Supercallifragilisticexpialidocious

Im not even sure where to start. The last you heard from me, I was in Angkor in the northwest of Cambodia. Since then, I have been to Kampong Cham and Kratie in the center and northeast, and back to Phnom Penh. We were suppose to be in Vietnam by now, but we have been having some visa troubles, so its off to Malaysia. totally unexpected, totally spontaneous, totally righteous. word. so we are stoked about jungles, climbing, snakes, tribes people, etc. Being the mountaineers we are, we have planned a climb of the highest mountain in the area. Well over 12,000 ft., we will be gaining a lot of elevation seeing that it starts around sea level or so.

There is only one word that can describe Kratie, Cambodia- Supercallifragilisticexpialidocious. It was awesome. Kratie is known for its location along the mighty Mekong River and as a place to see some of the few remaining freshwater dolphins. It was a great chance to see rural Cambodia. Its kinda out of the way so it does not attract that many tourists either. We cruised out on the Mekong in a long boat just before sunset and saw tails, fins, heads all bobbing around and playing. On the moto ride back to town, we drove though small villages where children were playing games, mothers preparing dinner, and fathers tending fires. This was Cambodia.

Since we have been stuck in Phnom Penh, we have been enjoying the locals and fellow travelers more. In fact, we are regulars now. Its been a nice, relaxing way to prepare for the rest of our trip. Last night, we went to a bar known as “Heart of Darkness” with about 15 people. Some of them had been living here for quite some time and referred to the bar only as “The Heart.” We could feel the music pulsing and the bass thumping from blocks away. This only bred excitement. Once inside, it was a mad house. The music was exceptional and the DJ suffered a barrage of requests from the Westerners-such a memorable mix of old school Madonna, Rage, Jay-Z, 80s, etc.

There are really only two things I miss after nearly a month. Aside from friends and family, there are just two. First, Air Conditioning. Oh the wondrous cool breeze of an AC would allow me to sleep through the night. I don’t even remember the feeling of a crisp sheet insolating me from the freezing atmosphere of a AC filled room. I wish I could. Secondly, I’ll keep this one clean, but I miss flushing toilets. Oy. In the places we stay and frequent, there is no such thing as a flushing toilet or normal plumbing. When you turn on the sink to wash your hands or brush your teeth, you are immediately caught off guard by the water running down the sink and out of a pipe directly on to your feet. The method of flushing a toilet is even worse. You take the accompanying bucket, filling it under the sink, then use a ladle until all is clear. Gross. Needless to say, this doesn’t work very well.

So that’s it for now.

Shout outs: First, I gotta give it up to the new comers to the listserve, what up; Matty d, thanks for the note, Diana, of course you get lots of love, and good work with “once in my life, “and Merideth, you gets love too!; and I guess ill give one up to Darren, tell him to email me directly; uncle don thanks so much for the letter, its great to get emails from family (wink wink); UNC its your year baby; jillian good luck with the youngins; Ms. Dart or should I say, Mrs. Ratledge, thanks for thinking of me, er ah, us; Asher good luck in Chapel Hill; Rosenberg, good looking out; Tiff good luck on GRE’s, you’ll do great!; Ritzy you rock (that one is for bandita); Simmons, keep it real; Jan thanks for the update; Em Mac, keep em comin; and to the rest, write me about your extra exciting lives….