First week in Cambodia

One week down!
It feels like I've been here for a long time already. Everyday I feel more and more comfortable with my surroundings, though I still need to venture out a bit more on my own and just explore. But that will come. So far my experience of Cambodia is a good one, yesterday we had the first rainfall since I got here and it has cooled the air a bit. There are many things that I see everyday and that always amaze me.

One thing that kind of worries me is the security issue. There are locks everywhere and on everything! What if there is an earthquake in the middle of the night? There is no way anyone can get out of the houses in less than 3 minutes! So yeah i started thinking about those things and trying to figure out what i would do if something like that happenend.

Locked in...

Another thing is when I got here I thought people were crazy walking around in their pajamas...turns out that they actually use them as clothes here! So it is not unusual to see people wearing a hello kitty or some heart covered ensemble: LA CLASSE!

Nice clothes eh?

Seeing more than 2 people on a scooter or motorbike is not unusual either, usually I see most of them after work or during weekends...they actually use the bikes as family transportation here...

Notice the 5 people riding that thing!

Of course poverty is an other thing that hits you and it is really tough to resist giving. The kids constantly ask for money and we are not encouraged to give or else they would get used to it and start expecting it from everyone. This one just wanted some water...of course I gave him some!


There are a lot of monks here and Cambodia. They are really colorful and intriguing to watch. But I believe Cambodia and some parts of Southeast Asia are suffering from a bad monk reputation because of some scandals (fake monks go around begging for money or setting up fake charities and some monks have been accused of raping and murdering people).
I always enjoy seeing monks on scooters because it just looks funny.



The last thing I can think of that really stands out here are the kids. They are everywhere and apparently Cambodia has a very big percentage of young people...and they are soooo cute!

Not unusual to see small kids or even babies on a bike

Aww...

Well this was a short summary of my first week, which has so far been rich in experiences and hopefully there will be many more to come. Mind you I have already been invited to a wedding! sounds promising eh?