Cambodia – Week 1 + (pt. 1)

My original idea for the blog is that I would write frequently about my everyday life but perhaps this will just be a weekly recap. Perhaps a Sunday morning read for all my loves back in the States.

I arrived in Phnom Pehn (PP) late at night on the 3^rd and pretty much went to sleep right away.  So really my Cambodian adventure begins on the 4^th ….

Housing – Originally I was going to stay in the volunteer apartment next to Aziza’s Place (AP) but two volunteers that extended their stay are occupying it. So I will need to find an apartment for the meantime. I will move in to the volunteer apartment either on Oct 14^th or November 1^st depending on what apartment I find beforehand (and how much I like it). So now I am staying with Ali and Dan (the interim Directors at AP) in their guest room. They have been super nice about the situation but I know we would both like me to have my own place. Ali and I have been apartment hunting and hopefully I find one soon.

Transportation: So getting around PP is pretty interesting. There are a couple of options:

The Tuk-Tuk – This is quite similar to an auto rickshaw (for all of you familiar with the Indian version) but it is a little more open and carriage like. It is one of the “pricier” options for traveling so negotiating beforehand is a must. Being a foreigner they often try to charge 3-5x the actual amount, but I think I am getting the rates down so it won’t be so bad in the future (knowing Khmer is a must). In general since tuk-tuks are nicer, bigger, and “safer” you don’t pay less than $1. However, if you are in a rush these are not the best option.

Moto – Moto taxis are just a guy riding around on a motorcycle. You hop on back and tell them where to go. You can always find a moto since they normally call after you saying “moto? moto?” The western part of my mind sort of feels weary about hopping on the back of a strangers motorcycle, but luckily that is just a small part of my brain. I guess it is the “While in Cambodia…. “ mentality. Normally if you plan on taking motos around it is best to buy your own helmet so you can ride around safely. (I just learned that if someone gets into an accident and there is a head injury they can not be airlifted out, and there are no neurosurgeons or neurologists in Cambodia so…..wear helmets!) Anyhow this is the fastest and cheapest way of getting around.

Cyclo –  I have never taken a cyclo but it sure seems interesting. As Kristine says “it provides an easy escape in case anything happens!” Basically it is bike with a carriage in front.  I have no clue on the rates but I will hopefully find out soon!

Bicycle – I got my bike! It is a cute little single speed bike with a basket in front (I went to Friends, which is an NGO run store, and bought a cute watermelon colored cover) It is nice getting around on my own and not worrying about explaining where I am going to a driver and not having to PAY! The only drawbacks are 1. If you bike for more than 1 minute you get drenched with sweat 2. Navigating the streets is scary business. Biking and road rules do NOT apply. I try to bike with confidence and hope I don’t get hit.  Thankfully it’s in their best interest to not hit me, or at least that is what I keep telling myself.

Money: Since everything is in USD and priced accordingly it does not seem like I am going to be saving all that much in the ‘bode. It kind of stinks, especially since I am still on a grad school budget. I think it is totally bizarre that Cambodia uses USD. When I travel abroad I am so used to mentally recalculating prices and in Asia I feel like things should be cheaper. In Cambodia there is neither thing happening. When I buy something and it is $5 that means it is $5! When you got to the ATM you get crisp USD so it is starting to set in that things are not always a deal. I guess my life as a graduate student really is continuing.

Also, even though they use US currency they do not use cents. For that they use Riel. It is approximately 4,000 RL for 1 USD.  Outside of places with a lot of foreigners (or for transportation) you can get by on the RL system and save a little bit of money when you play the conversion.  I hope to visit more local establishments so that I can save some money.

Bugs –  I am quite a catch, I’m sweet and wonderful. That is what the bugs of Phnom Pehn seem to think of me. I know I should feel flattered but I am sure they think that about all the “fresh meat” :( My feet and body are the haven of these little suckers. Ugh.

Internet – As you can tell from this blog (and emails you might have already received from me) I am fairly well-connected to the internet which has been awesome. So keep up the email chains! 

If you want to skype or call me the best times seem to be around 9 p.m EST!

