2009 baby!

Hey everyone, it's been a while and here's to catching up!

CAMBODIA

Because we were going to be gone for a week, Josh and I felt as if we needed to try and eat the rest of our perishable food.  So, the night before we left, we made up a beautiful vegetable tray and had a couple beers.

Around 1AM, I started feeling queezy (which is not something I do) so into the bathroom I go and in the bathroom I stayed all night ralphing my brains out.  Ahhh, my very first case of food poisoning!  Sweating, aching, barfing from both ends, what a treat!  Great way to start our vacation.

The next morning, Josh was a darling man and took care of Chloe but as the day went on, even he started to feel under the weather.  By the time we got to the airport, we both made a B-line to the toilets.  The smell of the dinner on the plane made both our stomaches churn but we managed to eat a couple bites of white rice.  

When we reached Cambodia's tiny airport, we were feeling a bit better but were exhausted and ready for bed.  Thankfully, it didn't take long to get our visas or get through customs and the cab ride to our resort was only about 15 minutes.  First night in the very welcomed tropical climate, we crashed and rose the next morning feeling even better.

Every morning our hotel had a fresh breakfast buffet with Asian, Western and French cuisines.  We'd always opt to sit outside and look onto the pool.  We laid low Day 1 by the pool and later went into Siem Reap.

The main mode of transportation for locals is either motorbikes (carrying anywhere from 1-5 people) or bicycles.  OUR main mode of transportation was a "tuk-tuk."  The driver rode a motorbike that pulled a little covered cart with seats!  The air blowin' in your face and a ride never cost more than 3$.  Sweet.

In the "downtown" area of Siem Reap, there were restaurants, pubs, massage parlors, cafes, food and souvenir markets and everything at a tremendously low price.  

Our first meal was at Khmer Kitchen, a restaurant with what was supposed to be the closest to traditional Cambodian cuisine.  We tried a sweet & sour soup, and a noodle soup, both which came with white rice, two beers and water all for the horrendous price of $9!  It so yummy.

The next day we headed to the temples at Angkor Wat.  What's spectacular about going is that they still allow you to walk around inside (most) areas of all the temples.  We were blown away by how expansive the area was that the temples covered.  If any of you have seen the movie "Tomb Raider" they shot all the scenes in the biggest of the temples, Ta Prohm.

The third day we rented bicycles and took our own mini-tour around town.  We went to Artisans d' Angkor, a school that teaches Cambodians the traditional artistry's like: wood carving, sandstone carving and silk weaving.  We went swimming at our hotel for a while and went to Pub Street (which we did daily) that evening for dinner.  All in all we tried the following cuisines: Khmer, Indian, Italian, and Vietnamese.  All were splendid.  Josh said the pizza he had in Cambodia (of all places) was the best pizza he's ever had.  Now, Josh has a picky palate and I know he's tried some amazing food because of his travels, so I was floored when those words came out of his pizza-stuffed face.

One thing I should mention that Josh and I observed: mosquitoes.  Not sure if it's because I wear sweet-scented lotion, or I have less hair on my body, or because Josh has thicker "man" skin, but those damn mosquitoes left welts the size of a small child, all over my body.  The worst came when I woke up in the middle of the night because my eyelid was itchy.  "Don't itch it, Molly," I said.  And while I had a hard time falling back asleep because I thought mosquitoes were everywhere, I noticed that my eyelids felt different from one another.  So the next morning when I opened my eyes, I realized my left eye wasn't opening like my right.  Into the bathroom I ran and saw my fat, fatty, McFatty eye lid.  My eye was nearly swollen shut.  Awesome.  

Another thing we observed: sunlight.  We're guessing it's the close proximity to the sun but apparently, Josh can tan anymore.  With SPF 50, water-proof baby sunblock slathered all over his body, Josh managed to break out in some sort of heat rash.  So at night while I'm itching with mosquito bites, Josh is on his last nerve with a stupid itchy rash.

Is this a sign of our age?  Ish.

New Year's Eve day, we took a tuk-tuk to the floating village on the Tonle Sap Lake.  Because we were in Cambodia at the end of the rainy season (although we experienced only 20 minutes of rain the entire time) the river and lake were high which meant the floating village was in full swing.  We took a boat ride and saw how people lived and worked on the river during this time.  Schools, churches, pig-pens, all up and running ON the water.  During the dry season, we were amazed to learn that the river we were on, turns into a road and soon enough, cars would take place of the boats.  That night our hotel threw an extravagant New Year's Eve party with traditional Khmer dancing, music, Apsara dancing, cocktails, amazing food and champagne.  Josh and I danced the night away and rang in 2009 in Cambodia.  They had fireworks and dropped balloons that held prize coupons in them.  As we were heading to our table, I noticed a piece of paper on the ground, too nicely folded to just be any piece of paper.  I picked it up and it read, "Congratulations!  First Prize!"  So, by my childish curiosity, Josh and I won a beautifully hand-carved, wood statue of an Apsara dancer.

The next day we rented our bikes again ($1 each for the whole day) and rode around the back roads of Siem Reap.  I must say, this was probably my favorite part.  The dirt roads were orange and the homes built of bamboo.  Children were playing, children were working and without fail, the moment they noticed us, it was, "Hello!" and they'd come running out to greet us to get a look at us.  Children with dirty faces, running around in underwear, some with one shoe, most with none.  Beautiful smiles and kind and accepting hearts will forever be the most important thing we took away from this trip.

The last couple days we continued our $8 massages, exploring and eating new foods.  It was a happy mix between our grand hotel and the third world country that sat just outside it's walls.  We talked with locals and observed how eager they were to have a conversation with the Americans.

Though our tans (or rashes) have already faded, this is one trip we will always remember.  The people were some of the kindest we've ever met, the weather was perfect and the food was wonderful and always so freshly made.  Lemongrass, mint, cilantro, ginger, garlic.  If you have any desire to try something, there are some great recipes on the internet.

Another, final thing to note is a book titled, "First They Killed My Father."  It was written by Loung Ung, a woman who lived to tell about the Cambodian genocide under the rule of Pol Pot.  She and her family were forced to leave Phom Phen in the early 70's and the book tells their story from her eyes as a young child.  It's one of the most eye-opening books I've read.

I've put together a slideshow video with music so you can sit back and enjoy the pictures from our memorable trip but I'm having technical problems at the moment.  I'll post those as soon as I can!!

56 Days and counting, March 12th is coming!!