CAMBODIA!!

You never quite know what you will find when you enter a new country. Will the people speak English? Will they be nice? How will I get the new currency as fast as possible? How do I get from point A to point B? As I emerged from the airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia I was immediately at ease...and in love!

What I found was warm, smiling faces. The people speak a better version of English than I had found in Thailand. And they actually prefer that we use dollars instead of the Cambodian Riel. As I road in the taxi to the hostel (my first big city experience in Southeast Asia) my eye spotted more motos then cars, no discernibly agreed upon traffic directions, hundreds of smiling faces and a city that could use a face lift.

After settling into the Top Banana hotel we blessed our passports and sent them off with the guy from the hotel to have him get our visas for Vietnam. This is by far the easiest way to get this process taken care of but it is not without hesitation that we entrusted this stranger with our prized possession. I will end the anticipation, everything worked out perfect!

In the evening I took my first tuk-tuk ride around the city with Jill. A tuk-tuk is a motorcycle with a sort of carriage behind it. It is all open air this time of year so you can feel the night air in your face. It was one of those truly wonder struck moments you are lucky to have when traveling in foreign countries. We asked the driver to just drive us around to the hot spots. Mind you this is 7pm on a Tuesday night but it was as if nobody had a thing to do the next day because there were hundreds of people out and about enjoying themselves, their families and celebrating the coming Cambodian New Year!! We drove along the river, passing the Royal Palace all aglow in it's nightlights. We passed a major commercial area alive with vendors. What struck me most is how curious the locals were about us. Everyone kept looking into the tuk-tuk as they passed us to have a look. Always with a smile of course!! Unlike what I found in southern Thailand the locals have a seemingly genuine interest in who I am, where I am from and practicing their English. I was in awe of my new surroundings. I knew right away that this was a country that was going to make a lasting impression.

Needless to say, I could not be happier to be in Cambodia!