July 8th, 2016
July 8-on the move
Well all good things must come to an end. But we have some amazing things to look forward to. A really fun weekend in phnom phen with Ritchie, Vanna, baby Alice, Landon and Sam! This will be so much more fun than the last time we were in PP two years ago and we went to the killing fields, a war museum, a concentration camp, and yeah, you get the point…..
The day started off just fine, had another delicious breakfast, we got smart yesterday and asked for our fruit bowl without papaya. Not sure WHO exactly eats papaya, it must be the most revolting fruit on the planet. (And I have now officially tasted durian-so I know disgusting fruit). But every year when we are in SE Asia, it’s papaya season, so they keep trying to fob it off on us. BUT yesterday I had a brain moment and asked for my fruit bowl w/o papaya. Now this is a mixed blessing as I officially got twice as much watermelon. Anyone who knows me, knows how I feel about Watermelon, but I happen to be married to a guy who loves it, and is so-so on bananas (which I can’t get enough of) You see where this is going…..so we are those people who each eat their own pineapple, trade bananas for Watermelon and waste none of their precious papaya😄for the win!
When it comes time to settle up the hotel bill I know I have to go to the bank machine as I happened to see a note on the front desk last night saying they no longer accept c/c😳. Really?? Ok, not a huge deal as I’m pretty sure we will need more cash for the big weekend in the city anyway…..as luck would have it, there’s a cash machine right beside the hotel. Ray says it’s a legit machine, so I troy over to go my thing. #1 Transaction declined, #2 transaction declined, go ask Ray WTH? He says it should be working, #3 transaction declined–Laurie stops trying as she now believes her card will be stuck in a cash machine in Cambodia if she tries again.
In comes Troy, ditto, ditto, ditto, STOP at three attempts!
Uh oh…..we’ve not encountered this before. Desperate times folks…..So we empty our pockets and we are $10 short of being able to pay hotel and driver that’s taking us to PP (who is now kindly and patiently waiting for us).
Ray says “you can PayPal me” Hahahaha! Thank gawd for technology……that takes 2 minutes, then we are on out way.
That’s our driver. No English, so no chatter other than our own…..oh wait, he was able to chatter in Khmer, on his cell phone, it’s not illegal here, let’s be honest, not much is!
After driving around the block a few times (I don’t think our driver reads English either 😉) we got yo the Angkor International Hotel. It is $20 a night for a standard room ! What a deal. The desk informs me I’m getting an upgrade to a superior room! Always great news right???! So we go on up and I’m not sure what a standard room is like but a superior room is very basic. There’s barely room to get around the three sides of the bed, but it has a kettle, is very clean and has a nice BR, and good AC, so I’m happy. And it’s $20……
We freshen up and head off to meet Landon at the Russisn market which is over by his school. He has arranged for us to your his school he teaches at. But first things first. Lunch….had chicken fried rice at a Polynesian place, Troy had chicken satay and Landon had morning glory (it’s a veggie dish). Then we walked over to school, met the boss, he gave me a card for when I am ready to start job hunting. Not sure phnom phen is my speed, but always good to have a starting point in the search.
After the tour, Landon had to find his work day up, so we walked back to Russian market and wandered around. Oh my, the things you see in local markets that you can never unsee. Things you didn’t want to ever know about your food…..sigh
Ritchie, Vanna and baby Alice are due to arrive at 5. Landon and Sam came over to hotel and we are all waiting in lobby…..right on cue!!!!
Everything is better with a baby in your arms…..
Vanna’s sister is going to take baby Alice tonight so we will be hitting the town. We started the evening at a rooftop bar down by the riverside. It was called Le Moon. Amazing view of the river and across the river as the sun set.
The view got more spectacular as the sun set.
Supper occurred after this, over at the New Corner. Troy and I split a pizza, then I felt justified in ordering a banana split.
In all fairness I did split the split with Sam and Vanna. The strawberry was actually a sherbet!! OMG yum….I don’t usually care for strawberry ice cream, but this was amazingly tasty.
At this point, it was after 9:40 (well past my beftime) and I cashed it in. Walked back to hotel with Vanna’s sister and baby Alice. Troy stayed out with his boys for a beer or two (not counting) . I’ve had a Great day…..
Until tomorrow 😘
