Thailand

It is 6 in the morning right now and I am unable to close my eyes. I have been battling a mosquito all night and the itching and scratching has ceased to stop. I could get ready now or I could awaken myself and slowely get myself together. I think I will get up. Ugh.... my floor is wet with water and if im not careful enough I might slip, fall, and risk getting injured before I even take off. Scattered around my room, hanging on a light, curtains, and my ac, are my clothes that I washed the night before. Little did I think that they would drip drip drip and the water would slosh slosh slosh all over my room. As I turn on my lights, I see that the room is flooded but at least the shirts are dry.

I walk out of my gated house with some wet clothes on. They were the ones that were unable to dry the night before. I turn my head to the right and luckily there is a tax driver who notices my face. His face quickly gets extremely excited and a smile rises from him. "Sous s'day" I tell the gentleman. "Do You know the okay house?" He looks at me with a look of uncertainty and confusion. His english is non-existent and the okay house, said 5 more times, does not ring a bell. So, instead I tell him to drop me off at the biggest hotel in Cambodia which is a 5 minute walk to where I need to go anyway.

Phnom Penh is very nice in the morning. The sun is not fully up and the air is nice and cool for a change. Since the city is laden with shadows and some darkness it can even be difficult to notice the smog and pollution that usually fills ones view and face. The city gives off a calmming feeling that no other part of the day can achieve. There are less people on the road and most people appear too tired to even honk their horns. As the wind blows through my hair I am awakened and refreshed as I zoom through the streets of Phnom Penh on the back of a moto equipped with my camera and packpack. Some boulevards, some paved, some dirt roads, and some bumpy.

It was only a 50 minute flight and I arrive in Thailand. The airport looks deserted for the most part. There are seldom seen any planes and most of the docking stations are empty. The airport is new but does not give off that vibe. It appears cold, dark, and damp. It is a great steel and concrete structure that resembles the opera house in Sydney, but a thousand times bigger. Even with the few planes in the airport, we still have to get off on the tarmak and take a bus. The bus ride takes about 10 minutes, then immigration, then exit the terminal just to re-check in for my plane that departs in about 4 hours. As I enter the main terminal I am thrust back into the modern world. I see electronics, technology, food stands, and cleanliness. I see advertisements, commercials, and capitalism. It is a wonderful feeling. The western world is upon me. The airport more resembles a gourmet market and luxurty shopping mall inside. It is filled with many wonderful shops and restaurants that are tempting me at every corner. I resist the initial temptation to eat and hold off until I get my new ticket and enter the terminal.

I go through the airport security with littlemore than a wave through. No x-ray, no metal detector. If only the US flights could be this easy. Then, I walk down some flights of stairs into a tunnel that leads to my flight. Once again the airport has taken on the cold feeling in my body as the dimly lit corridors lead me to my destination.

Along the way there is a wonderful food station. I get a pre paid card to get food and drinks for 500 baht. Its about 35 to the dollar, you can do the math. I get sushi. Something I have not had for a very long time. I have lived long enough on rice and vegetables. I am on vacation and deserve to indulge a little bit. It is quite delicious and the tastes appear to excite my taste buds and awaken them from the somber sleep they have been experiencing over the past 3 months.

The lounge is very quant and it has internet which is extremely important for such a long layover. It gives me the chance to sit back, relax, and plan what beach I will stay at and look for some nice budget accomodations, after all, I am backpacking and what would be the fun if everything was planned and there was no uncertainty ahead?

Aloha...

