How to describe this place? In less than 5 words I think it would have to be: 'CRAZY!' . It is just so different here. I'll give a couple of first impressions:
The People – Unfortunately I have not had plenty of contact with Khmer people so far. I will be going to Andong village (a slum village on the outskirts of Phnom Penh) today though. Most contact I have had with Khmers so far is just in the market where they are trying to rip me off by asking double the price of everything. You learn to bargain pretty fast, they expect you to. They are also very friendly and smile a lot.
The Traffic – The traffic here is like some form of bug colony. There are the big cars which can basically push their way in wherever, like big bugs. Then you have thousands of small motorbikes and push bikes zipping around them like a bunch of tiny ants. There are traffic lights but only on a few of the larger streets and mostly it is just a free-for-all. By free-for-all I mean you honk to let people know you're there and you push your nose into traffic like you would push a drill into a piece of wood. That is the way it seems to me anyway.
Transportation - I bought myself a helmet yesterday and had my first experience on a moto (a motorbike taxi). It is a very standard form of transport here and it costs about $1 to get to the other end of town. However, the moto drivers cannot read a map so you have to know where you want to go either by name or you have to point in the direction you want to go. When walking through the street moto drivers signal you for a ride. You don't have to do anything to get a taxi in this place. You just have to look western.
The Food – Is excellent and cheep! I had some of the best Chinese I have had in a while here and it cost me $6 for a meal and a beer.
The Coffee – They put condensed milk in it which kind of ruins it. An ice coffee is a black coffee with tons of sugar and ice in it. They seem to like sweet.
I'll put photos up as soon as I get my hands on a camera USB cable. Anyway, my internet cuts out soon so I'll have to leave it at that.
LOL at Coffee.. maybe ask for it black?
ReplyDeleteDon't know if this will work, but I'll try. It seems awfully exciting! Would love to have had a ride in your backpocket and peep over your shoulder. Mom.
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