I think this post is getting a little long. I’ll add some more soon so I am a little more up to date! 

(South) Korea – the recap

After the long (and somewhat sleepless) flight over from L.A we finally reached Korea at 4:15 am. After some quick emails home it was time to explore the airport and grab something to eat.  Now you might wonder, what do you get for breakfast at 5 am in Seoul’s airport… well Udon noodles of course! It was just what my body was looking for after such a long flight with terrible food.

Warm udon noodles in a salty broth. Yum!

Afterwards Kristine and I realized we had quite a bit of time on our hands. We couldn’t book a tour until 6 am and we couldn’t take the tour until 9 am. So we decided to wander, and wander we did. I was starting to feel the effects of the lack of sleep and decided to look for a coffee shop that might have soy milk. So we wandered around onto every floor and into every café/coffee shop/ bakery asking if they served soy milk. We got to see the entire airport and that was pretty interesting, but super frustrating because NO ONE had soy milk. Now call me presumptuous but I thought on a continent where there are many people that are lactose-intolerant they would have alternative available. Sigh. Anyhow in the end we went to a Dunkin Donuts and got an iced coffee.

Speaking of Dunkin Donuts… there were a number of American chains throughout Korea. There were many 7-11s and Baskin Robbins. I really wasn’t expecting that. The airport had a number of croissant cafes and espresso/desert places that seemed to be part of a chain as well.

Around 7 am we finally bought the tickets to the tour, and found these pod looking things to rest until the tour started. That is where we would hang out for the majority of the time in the airport. We loved the fun and convenient design.

Kristine and I loving Korea on the pods

Flash forward a couple of hours and it was time for the tour!

The car ride into Seoul was a bit long, and sort of knocked the energy right out of me. As we were driving it began to rain (what great luck). However from what I could see from the road is that Korea is designed really nicely. There are mountains (or at least they looked like mountains) and water. The roads are arranged beautifully and it was all quite modern. It seemed like one of the nicer Asian cities for sure.

The first stop on the tour was the Jongmyo Royal Shrine / Changgyeonggung Palace I can’t give you that much history on the place but I will say it was quite a site. There is so much history that was apparent in the structures. The grounds had a number of ornate buildings, I wouldn’t doubt that people get lost there.  Perhaps some pictures would be helpful:

We went to the folk museum and wandered around. Funny enough I think that most of the exhibits were Chinese in nature (and there was one on African drums…).  I think one of my favorite exhibits was this modern representation of the Korean script. It displayed current characters and its past roots.

Outside there were some awesome stone sculptures. Each has its own story and I thought they were quite lovely. I think people should have such sculptures in the States. Perhaps in the garden, sure beats those creepy gnomes people have.

Isn't he lovely? Isn't he beautiful?

After that we went to the shopping district. That is where I met me love Mr. Roboto (see below). We then went out for a traditional Korean BBQ lunch (YUM!) and back to the airport we went.

We were so happy to see one another and we decided to run into each other's arms

We were back on the pods for some rest then went through towards our gate. We wandered around for a bit, hit up an internet café, and stopped by the Korean cultural center. That is where we played traditional Korean games (from the time of the royal family) and tried on the traditional dress.  

Korean traditional dress

We grabbed some dinner and got ready for our flight to Cambodia! I was quite proud of us for killing 14 hours and not going too stir crazy :) Needless to say, I really liked Seoul. It is such a modern and interesting city. As I was walking around I thought to myself that this is a place that I wouldn’t mind living in for a while. Great balance of new and old.  It is on my list as a place to visit for an extended period of time.

Oh by the way… at the end of my time in Korea I finally found a place that had soy milk. It was at Caribou coffee, which was located at our departing gate. Go figure. 

Ah hem...

And now a brief word from our sponsors.

….

Dear Family and Friends:

Fair warning…. I am a terrible blogger! I fully expected to keep up to date with this but apparently I am not very good.

I don’t like to read blogs that swallow you in text and that is not what I want for my own blog, so after the next two long posts (sorry!) I hope that my posts will be more frequent and just hit the fun highlights. Since it might be hard to post all the fun photos I might establish a flickr account (more on that later).