Well, it has been a while and for that I am sorry, but I have been very busy and for that I am not too sorry. So Laura came with her family a week ago and it was great to see some familiar faces as well as get a little hint of american culture. It was really a wonderful week filled with a lot of excursions to the countryside to visit different orphanages that Global Children works with. The one orphanage that stuck out teh most in my mind was definitely one that had a painting program. At a lot of orphanages the children do not have an outlet after school so the kids usually sit around and do nothing. However, at this one in particular they painted. I was walking in expecting some amateur art work and walked out with two paintings in my hand. The work was truly wonderful and captured the landscape and essence of cambodia to the "t". The children really did have a lot of talent and 3 students in particular made most of the paintings and collages that we took with us. It was a very quiet and peaceful place that was a welcome relief from the heat and crazyness of the outside world. I felt that if every orphanage had a program like this it would have a dramatic effect on every children's life. Aside from that it was just good to have Laura around. Hearing about her adventures and what Cambodia used to be like gave me a better perspective and feeling that the country really is one the move and in a much better state than yesterday. However, as quickly as Laura had come she had to go back to teh states. The following week was nothign special just a lot of class and working out. I went pretty smoothly until the weekend. I got extremely sick starting staturday. I had a cambodian breakfast that consisted of dim sum because I was tarving and thats when it started to hit me. I was very sick and feverish by the middle of the day. All I knew was to drink a lot of water and try and sweat it out. Although id felt like this before I could not get the asian bird flu out of my head and started to freak out, but not enough to venture to a cambodian hospital. I figured I would give it a day or two and make my decision. Luckily for me, I was feeling pretty well by the following night and it was just a matter of getting my strength back. I survived the asian flu! Unfortunately I was not able to survive the asian barber. Ponlok took me to a barber and after I explained for 20 minutes to just shave my head he gave me a 1985 haircut that makes me look like Brandon Walsh from 90210. So today I bought my own haircut machine for $15 us and will be cutting short upon my arrival home. So things are pretty good, I plan to try and make some sort of trip in February. I am thinking either a 10 day trip to Thailand or a short long weekend trip to Sihanoukville to relax at the beach town in Cambodia. Take care and write when you have a chance, spence

Angkor What!?!?!?

It has been a while and I apologize for the time in between posts. However, this is due to a lot of things happening. So here we go. I embarked to Siem Reap after New Years in Phnom Penh. After falling asleep at 10:30 in th evening on New Years eve, with 2 beers in me, I awoke feeling great on January 1st for the first time in many years. I spent the day getting some last minute things together and ventured to my students party that night. It was great to go to a real Khmer party and see how things are here. There werer about 25 people and we all had a dinner on the floor. We sat cross legged and ate some great food provided by the host. After dinner, I talked to two Americans who are living in Phnom Penh. They seemed like some really cool people and I plan to meet up with them on a regular basis from here on out.
The next day I had to wake up early and was off onmy adventure. I awoke very early in the morning to catch a bus from Phnom Penh to Battambang. (pronounced battambOng). The reason I did not want to go directlyto Siem Reap was to take a nice boat ride that would be shorter from Battambong than Phnom Penh. Boy was I wrong. Anyway, the busridetook 6 hours and I could not drink that much water because there was no bathroomon the bus. Jac would never have been able to handle this bus, haha. There were only tweo stops on the bus and I took full advantage of them. Battambong was nothing special. It was a small town that seemed to be a hub for Siem Reap and Bangkok. I got a hotel room, had dinner, some drinks with a great Australian couple and went to bed.
I awoke very early the next mornign and got onto the boat for Siem Reap. The boat was for about 30 people and I decided to stay on top with a french couple and some scandinavian couple as well. It was the right choice by far. The trip was disturbing at first. It went through extremely polluted waters and to see people bathing in the river and using it as their drinking water was hard to watch. You could litteraly see dead fish floating around it was so bad. As the boat went further along the river got extremely narrow but the landscape became more environmentally tidy. It was so narrow that at points the boat bounced off the banks on every turn. After a long morning bouncing off the shore, the river finally opened up and we entered a village that was litterally floating around. We stopped for a nice lunch and were quickly on our way. The trip was extremely long and hot. Th elonely planet guide book said 4-5 hours. Well, they were very wrong. It took a grueling 9 hours. I am very glad I took the boat because you are able to see what Cambodia is really like in the middle of the country. However, I do not plan to take the boat ever again because of the time and the burn that I recieved.
When I arrived a swarm of tuk tuk drivers jummped onto the ship and begged to be my driver. So what did I do? I exited the boat and found the one moto driver that was somewhat respectful of my long journey and did not harass me. At that point it was onward to the hotel, a great burger, and a few days with Sam and Josie.
The first day we saw four temples in all. They were all amazing in their own way. Angkor Wat and Angkor Tom were the most famous temples and it is easy to see. They are gigantic structures that are built three stories high. It is amazing to think how these were ever created. I kept wishing that I was one of the first explorers to come accross these temples. It would have been an amazing feeling to trek through a forest and stumble upon such an amazing architectual accomplishment. I would go into further detail but really its something to experience. So, instead of being the first explorer I had to walk through the temples with a million Japanese toursists that travel in groups of 50. It was still amazing nontheless. So the temples were just an amazing experience with the over grown temples in the forest being my favorites.
At night Siem Reap had one street. This was called pub street and for a good reason. I would go there each night and have a beer or two. As shallow as it might sound, it was really nice to go out and see tourists. I have been living in an environment with no interaction with westerners. It was great to not stand out of the crowd and just be able to blend in. Siem Reap was a great place and a wonderful expereicne. From the moment I left I was excited to return and see more of the temples. I could easily have stayed two weeks and not been bored with temple exploring. My wallet would have been light, but my soul full.
After a wonderful couple days it was time to say goodbye to everyone and head off back to Phnom Penh. This time I spent more money so I would have a bathroom on board. Of course I did not have to use the restroom this time. As I re entered Phnom Penh it was a great feeling. I felt as though I was comign home. I quickly got off the bus, got a moto driver, and was home shorty after. It was a great feeling to think of Phnom Penh as home and have that familiar setting again. The next two days are Cambodias independence form the khmer Rouge so it should be an interesting couple days. Write with questions or comments and sorry for the post. I know it goes all over the place. I just have so much to write and am trying not to forget things. Ciao!

