Day 2

Day 2
  It was nice finally getting a full night sleep in a real bed since the last was either on an airport chair or bench! Today we started off the day in a cafe that served breakfast for under 2 dollars and had free wifi. The wifi was great because it gave me access to my iPod which is what I am using to write this blog. Luckily I had another bowl of soup for breakfasr because it was even better than the one from the day before as Nick went for a cheese sandwhich because he was already missing american food. Our plan was to go back to the 8 story mall again and do a little shopping.
   After breakfast we stopped by the general's watch store on the way to the mall and once again were put back in the pickup for another adventure. This time we had 2 cars and the rest of the crew, totaling 11 for now.  I grabbed my camera and sat in the bed of the truck where I could get the best shots. I didn't know this trip involved going to "the mountain" around 90 minutes away. I definately got some sun and long stares from the cambodians as we drove by. (Btw driving is an experience in itself as we weaved back and forth as if we were racing). Some were eager to wave and smile while others were probably wondering... why is that white boy in the back of that truck? We were all surprised at how the Cambodian locals actually lived outside the major city. It was quite sad and jaw dropping to see their huts and extremely simple way of life. Yet, they all seemed happy besides the cows which looked literally like skin and bones. 
  Once my butt was numb from the dirt roads we finally came to the bottom of the mountain where we were bombarded by children who all seemed eager to practice their English with us. We got out of the car and were given sub sandwhiches filled with some weird meat and possibly some cheese... we couldn't really tell. All that mattered is that it went down to fill our bellies. We didn't know that these children would soon turn into our own personal little tour guides. I was kindly approached by a child named Sotuk who explained to me that he was a student and this was his holiday just like every Sunday. He said that his school was 9 hours a day and he wanted to become a teacher. The tour was pretty funny as i tried to connect with sotuk because his English was mediocre. His stories about the mountain and the temples were well scripted bit still didn't make any sense. Chris and nick had raced their tour guides to the top of the first set of stairs (160) and won, however the two of them felt sick and out of breath at the top. I was lead to budda after budda and was explained that Chinese buddas faced north and kmer budda's faced east. At one part of the mountain we saw orange monks who chanted in a deep tune. Chris and I were told to take off our shoes by some little Cambodian tourists because they didn't want us to be disrespectful. They had large smiles and commented on our teeth because they liked how white they were. Chris then took off his shirt and our tour guides giggled and pointed as they said "white" and commented how we liked their tan skin and they like our white skin. When the tour came to an end and we descended the mountain we were all surprised by cute little monkeys. One even pissed on the head of one of the girls as they headed down to the bottom... It was priceless to see. When we neared the bottom sotuk explained that it costs him 20 dollars a month to learn English and asked if I would pay for one month of school. I thought wow this kid drives a hard bargin as he was very direct and then asked if he could get it now because he was hungry. I gave him a couple bucks and he still wanted more. This was obviously a scam they use to suck you in. At the bottom of "the mountain" we all cooled off with some beer and cola before hopping back into the truck. This time I stayed inside the cab because I had enough sun for the day. Nick, Chris, and Phil this time wanted to be in the back and had the time of their lives as we passed more locals who now thought, "why are there three shirtless white boys in the back of that truck"? We couldn't stop laughing at them. Next we pulled up to these amazing wat's. They were only 10 years old and were spread out nicely across the land. We saw the monks walking about and there were only about 20 but yet they had multiple large temples to pray in... It didn't really make any sense to us. After seeing a few more wats we found one that had a market outside and decided to check it out. Papa Khauv stated sucking down a coconut which looked wonderfully refreshing. Phil, Chris and I split one and I carefully explained to them that the coconut milk is good for constipation since this was their first coconut experience. Next we walked over to the general and saw that he was eating something. That something was FROG and guess what? It was delicious! we noticed all the other food but wasn't ready to try it as frog was enough for today. 
  Now back in the truck we headed back to Phnom Penh. This time we couldn't go so fast as it was market time and everyone was out in the streets shopping. The market was a few miles long and was spread tightly across the road. Before we knew it papa Khauv and the general had another adventure up their sleve as we pulled into a restaurant and ordered food to go. While we waited Nick and Chris fished in a pond because Phil said he would eat one of the fish if they caught one. Well... They caught 2 and down the hatch they went haha! We soon learned that we were going to eat our food on a boat cruise on the river which turned out to be a relaxing way to end the night. I caught up and talked with brad and melissa as we sat inches above the merky waters of the river. We had nice views of the towns colorful lights and of the new developments under construction on an island... Very cool. Chris spotted that our boat captain was falling asleep at the wheel and went to save us. He found out that the caption was actually just texting... Haha ( shouldn't that be a ticket?) As the night came to a close we hopped back into the bed of the pickup and made it back to the Tin Tin and once again climbed the stairs to shower for karaoke. We came into our room and jumped on the bed to rest but once our heads hit the pillows it was lights out. Wow what a day!  

Chris and I at the budda on the mountain!

Petrolium barrels that I saw on the ride to the mountain in the back of the truck.

Monks at the Wak in orange

 
Our tour guides on the mountain... can you believe that they are 15 years old?