Okay well… that is it for now.

-Dar

….

Now back to the regularly scheduled blogging.

Welcome to Korea: High Heels Galore

Dear Women of Korea:

Why didn’t you let me know in advance that you rock beautiful sky-high heels (regardless of terrain or weather condition). I would have appreciated the heads up.

Envious in Korea,

Darley

There is a reason this picture is all over the Seoul aiport

“Welcome to L.A the birthplace of … Tori Spelling”

So after a sleepless night of packing I made my way to JFK for the first leg of my adventure, L.A.  Since I was both sleepy and delirious the goodbye with my mom was a little easier because I did not fully comprehend what was going on (needless to say when it did dawn on me I was super sad).

view of the plane before take-off

The only things of interest in regards to the flight were: 1. Virgin airlines charges less for tickets but finds ways to make the money elsewhere. Case and point- they charge for the movies or certain television shows you watch and for food. Grr. 2. The title of this post was what the flight attendant said when I landed in L.A. it made me laugh and I needed to share it with you all.

I was so glad to visit Jason and see how his new life was playing out, and let me tell you… it looks good.

Trip Highlights and Fun Adventures:

One of my favorite buildings on Jason's campus

Visiting Loyola Law School (Go Jason!)

Santa Monica Pier (It was nice to see the ocean and walk along the boardwalk!)

 Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Chinese Theater 

(It’s the super touristy thing to do, and I am sure glad I did it)

AND...  finally seeing Echo Park (So… there is a song that Shirley introduced me to called “Echo Park Ornithology Club” by Mark Salling that I really like. I really wanted to see the place he referenced. From what I can tell… there doesn’t seem to be many birds so I have no clue what they are really watching there…)

L.A was a great transition from NY on the way to Asia. It was the perfect mix of familiar and unfamiliar. I think I will have to come back again… but for a lot longer!


Updates on Korea in a bit!

Hello World It's Me Darley!

Life in a whirlwind

I’m currently sitting in Logan airport in Boston on my way to Michigan for the weekend.  There is still a little more than a week before I depart on my little adventure!

Just as Life is flying by my to-do list seems to be getting longer by the minute.

It is during moments like this that I think it might be best to just stop and reflect. My most recent and reoccurring reflections seem to be … the great city of Boston. There is honestly just so much to love about the city. Its mix of charm and beauty is just unlike any other city I have been to in the States. I have been thinking a lot about calling this city home after graduation, and just when I get excited about laying my own roots I go back to NY for a visit.

Somehow that always changes things.

When I visit NY I get sucked into the glory of the place. It has this surreal magnetism that is hard to really put into words. The only way it can be described is through personification (which is also reflective of the people that inhabit it). New York would be  the person at the  party that is surrounded by others. No one can knows why they really want to hear what New York has to say, see what NY does, just simply be surrounded by the glow of New York. New York seems totally unaware (or it is just being coy) that everyone is just there for them. Its strange but somehow that is what New York seems like to me. The only way to escape the force field is to run away as soon as you can. In my case… I ran right back into the warm embrace of Boston (it never seems to mind that I strayed). 

Tickets Booked, Plans Made...

Its official... I'm moving to Cambodia for 6 months! Well... to be fair it has been official for some time, but it took me this long to buy my tickets. I'm flying from NY to LA on 08/31/10 and then flying to Cambodia from on 09/01/10. It was a lot cheaper to fly to the west coast than the east. It worked out well because now I get to travel with Kristine.

We will have a 14 hr layover in Seoul, South Korea so we hope to get a fair amount of exploring done. 

Speaking of exploring.... Kristine and I created a post-practicum plan! (Yes, we realize we haven't even got to Cambodia yet!) We will spend the two months traveling around and exploring parts of Asia, Europe, and Africa. Having the ability to just travel must be the only perk of being a graduate student!

I'll try to keep up with this blog because it will be a great way for everyone to share my adventure.

Hopefully in the next 10 months I'll travel to 17 countries... prepare for the whirlwind!!


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UPDATE: 08-20-10: The trip is now in reverse, well sort of, and we dropped Sweden (sorry Sweden). Itinerary will be posted soon