Nam her I come....

So my current visa is set to expire this coming Friday. Although they will nto come after me and try and expell me from the Kingdom of Cambodia, they will take a nice chump of change on my departure from the country. They usually charge a hefty $5 a day when a person overstays their visa. That would leave me in quite a bit of debt upon my departure. Therefore, I had to go to the foreign affairs office today. They informed me that the visa class that I have can not be switched to the visa class that I need. Right now I have visa class ë and I need visa class v. Ther problem is in order to get visa v I need to accept it from an immigration official. They can not simply switch my class and give me a new visa. So I have to travel to the border of Cambodia and Vietnam to do this. However, I also need to purchase a visa from vietnam in order to step over the border and come right back to Cambodia. So I went to the Vietnam embassy todaya nd left my passport with a security guard who informed me that it will cost $35 and he will have it readyf or me tomorrow. I hoep he is right. So basically friday I will get on a bus from Phnom Penh to soem border town. This will take two hours. I will then cross the border, see a market and head back accross the border with a sheet of paper informing the immigration officials to give me visa v and a 3 month extension. Then I will get back on a bus and 2 hours later be in the great city of Phnom Penh. Its gonna be a long day....
Other than that not much is going on. Classes have been getting better and the students are really genuinly interested in me. They love to hear about America and my life. I also recently went to the Russian market. I purchased a patch, a cool hat, and a t-shirt for $4. I thought it was a steal but apparently I got ripped off according to all my students. They took advantage of a foreigner... its not right! So yeah things are pretty good. I just get these urges for a hamburger. I think im close to trying one of these touristy american burger joints in Phnom Penh. I hope it lives up to expectations. I just dont think I can survive on rice and veggies as my only meals.
After New Years I am going to take a bus to Battambong and spend a night before taking a boat to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat. I am very excited to see the temples. It will be both beautiful and spiritually moving from what everyone has told me. I hope everyone is doing well and I look foreard to hearing from people.....write me! Spence

Bicycle! Bicycle!

Now I want you to go back and not just read the title, but rather sing it like Freddy Mercury did. Did you do that? Good, well thats how I felt when I purchased my bike the other day. For all of $25 I was able to purchase the green stalion from a second hand bike dealer. Yes, it is a little rusty, and I did get a flat tire my first day. However, it is a great way to get aroud Phnom Penh. Since the trafic can be a little nuts from time to time I stay on the side of the road and mind my own business. When there are huge intersections or the dreaded roundabouts, I find a group of people on bikes and charge forward with them. They may look at me funny and think im crazy, but at least im safe. Biking aroud is really great. When you are on a moto you dont get to take a step back, relax and enjoy the moment as much. Today was teh first day that I was able to do this. On my way back from teaching, looking around at the buildings, and the peopel as I went around central market onto kampuchea krom Blvd., I found myself saying to myself I really made it, I am doing this. Itw as a great feeling and a wonderful sense of accomlishment. I have finally settled in and assiilated to the everyday lifestyle. I am able to work, eat, and get around on my own. The only strange part is teh fact that everyone tends to look at westerners. I kind of stick out, but thats alright, they can look all they want.
On anothe note, I found a great bookshop in town. They buy sell an trade books. I have been reading a lot more than expected and was in urgent need of some new litterature. I brought my copy of perfum (which was great if you have the chance to read it), Nine Stories, and Vagabonding. With a little negotiating I was able to do a 1 for 1 trade. I picked up some classics: Catch 22, On the Road, and 1984. I just read Orwell's Abnimal Farm, so I decided to try On teh Road to start things out with a fresh new author. The store had a great essence to it and it was really cool to trade books and see what other travelers have read and left behind.
Well that is all for now. I see that a lot of my posts are a little messed up. This is because every, and I mean every, keyboard has some sort of malfunction. Hope everyone is doing well. Drop em a line fromt iem to time, its nice to see how everyone is doing back in teh States. Spence

