cambodia

today was insane. i am overwhelmed by the people here in phnom penh.

a few observations of the day that i wrote down in my notebook.

1- i saw a midgit monk. really. or little person. whatever you are supposed to say. anyways, he was an older monk and dressed in hunting orange not saffron and just really cute.

2-a man with no legs in a handcrank bike followed me down the street for 10 minutes wanting money.

3-people were bathing in the river today. and brushing their teeth. and the river looks like a really chocolately milk. mmmm.

4-i stopped in a handicrafts store that is a fair-trade store for cambodians that had polio or were hurt by landmines. i met a really great british girl (right out of high school!) that has been volunteering there through a program for 3 months teaching english and helping them sew and just being there. the people were so wonderful and the girls that were working there lived in dorms and got fair wages. it was really amazing to see. and there are a lot of ngo run shops here that teach cambodians to run hotels, restaurants, handicrafts, etc. it is refreshing.

5-people are so lovely. really. gorgeous. huge smiles and hellos and sincerity everywhere. about half of the people are begging constantly, and the other half are just wonderful. it is so pleasant and friendly, despite the dirtiness of the city.

6-apparently you can blow up cows with your choice of weapon/grenade/machine gun. for a small price. sick shit.

7-you can also buy pot by the ton at any of the markets. and guns.

8-their are happy pizza stores all over. happy as in pizza a la pot. and for no extra charge they deliver to your guesthouse.

9-went to a genocide museum today. actually, just the old high school where 20,000 people were held prisoner and interrogated by the khmer rouge. glass cases full of skulls and the actual brick prison cells had me sick to my stomach. similar to the rape of nanjing in torture methods i think. but just sick.

anyhow. amazing day. a lot to take in. lots of love.

me