Cambodia

I'm happy to report that the train was actually pretty comfortable, its amazing what an extra 2 feet of head room and a 2 inch thick mattress will do. I'd probably even do it again if it was available.

Cambodia is an amazing place although at times hard to handle. The recent history and the poverty is around every corner which was expected but its still takes a toll on you. We spent the day yesterday visiting the killing fields where thousands of men, women and children were taken too and executed day after day. Its impossible not to be effected while you're walking around. There aren't many roped off areas and it seems around every corner or next to most trees there are human bones, teeth, or clothing sticking out of the ground. Whenever it rains new bones/clothes appear, many just being left on the ground or just moved to the side of the trail.

If you've ever watched Slumdog Millionaire many parts of the city remind me of it. This morning we went over to the market and bought some toys, soccer balls and fruit and had a tuktuk driver take us out to the dump. Soon after we drove in we heard kids shouting/waving too us with excitement. It was a quick trip but its something I'll never forget. Most kids had either no shoes or very very old sandals and they spend the day walking around looking for anything they can use in this enormous dump. As you can imagine they were pretty excited when we brought out the apples, pears, and soccer balls to give them.

Its been an incredible experience so far in Cambodia. Its amazing how different and unique each country has been. Talking with Mr. Lee(our tuktuk driver) and Matts friend Manny today really added to the experience. The first hand knowledge and thoughts about the genocide and Cambodia were interesting and then spending a few hours hanging out with Manny and his family really capped off Phnom Penh for us.

Off to the beach tomorrow to celebrate the Cambodian new year.

-Alex