Last of Cambodia

Sorry it has taken me so long to get through all this Asia stuff. A couple posts from Vietnam coming up and then I will start catching up on what I’ve been doing back in the good ol’ US of A. Here’s the last few days of Cambodia.

Buddhism in Cambodia

As I explained in the last blog, Cambodia really took it’s toll on us. We were taken advantage of, the heat was unbearable, and living conditions were very third world. However we quickly realized that there was always a place to go when we wanted a break from some of the more undesirable aspects of Cambodia. Around every corner is a Buddhist Monastery, and they were always happy to see us.


Many of the monks were studying English and were excited to practice with Kristen and I.


This kid was really enthusiastic about learning English. He had me read into a tape recorder so he could study my pronunciation later.


This little black bear had been brought to the monastery a few days earlier.


This monkey lived at another monastery right down the street.


Monkeys at a Monastery surrounded by a big park in the Capital city of Phnom Penh.


Monk texting.


Feeding the cat fish.


This process of collecting water in buckets and putting it in these tanks was all so they could flush the toilet.


This was also part of the toilet rig.

Thailand to Cambodia

We flew into Bangkok. This trip repeatedly reminded me that I am not a city person, and Bangkok was, well…a big ass city. Kristen and I spent three days in Bangkok then made our way to the Cambodia border.


This is the only photo I took in Bangkok before heading for the border.

Okay, the next three photos are for the skateboarders. Everyone else can skip over this part.


Holy SHIT! I found this spot at the Thailand/Cambodia border. It’s never been skated. I didn’t bring a board on this trip and at this point hadn’t skated in over a month.


This is probably one of the best spots in the world.


These little ledges surrounded the spot on all sides.


After an exhausting first few days in Thailand, Cambodia offered no refuge. Our naivety and trusting nature were immediately taken advantage of. Day one we lost about $160 on a transaction gone bad. Unfortunately, we found that we had to assume we could trust no one. This was very emotionally exhausting for both of us because it is so against our natural way of thinking.


The women in Cambodia wear Pajamas all day every day.


Gas


We took a long ride down to the southern coast by way of several share taxis. They would cram as many people as humanly possible into these things. I think at one point we had about 14 people and some chicken inside of, hanging onto, and on top of a station wagon.

After about the fourth day we started to get a feel for Cambodia and were able to relax and enjoy ourselves. We had to stay clear of the touristy areas. They were just too overwhelming.


Kampot was a small fishing village along the southern coast. We spend a couple days there.


We rented a moto and hit the road. We hit up a couple of caves along the way. Above these kids (our tour guides) there is a huge piece of rock that just seems to be hovering there. They said they don’t know how it is there, but it will fall one day… hopefully not today.


In the fishing villages and farming areas the people were really nice. We felt at ease for the most part.


Lonely planet was our best friend.


Farming along the mighty Mekong River.


More from Cambodia soon.