Cambodia days 10-17

I have been a bit lax lately with the blog, but it is mostly due to working soooo hard hehe. No actually I was having troubles uploading photos so voila. Here are some updates!

The past weekend couldn't begin in a better way!
On friday I felt really productive at work and completed 6 news stories that I had to write. Pises, the Projects Abroad director came to work to see how I was doing...what do you think?




Yep, hard working indeed :)


Then I took a well diserved detour to the Riverside and sat down at the Riverhouse Lounge and had myself a Cosmopolitan and a chilled glass of white wine while skyping with my mom and my brother. Grabbed a taxi moto home and after a quick dinner was out and about again with Corinne, Shannon, Jasper and the newly added Katherine (or America as we call her). Then Sophan and Sithan, two Projects Abroad staff members joined in and we all went to a Khmer karaoke...private room, private female company (well the guys were happy...we however, had a bit less eye candy). Although the sound was quite bad we had a fun time and then left to go to a real cambodian night club: Spark. Well we got there an hour or so before closing time but we were able to drink a few cocktails and own the dancefloor for the last 20 minutes (where we were harassed by cambodian girls wanting to dance with us...ladies). It was quite funny to see how the DJ wouldn't keep his mouth shut...I mean, we weren't there to hear him speak to us, we were there to dance!

The next day, we decided to go to Mekong Island (apart from Corinne and Jasper who were having troubles waking up), which is about 45 minutes away from Phnom Penh and needs a ferry cross-over. The kids at the cross-over were so cute...I know, I always say that about the kids here but it is true!

Our tuktuk getting settled on the ferry

Katherine and I

Some monks were part of the ride too

Then we got caught into a shopping spree at a local's weaving house and got slightly ripped off (2 scarves for 8 dollars and when we got to the beach the same scarves were half price), we learn the hard way sometimes.



After the rip off, we continued our way with our musical tuktuk (we were so lucky to have music in the tuktuk and felt like we were in a music video all day). It is quite impressive to see the houses there who are almost all on wooden posts quite high up because of the rainy season's floods. Right now it is very dry here, but I can just imagine how much it must rain in the wet season.

After a little while of tuktuking around we soon got a few followers telling us: "Hello! Where you from? You have very nice skin! How many brother and sister you have? How old you are?" I think most of them are trained to ask these questions...and then they say: "I have beautiful scarf for you, I make you good price. You buy from me?"

Hello how are you?? You have beautiful skin! You buy scarf?

We finally arrived at the "resort" (with these people still on our tails) to find that now not only had we got scarves everywhere but fruits and other types of food were being pushed up our faces. What a nice relaxing afternoon we were set to have! "Please you buy? I have no moneeeey. Very cheap very good." "Tay Tay, orkun..." (means: no, no thanks).

Enjoying a break from the fruit vendors...who kept coming back every 30 minutes

Oh well we finally did get some peace from the vendors. But then some really cute kids then caught all our attention.



After 2 hours spent in a hut, we felt like moving back to the mainland to get some food. On top of that we were going to have a roof party that night so we had to go back and get ready :) But first we stopped at Happy Guesthouse, our hangout place to eat something.


It was the first time I saw the place in day time and it was sad to realize that the "lake" Boeng Kak is now just a large pond...Developpers are filling it with sand in order to build in the area. Soon there will be no more lake :( and probably no more Happy Guesthouse...

The view from the guesthouse

And the party begins! This is our roof...where we eventually just have drinks sometimes


And the party roof

Almost all the volunteers...there were 3 guys there that night, one of which was 60 and french...very french (pessimistic that is)

The next day was pool day and movie night. I think most people felt slightly reduced after the roof party. I was fine :)

Monday was Jasper's 18th birthday so we all went out to what we thought would be a french restaurant, La Croisette...(turns out it was more italian than anything else) The company was good and the cocktails abundant...

Birthday boy and I enjoying some wine

Corinne and America and I about to leave the resto

Sophan, Shannon and I at Happy Guesthouse...where else?

Well that was quite a night and the next day was tough. I was so lucky to bump into my boss twice that evening: once at the restaurant and the second time at a bar...haha.


Well I have been in Cambodia for 15 days now...feels like a long time but it still flies. I have 7 weeks left here. Tomorrow I will be off with the others to Sihanoukville to see the beach and party a little! Woohoo! I am taking off 2 days from work since our magazine goes to print tonight. I will come back to Phnom Penh on sunday because the editor in chief is getting married and I have been invited :)...was difficult to explain that to the cook this morning "Catina no pek lunch?" "No, no lunch and no dinner thursday, friday, saturday and sunday" "Ok, pek lunch monay?" "Yes I need a packed lunch on monday".
Phew. Hope she got it. She is very sweet though, always smiling but never really understanding what we say...so sometimes it is hard to get the message across without getting lost in translation.
Every morning I wake up around 8am and since I don't leave before 9.30, I go up on our roof and sit out in the sun and read a bit. It is nice a nice way to slowly wake up. Then I go and shower and my driver takes me to work on the moto. I work from 10am to 5pm, usually researching news and following what is happening around Southeast Asia. I leave at 5 and my driver is there to take me home. I get back from work usually around 5.30, depending on traffic and usually go back to the roof or just relax for a bit on my bed until dinner which is always at 7pm. It's always nice to look around on my way to work and there is always something to see. For instance I saw 2 monkeys walking on electric cables the other day. Sometimes I see Sambo the elephant walking around the city. He is 50 years old and apparently the only elephant that was not killed by the Khmer Rouge. He gives tours of Wat Phnom, a hill which apparently has a nice view of the city. Also there are a lot of smells around the city. Some make your mouth water, some make you regret being out. There is a lot of street cooking here, BBQs on the street and you see people eating out all the time. And then at night when most Cambodians are in bed, you see the less fortunate ones going through the garbage which is generally tossed on the street.

Well this was a bit of my everyday life shared with you.
I will probably post something on monday or tuesday depending on the time I have. Until then have a great weekend...I have a long one :)