Tuk Tuk's, Durian Fruit and KFC

So I am finally in Phnom Penh, Cambodia! It's actually very hard to believe I made as during my last flight there was so much turbulence I thought we were gonna crash and burn, but all in all I made it in one piece.
My 10 hour and 25 minute flight to Tokyo, Japan was very long and yet it was my favorite flight due to me being served twice really good food (steak w/ potatoes and chicken w/ rice and with ice cream).  Japan is expensive and they charge you a lot especially if you don't know how to bargain like me: my chopsticks and fan cost $46 USD, which was a rip off but I didn't understand.  Live and Learn.  My flight to Singapore was mostly spent sleeping or glaring at a little Japanese girl who screamed her lungs off every time she didn't get was she wanted.

When I got to Changi Singapore airport the tram service had just been closed to start repairs (literally 2 minutes) so I had to walk from Terminal B to Terminal F and my god was it the best thing ever.  Sure my legs were swollen but my eyes got to see the most beautiful airport ever! I want to call the airport the orchid airport due to that fact wherever you look there is an orchid garden (they also had a cactus garden and a butterfly garden but sadly they weren't open at 3am lol).  Not only can you touch the flowers but you can walk through them to see the koi fish ponds.  It was literally breathtaking.  But wait there's more! Singapore has beautifully glass lobbies and fully furnished entertainment centers (most were watching the olympics) with huge televisions.  If you wanted to go on the internet there were many places where you could and if your legs were hurting like mine you could sit down and get a massage from one of the feet massagers for FREE!  If you're flying anywhere internationally I would suggest getting a connecting flight through Singapore.

When arriving in Cambodia I got my Tourist Visa pretty quickly (only $20) then went outside.  It's super hot but not too humid and there is a nice breeze so my shawl didn't overheat me.  The first thing I noticed was the staring, but I had read that that was common.  Then I noticed my driver with a LanguageCorps sign.  His name was Smith and he was very kind to me.  As we walked, me dragging one suitcase and laptop carrier (with penguin pillow and purse attached) and him dragging the other suitcase with my backpack securely on his back, I thought he had parked inside, but no.

As we exited the airport and he stopped me before we reached the busy street (thank god) he told me to wait while he got his car so I waited as he maneuvered his way nearly dying with my backpack.  I saw him hop on a tiny motorcycle with a carriage type thing strapped behind it and all I could think was oh my god I'm going to die.  As we got all my stuff in we started along and the fear disappeared as I realized he was very good at not getting hit and everyone was also really good at not crashing, just honking when mad.  All the motorists who passed me stared at me some waved and others smiled. Every once in a while Smith would ask me how I was and I would answer good with a smile on my face.  Before we had left the airport he gave me a laminated card with places he could take me today if I wanted, he said a lot of people went to The Killing Site (my face was probably like what?) and I said no because I'm probably going to sleep, but thank you.  Apparently the Killing site is very popular with tourist because of all the people who died there, but more about that later.

My hotel for LanguageCorps Asia is very nice and clean (big orange building in the picture).  Internet isn't very reliable at least for my computer and kindle so thats kind of a bummer, but if I sit in one spot I can get a really good internet signal. What is the weirdest thing is that to get power to come on you have to insert your key card into the wall and you get about an hour of electricity before you have to wait 10 minutes to insert again.  The bathroom, as I thought, has a shower that funny looking but works all the same and a western toilet that you can't flush toilet paper down (also a hard thing to remember).  There is a fridge that works really well and the beds are alright except they are little to stiff.  You also can't drink the water here and I realized that once you don't have water to drink you get very thirsty.  If you get really thirsty there is a bar and tiny restaurant.

For a long time I was alone and I would wander around outside my room trying to see if I could see anyone but most weren't there yet.  One member messaged me and I asked if she wanted to get dinner, but my internet cut out before I could see her reply.  I slept until 5:30pm and when I woke up I was really hungry as I had only eaten shrimp chips for lunch.  I got dressed and went to open my door and I noticed a note from the girl who messaged me telling me her computer battery died but to come over if I wanted.  I went down to her room and we became friends. I was so happy to find someone who was nice and that I knew.  She is from Russia so she has a cool accent and she gave me a Russian chocolate bar as a gift.

We decided to go to dinner together, she had already been to lunch so she knew which direction to take to get some KFC.  We started off both of us being stared at but especially me with my blonde hair and blue eyes.  I took lots of pictures of local food stands a lot of them giggling or smiling when I asked to take pictures (I'm very good at making hand gestures for what I want).  The hardest part of the night was crossing a busy street alone.  Tuk tuk drivers kept asking us if we wanted a ride and we told them no that we were trying to get across the street without dying, they all watched us cross the street with smiles on their face.  We made it in once piece.  Cambodia's KFC was very different from America's KFC, they have rice, vegetables, fish, french fries and chili dogs.  I got a 2 piece chicken with rice and vegetables and side order of popcorn chicken and a drink. It's interesting how most of the places here in Cambodia take USD instead of their own money (probably because USD is worth a lot more).  My meal was $6.25 USD which wasn't a bad price for all I got.

After we ate we went to the mall, by this time it was dark but oddly enough I felt safer in the night.  The mall is huge and each level has it's own theme... So many shoes!  I needed an alarm clock so I found a little corner shop in the mall where they had alarm clocks, I grabbed the one that looked like a pig and checked to see if it had batteries and it didn't.  I pointed to the lady who was standing very close to me and pointed to the missing battery and she began to take other devices apart to find a working battery.  It came out to $4.00 USD.

When we got back to the hotel a couple of people in the program were sitting around the bar smoking (I might just be the only one who doesn't smoke).  We chatted a bit, two were almost finished with their program and one was in our group.  He knows a lot of languages and is my age.  He seemed to like being the center of attention so I was fine with that (American).  He will also be teaching in China and knows how to speak it so he showed off for awhile.  I ended up getting two cans of soda for $2 USD for later that night. I told my Russian friend goodnight and that I would see her tomorrow at 12:30pm when we get our tour of the city.

For now that is all I got! The last picture is of some fruit sold on the street.