO toilet paper! they just have this hose that you use to clean your butt. that's it.
just to give you an update on Todd, this is Erik's coworker who he randomly saw traveling here , and they realized they worked together and Todd is doing his own vacation but similar itinerary so he's tagging along for the next 4 days. the thing about todd is that he LOVVEEES to bargain. we've trying negotiating $1 and $2 meals, and tu tu rides...i dont know how it does it but sometime or more often than not he will be successful. i personally dont mind since it is so cheap to begin with but i think he likes the thrill of discounts. At one point, he made a transaction that consisted of a discounted price and include a piece of fruit in exchange for the ride on the tuk tuk (the 2nd main form of transportation for tourists)
And btw- you can literally make it rain here with 20 singles. if you try breaking 20 at ANY of the restaurants, little shops or stores, the people will honestly shit themselves and not know what to do. they would be overwhelmed and excited.
it's like going into McDonalds's in the US of A and buying a happy meal by dropping a hundo. it just doesnt happen. I serious feel like i can live like a king here. .50 cents for beer, as a mentioned in my last blog entry but honestly everything is $1.00-$2.50. okay, enough about the cheap shit...
We did a really fun activity today, i twas called the Bamboo rail. The locals used this rail as a form of transportation for supplies etc, but you can also ride it like a tourist attraction. it was recently taken over the government so its govt regulated but it's basically a traintrack with platforms made of bamboo that rides on the track, powered by lawnmower like engines and a cambodian tweenager.
Let me tell you that the cambodian child are very cute, they all gather around you asking if you are interested in buying the stuff they made or from their home/village. They are all programmed to try and sell you things and make you feel bad. It's like they will say... "hello mr. hansom, would you like to buy this pictures. 10 for $1. " If you say no, they go right to the next thing, "would you like to buy this flute, it plays many sounds"and they will start just playing for you. "would you like to buy this necklace, so I can pay for schoooool??" they ask in a high pitched voice at the end to make you feel so bad! it's like they are machines or like a whind up toy, they are so cute and its very hard not to give in. they have a set list of things to sell you like they take them out of their pocket one by one if you declined the previous item. it's like QVC channel- cambodian style.
towards the end of the day we were winding down, we walked through the market and boom , out of no where we see a group of people doing a dance in a unison! it's a flash mob! at least i thought initially but i was just a daily aerobics class they do so we made erik hop in there and participate. we also got involved with a makeshift street show with some cambodian tweens and a hoolahoop.
we then ended the night was a nice dinner with erik, todd, Andrew (erik's brother) and Jenn, who works at CFI.
tomorrow we will possibly do a 4 hour bike ride tour to see some of the Cambodian lower income houses and then we are going to CFI in the afternoon to spend time with the kids.
Good night America.
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