Slowly figuring our way around.  We can take tuk tuk’s without the Grab app now and just tell the driver where to go (sometimes).   We are currently setting up language classes. We are living in an area where there is not a lot of English, so a few words and phrases would help.

Old Market Area

Relatively new mall in Siem Reap – Heritage Walk.

No pictures, but we have been to church with Americans, Filipinos, Koreans, British, Australians, Cambodians, and several others that I’m not sure of.  The pastor mentioned 10 different nationalities were at church on Sunday. I’m not sure what they all were.

 

Some pics as Caesar and I walked around today looking for mangoes.  Between 3 trips out today and running I walked and ran about 12 miles today. Phaedra and Annika made their first trip out without me to meet a friend at a vegetarian restaurant.

Sometimes there are miscommunications when ordering food, and you get 3 XL pizzas.  There are worse things that could happen. The best pizza we’ve found in Cambodia. The best food in Cambodia is Cambodian food.

Annika and I ran to Angkor Wat today.  Made it there at around 6:00pm and was able to grab a tuk tuk with my phone on 1% battery life. We didn’t want to run back in the dark.

And finally, a lesson on resetting a circuit breaker at our house today.  Can you guess how that is done?  I’m sure you guessed it.  You walk 100 yards out to your local stone carving shop, climb on a statue, and reset the breaker for your house.

For the first time in 14 days, we left without Caesar.  He barked a little at first but was quiet and fine by the time we got back from our 30 minute trip.  Plus he was safely locked inside.  This was no small milestone!

We have been taking him everywhere! It’s exhausting. He gets hot, so then we carry him, and then we both get hot.   He is a big attraction to Cambodians. Walking him down the street you see so many people smile while looking at him.

He has been to church twice.  Sunday, we went to church and I was just going to sit outside with him since we didn’t have anywhere to keep him.  The pastor’s wife came outside and saw that he was friendly and offered to keep him with the kids in the nursery. 🙂

Annika’s dinner. She said “I’ve been waiting so long for this”.  Sometimes you just want a taste of home.  I can think of better “taste of home” than this.  Like the $3.50 large pizza we had for lunch.

Flipping through the channels before starting work and I come across this.  Yes, cock fighting on TV.  Cock fighting is illegal in Cambodia.  I’m pretty sure this was a Thai broadcast, where it’s not illegal (as far as I know).

Hotels and Airbnb’s for 10 days is no fun.  We moved into our new house today.  Two stories, 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, walled in yard, mango trees, and shady back area.

About 3 KM from Angkor Wat, close to markets, and a really good area for running.  Glad to finally have a “permanent” place.

We have a huge extra bedroom if you want to visit.  It’s my work office until then.

Cambodia House Stuff

We had “Mexican” for lunch. Walked around the Riverside Park and Old Market areas.  Not too hot if you stay out of the sun.

We went out to Pub Street area for dinner and walked around. Siem Reap is much cleaner and less crowded than Phnom Penh.

Today, an American family, based on a recommendation from a guy from Louisiana,  went to a Cambodian real estate agency that is managed by an Australian, and looked at 6 houses with a Cambodian guy, and ended up renting a house from an Indian guy who went to Cornell in New York and is now married to a Cambodian lady.

He even offered to help me grow tomatoes in the garden.  We move in Monday, and I forgot to take any photos of the place.

Also, Caesar is a superstar here.  He starts many conversations and is welcomed in all the open air restaurants we have visited.

Funeral, wedding, religious ceremony?  I’m not sure, but loud music has been playing over the loudspeaker since dawn. Mostly the same music, just in a loop.  It can be heard from 200+ meters away. Whatever the reason, they are dedicated. 🙂

Here is a recording from our roof.  It sounds almost as loud in the bedrooms.

A 5 hour van ride, which is nothing compared to the journey getting here.  Caesar prefers van travel over air travel, where there are no Korean flight attendants constantly (but very politely)  reminding of the policy of remaining under the seat.

Photos during the ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap.   Seeing a big mix of modern and traditional structures, and lots of new and very modern (mostly Chinese) construction as you leave Phnom Penh.  Also, we probably passed 15 weddings on the way.

First impressions of Siem Reap – less chaotic, much cleaner, and lots of trees everywhere.  So far so good.

As info, fried crickets taste much better than the silk worms (our van drivers favorite snack).   Fried crickets taste like an overly fried potato. Silk worms taste like soggy, boiled peanuts with a funky surprise in the center.

One of the most memorable sounds of Phnom Penh is the squeaking sounds of the men and women pulling their carts throughout the city announcing they are in the area.  They are looking for anything they can recycle. I can’t find the reference, but I’ve read there are a 1000+ people doing this for much less than $100 a month.

Here is a story about them

Lunch was a 10 minute tuk tuk ride away.

Random Stuff

Phnom Penh Last Night – Where Caesar tried to fight all the dogs that got around him!

We made to Phnom Penh around midnight after around 40 hours of travel.

Saying goodbye to our 16 year old dachshund.