at a rest stop on the bus from kratie to siem reap, i broke down and bought the ubiquitous pringles (always sold at rest stops, clearly to target travelers, who are often foreigners). except these were faux pringles. they ended up being breakfast lunch and dinner on the way-too-long bus ride from katie to siem reap. note to self: don't try to take any more pictures on moving buses.
had i noticed the 'permitted flavour enhancer' i might have refrained from eating the entire can in one day.
my room at the 'boutique' hotel that i moved to because it had wifi. i was at first very excited about my room, but soon realized the wifi didn't reach up to the second floor. so i moved rooms. the wifi worked there but the room had an extremely unpleasant smell after the room deodorizer had worn off. in a few days i changed rooms again. don't let the name 'boutique' fool you. any place can call itself that, and quite a few seemed to, as it appeared to be something of a trend in siem reap.
pretty heavy public service ad, eh? good.
ice truck! (i unfortunately just missed capturing him sawing that block off.)
who needs a delivery truck when you have a delivery moto?
doing something (collecting reeds...?) by the riverside
first person to explain this one (that was definitely an 'h' so i believe it says 'house' girl) wins a prize.
ok, just a tattoo shop, nothing unusual...
it's the sign that i loved. now that's service! tattoo emergency? never fear. we are just a phonecall away!
i'm sure joel kronenberg is so pleased that his name is up on the outside wall of this school that he doesn't mind the 'bellinghan.'
and...a khmer translation of 'joel kronenberg etc etc?' i would love to know...
a peek inside the school that joel kronenberg so generously donated to
how's that for multi-purpose multi-tasking?
laundry. my usual favorite photo subject.
fish drying. next to the laundry.
i saw signs like this a few times. soft opening? did someone somehow translate grand as soft? i would have thought 'hard' to be more likely...
i spent my 40th birthday in siem reap (in a bar with a bunch of people i didn't know, including a friendly group of german guys, one of whom turned out to be celebrating his birthday as well!), and the next day my cousin gligor gave me a lovely present. he used some of his 'points' to get me two nights at le meridien angkor (the fanciest hotel in all of siem reap, and possibly all of cambodia). he even got me upgraded to a suite! soon after arrival, there was a knock on my door and...voila, a treat. ah, le meridien. none of it tasted very good, actually *and* i mistook what turned out to be some kind of berry cordial for dipping sauce and, regrettably, dunked the dumpling in it before taking my first bite. i know...can't take me anywhere.
the living room of my suite. corner suite.
the living room as viewed from the bedroom. and yes this whole suite was bigger than my aparment in ny. significantly bigger. it even had two bathrooms. (well, one and a 'half.' what here we would call two toilets, but back home we'd never be so 'gauche' as to call a toilet a toilet.)
the bedroom. i swear that was even bigger than a king-size bed. like a king and a half.
took this photo after the cordial-dipping faux-pas was committed. i'm pretty sure the meat was pink regardless, however.
“They were the most beautiful in their villages, the whitest;” see my previous commentary on the December 21 photo of the day. also notice that these girls were taken from their families, never to see them again, apparently. thankfully they were comforted by the beautiful gardens and presence of fried cake vendors! whew.
Yes, I really did this. I know it's crazy, but...what else to do? Someone on staff at the fanciest hotel in town stole $20 out of my money belt (I only knew because I'd just counted it.). From inside a LOCKED SAFE. I didn't want to make a fuss but I did want my money back. So I wrote this and put it in the safe and...voila! Next day, my missing $20 was back. I actually couldn't believe it. I counted and recounted, as I'd done the day before. No, I felt I'd counted enough to prove to myself, I am not crazy.
OK, I admit it was ridiculous for me to then start moralizing. But the catlady in me won out and left this note locked in the safe the next day. Unfortunately, it was the day I was leaving, and while I was in the process of checking out, duh, the staff went to check the room for me (I'm used to being in more backpacker-type guest houses, remember, where if you left something, well, that's your problem.). Someone came and told me I'd left the safe locked. Obviously they could open it and reset the code or otherwise figure out my code, as the staff person with the sticky fingers had clearly done previously, but their concern was that I'd left something in there. I reassured them that I was certain I hadn't and they were free to open it. I can't imagine what the person who did so (presuming it was not Mr. or Ms. Sticky Fingers) thought when they saw the note. Right before I left the hotel manager came over to chat and ask if my stay was OK and offer to assist me with anything I might
yes, this is a drain full of dead roaches. if i'd noticed that what was in the floor drain at the internet place i was at, i would probably have opted not to use the bathroom a second time.
