Arrival in Kampuchea (Phnom Penh to Siem Reap)

Khmer currency (and some USD, also accepted here)

Some things to note about Cambodia:

1. Nobody here calls it Cambodia. The name is referred to as Kampuchea.
2. The language, people, and currency (when not using US dollars) is called Khmer (pronounced Ka-meer (though some pronounce it "Kha-mare", in English pronunciation), but "kha-mai" by native "Kampucheans").
3. We are here during the dry season, which is November-April. The weather is warm in the evenings and mornings, reaching the 90s (Fahrenheit) around 1-4pm before cooling off again. It's humid. Almost muggy. 
4. The Khmer population (some of whom are of mixed Chinese descent) still celebrates Chinese New Year, in part (it is a lunar observance). So we did not totally skip out on all the decorations and fireworks.

We arrived to Cambodia on Thursday night, greeted by my friend Derek (Dom) from Whitworth. He is in the Peace Corps, serving in a provincial village on the southwestern side of the worlds larges freshwater lake, Tonla Sap (10,000 square km during wet season, shrinking down to a mere 3,000 during the lowest of dry seasons). He and another PCV (Peace corps Volunteer) met us at the airport and we all went out for the night. We spent the first night and following day (the 7th through the morning of the 9th) in Phnom Penh, the country's capital city.

We took in the sights, were taught much about the local culture--past and present. We went to the S21 facility, now a museum of the atrocities that were committed during the Khmer Rouge, close by to the infamous Killing Fields. What a somber, but educational day that was. All of my past knowledge of the country's violent history fell into place and was supplemented by that real-life visualization and meeting survivors and hearing personal stories. Everyone in this country has such a traumatic past. I could go into much more detail at another point in time. Having this basis of knowledge helps us really see Kampuchea through more than just a tourist's eyes.

"Abu"

We spent the late afternoon walking around, getting a taste of the city, walking down by the Mekong River and sitting there as the sun began to set, sipping wine and enjoying people-watching. We met the cutest little boy while relaxing, who was entertained my my iPhone for at least an hour. He took dozens of photos and got a kick out of skipping through my music. Kari named him Abu, because, we didn't get much more than little monkey sounds out of him, other than the fact that I correctly guessed he was four years old.

After a late night on the town, we were up and going early on Saturday morning to catch a 7:30 bus out of Phnom Penh, 6 hours northwest to Siem Reap. It was really a luxury bus, by my standards, with refreshments, the mandatory 1990s karaoke music videos, and wifi!!! Despite the lack of sleep the night before, aside from a 20-minute snooze, I was attentive and took in as much as I could of the Kampuchean countryside from out the window. I snapped many photos and contemplated comparisons to other countries I have experienced.

Khmer road sights

We arrived in Siem Reap around 1pm, and our guide Vireak, contracted privately through World Expeditions, met us with our driver, Vannak, whereupon we discovered that we had a private tour! (While booking through World Expeditions, our Tour Coordinator made it sound like we were part of a larger tour group.) This will be a fantastic few days to come!

On da bikes... day one!