hello again

Well, things have finally started to become more normal. I am finally living in Phnom Penh and not rhough my immagination back in NYC. It took a while for me to start teaching, but now I am teaching two classes a day, and I am currently filling in fo ra teacher later tonight. This is why I am writing this blog right now. I have class in the mornign that is in the Global Children house. It usually lasts about 2 hours and we talk about many different topics, read some stories and I sometiems attempt to teach grammer even though I am not great at it. It is great because the class has only 6 students. The other class I teach is at the CVCD. It is an organization that helps teach poor andunderpriveledged people english, japanese, and compter technology. I teach an english communication class and it has been going well this week. It is very funny for me because I teach a lot of monks and I am not used to seeing students in the full garb. I am even somewhat intimidated by the monks, go figure. So things are going well from a teachign standpoint.
I also learned that I was being very rude in a number of ways. I used to point at the students which is considered a no no and is very rude. Instead you have to point with a full palm facing the sky. I also learned monks cannot eat after 12 so dont offer them food. Monks are not even allowed to touch women or even sit next to them. The head is the highest part of your body and most holy, so hats must be put on desks, not the floor. And the feet, which I sprawl out all teh time are the least holy and should be tucked nicely under your seat out of ones sight.
I am takign motos to and from class but the $1 a day fee fr taxis is goign to be avoided when I get my bike and try and survive teh crazy traffic everyday. I thinka bike will be good, it will give me some more freedom and some much needed exercise after all the rice that I eat. That is all for now. Within the next couple weeks I am going to take a boat to Siem Reap and visit Angkor Wat. I hope to try and get out to do one trip per month. Take care ad post some questions if you feel like it. Ciao

Hello all,
Well things are sort of starting to become easier. Forone thing I have finally figuredout this whole 2 hour time difference when I sleep. I have not started working yet which is kind of annoying. It would be niceto work so I could find a rhythem and just be more active and have lessdown time. But nonetheless, it has become more enjoyable. I recently visited the killing fields and the main prison during the khemer rouge period which was a very difficult day. It was horribleto see how many people were murdered and the ways inwhich peoplewere treated. It was really a horrible site that I would like to stay away from. All I can say is that if you do not know of thisperiod you shouldlook it upfor yourself and see for yourself. It wasalso difficult because such tragic events happened in a place that is so peaceful and beautiful today. I believe that is one of the things they tried to create when reinventing the killing fields.
On a liter note, things are pretty good. Theonly way I could come close to describing Phnom Penh is to picture everyone walking in NYC but on scooters. The traffic is crazy and people do not have any real conception of the trafficlaws. People are going against the trafic,left , right, etc. It is sad though due to the many horrible accidents that I unfortunately witnessed the other day.
As for my room....I don't know if it is primitive or genious, but I could sit on my toilet and take a shower at the same time. Sounds very odd, but is a great way to keep the toilet clean. Also, I donot have toilet paper but rather a high powered hose, and you know what happens from there.
I wish that I couldmeet somepeople. That has been the hardest part. I look forward to meeting some westerners when I start wor'. It would be niceto be ableto knocj\k around teh city with some people.
As far as money, nothing really costs more than $1, period. So its pretty cheap. I am going to try and travel to Angkor Wat and Vietnam at somepoint. I first have to extend my visa which expires soon....of course the visa patrolwould not grant me aprolonmged visa. Until next time take care and I look forward to seeing everyone in the future. Ciao...... picturesto come