I met so many people yesterday, mainly of my age, but there are a handful of people 29+. It’s comforting being surrounded by so many like-minded people who just love to travel. All a bit apprehensive of learning the strange Khemer language spoken by the Cambodia’s, the children actually being able to understand our poor attempts and what our individual placements and host family’s had to offer we spent the day learning “Do’s and dont’s”, setting up phones, money and going on a quick city tour of Phenom Penh. Though today we’re being split up, I’m hoping to be able to travel on my weekends with some of the girls I’ve met so far. However, I still don’t really know what to expect!

We arrived at the river side palace, admittedly we were an easy target coming in a large group of predominately westerners, and immediately these poor, heat exhausted children started following our each and every foot step. Latching on to some more than others, no matter how many times to you said no there their heart breaking offers for 1000 reil bags of corn kernels (25cents). At first I wasn’t targets but half way along 2 little boys who told me they were 10 and 11 followed me half way around the grounds, “felixing” me the whole way (walking exactly where my feet are about to go. They even bartered them down, I kept saying no. The thing is here you can’t give these poor, probably innocent children money because you don’t know who they are attached to and when one gets money they flock and won’t leave you alone. So I didn’t really get to take in all that much of the palace cause I was too busy making sure I wasn’t going to get anything snatched and shoo-ing off these boys (and girl).

The year of the snake sculpture, changed yearly in the center of town, surrounding a large clock.

Phenom penh temples

New harem pants from the Chatuchak markets.

This store was the weirdest experience and insight into the crazy things Chinese people eat… Pictured is what I though was saw dust, but is what they combine with the discussing looking dried out meats. Below is dried fish…. That about did me!

This lady was serving up pigs blood soup with liver, kidneys, brains, veins, you name it…the lady laughed a my reaction when Jerry explained to me what was laid out in front of her

More open aired than the Sydney, and only China town I’ve been to the streets were full of tourists and Chinese people on plastic chairs on the side walks eating the crazy concoctions of “foods” the Chinese seem to eat.

I can’t upload any photos at the moment cause I’m staying on the froth floor of a guesthouse and wifi is not fabulous up here, it’s been a long and heat exhausting day so the air con is too good to leave for now. But, I’m safe and sound in Phnom Penh with today being my orientation day for volunteering. I leave tomorrow for the Pursat province in Northern Cambodia where I’ll be living with a Cambodian family and other volunteers for a month, working in a close by orphanage. Roads… Or rather dirt lane ways are chaotic here, their are no rules, nor do people seem to look out for others (I’m beginning to learn apparently its okay to push in here no matter how long you and your heavy backpack have been waiting in that airport/any queue), i’ve never seen so many motorbikes in my life, beers are 50cents, it’s about 30+ degrees daily but the humidity and sun means for constant heat exhaustion, the sun has been shining, hippie pants are in abundance and the people are all wonderfully like-minded; I think ill be in Cambodia for a while.

Swarms and swarms of people take to these markets each week to get there hands on the odds and ends and everything in between. Said to be the biggest undercover outdoor markets in the world I could definitely see how and why. There’s fruit, fake brands of just about anything, bags, clothes, jewellery, art, food and even animals! There is absolutely no doubt you’ll get lost in amongst the maze of indoor stalls and outdoors street vendors. We walked around for hours and hours and only just ended back where we started. Brendan will be proud of my two tie dye purchases and I got some beautiful colourful embroidered bags but left thankful to be out of the claustrophobic alley ways and with the realisation that I am terrible at bartering!