Phnom Penh

Hi again!! We're alive and well and definitely exploring every inch of Cambodia...

Sihoukville was a relaxing beach town. While the weather didn't turn around for us too much, it stopped raining enough for us to enjoy the beach. The beach was crowded with Cambodian women trying to wax your legs, give you massages, manis, pedis, you name it. They were quite aggressive touching my legs... thankfully, as a blonde, I'm pretty hairless.

We also went on a fishing village/beach/waterfall/mountain view sunset tour all day for a whopping $15 (lunch included). The fishing village was pretty dirty and smelly as you can imagine but we saw the boats and their catches for the day. From there, the beach was very secluded but still slightly littered... Brad and I played pictionary by drawing pictures in the sand. We also enjoyed a quick salty dip and a walk on the beach collecting seashells. Our guides prepared us chicken kebabs for lunch - my food ended up in the sand. From the beach we went to the waterfall - a main local tourist sight. The waterfall was pretty impressive and a good place to wash off all the saltwater. Our group was slow to jump in because it was raining - but Brad and I took the lead and got right in. Everything went well - the water was refreshing and powerful until I slipped and fell underneath the waterfall. I hit my head and back on a rock - it hurt and I cried... but Sam our guide practiced some Cambodian medicine on me by using his breath to warm a towel and mashing out the knot on my head and rubbing tiger balm on my back. Just a bump - I took some Advil that day and I am fine and dandy now! No worries! Needless to say the mountainview sunset whatever wasn't too important to me after that. It was nice to get back to the hotel..

Yesterday (Tuesday) we got to Phnom Penh by local bus. Once we got to town we went to the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda - no pictures allowed! The coolest thing there was seeing the royal throne... other than that, nothing too exciting.

This morning we went to the S-21 prison and killing fields of Pol Pot of the Khymer Rouge. It was a very graphic and disturbing experience... hard to believe it happened so recently. Our tour guide also talked very freely about the current corruption in the government, specifically the upcoming election, only after looking over his shoulder. Definitely one of the best and most eye opening experiences thus far.

This afternoon we went to the Russian markets to find some souvenirs - we are some tough bargainers and we met some admirable opponents. $20 later though - we're stocked... just in time to leave Cambodia tomorrow.

Right now, we are sitting in an A/C'ed shopping mall surrounded by internet cafes, $2 DVDs of Hancock and Get Smart, and Xbox 360 games galore. Any requests?? Phnom Penh is a booming urban city compared to the rest of the countryside we've been seeing... We've enjoyed Cambodia a lot but we're definitely excited to see Ho Chi Minh's body and try some Vietnamese food!

Keep the comments coming... love you all!!!!!