Saturday, April 03, 2004
Great 1st Impressions
I *heart* Cambodia!
I know I'm way behind on blogging and had intended to use tonight to catch up on Vietnam, now that I've crossed into Cambodia. But instead, I must tell you about my first impressions of Phnom Penh, while still fresh in my mind.
The bus ride took longer than expected. We left Saigon at about 9 am, got through customs at noon, waited there for two hours, arriving in PP at 6 pm. The second leg of the trip was a different bus---the A/C broke down and we were carrying huge jugs of petrol ON the bus, but it wasn't as bad as one could be reasonable to expect in a country such as this.
The land here is browner, since it is the end of the dry season and the rice had just been harvested. Even saw some corn. Women carried things on their heads, no hands, like I'm used to seeing in Egypt. They had shrimp cracker/pizza things, roasted duck, strange green fruits on platters atop their hatted-heads. Children and women clamored aboard the bus as we waited to board a ferry to cross a river, trying to see things or get money from us. Two blind people were lead to the windows, looking for some money (I don't think anyone gave.)
Once we got to PP, it turned out that Cindy, a Fulbright Scholar here, was waiting for us. Since we came a day earlier than expected, I wasn't sure she'd be there. With her was Paul, an university tourism student who is her driver on the side. They took us to find a hotel. First choice, full. Second choice, all good. Then Keith and I took Cindy out to dinner, to chat and I wanted to thank her for all her help. Great conversation, really interesting, friendly woman in her 40s. She's a psychologist, who is supposed to be here studying volunteerism, but isn't having much time/support to carry out her research (doing uni work mostly now).
We parted ways after dinner (I had a really good local fish curry called amock), walking along the river on our way back towards our hotel. There was a crowd of young people (teens-twenties) in the park area between the road and river, so we decided to go see what was going on. There was a circle of people, beyond them were spectators, and then a group of people forming within the circle.
It appeared that they were playing spin the bottle...but a milder version than in the US. There was only one bottle-spinner...if it landed on you, you had to go pick someone of the opposite sex as your partner, then join interior group, lining up girl-boy-girl-boy. When the bottle landed on a spot, everyone sort of inched away from it or sometimes, ran away to the edge of the group (generally out of mock shyness). When the selection was being made, the chooser would give a polite bow with hands joined together prayer-style, just below the mouth, and the chosen would return the bow.
Well, not long after we joined the outer-most group of spectators, we got chosen (as a pair). All smiles, we joined the group, having no idea what was going on. We got lots of applause. The bottle-spinner made Keith spin me, ball-room dance style (nobody else ever had to do that). Then we joined the line, squatting down as the rest of them were doing. After a few more couples joined, we all stood up and started to do a dance. Really, I was just clapping my hands and walking in a circle. People were singing, a few playing make-shift drums. After the song was over, the people returned to the circle and it started all over again.
The next time, a girl came and picked Keith (more applause). Then I got picked (and the guy spun me, the others would just do a promenade-type walk about the circle). Same song and dance. Then again. That boy wasn't going to spin me, so I spun myself as he was walking me to the group. Then while we watched, a man gave us some sugarcane to chew and suck on (I'd done this in Malaysia before and don't really like it, but you've got to accept it so as not to be rude!).
Then a man nearby asked us something and we realized he spoke English, so I began talking to him and then Keith got picked. The man is a university teacher, with a wife and a three-year old child. He explained that these were games that were happening because Khmer New Year is coming up next week and for about two weeks before, lots of games are played. But that this game was pretty new, not traditional. The boys and girls who picked each other often did not know each other, so it was a matter of flirting and checking others out (though he didn't say this).
One of the ring-leaders was this boy (maybe around 20?) who I was sure was gay...and a total ham. He was practically doing stand-up, making the crowd laugh. Doing little dances, saying things in voices, etc. The university professor made reference to him as "being not a man, not a woman" and then said he acted womanly. I asked if that was okay and he said yes.
Then HE got picked (probably because he was associating with ME!). Then the bottle landed on ME, so I had to pick someone. I sashayed to the interior and, with my hand rubbing my chin in a thoughtful gesture, surveyed the crowd jokingly. The current bottle-spinner lead me around and I got to the original gay bottle-spinner and decided to pick him (he was staying there as if praying I would). Cheers went up. And he spun me, around and around and around. I got dizzy and did a fake stumble out of the spin to ham it up myself.
The crowd had gotten bigger and I saw a few other foreigners about, but Keith and I were lucky because we were the first foreign spectators, so had gotten invited to join in. Once we'd proven to be good sports about it, it was easy for them to keep picking us.
I LOVE STUFF LIKE THIS! They were inviting and friendly and it was just so much fun! All the people seemed to be happy and having a good time. Granted, it could be that the festival is coming up, but I noticed something different in the air from Vietnam. (And we had even been in the south: A cyclo driver we had in Saigon had told us that people in the south were happy, but people in the north were not.) The people here have some vitality or vivaciousness that I didn't detect in Vietnam. I was practicing skipping once we left the crowd, I was so happy to have had that experience.
The buildings are spectacular, particularly with a lovely pink sunset as the backdrop. I'm glad we cut out of Vietnam a day earlier and can't wait to see more of the city and the country.
And maybe even try to line up a job for this fall here?! At least tell the people I'm connecting up with that I'd be interested if they know of any development jobs opening up...I didn't have that reaction to Saigon (though there wasn't anything particularly wrong with it, there also wasn't anything particularly wonderful).
More soon, I hope!
I *heart* Cambodia!
I know I'm way behind on blogging and had intended to use tonight to catch up on Vietnam, now that I've crossed into Cambodia. But instead, I must tell you about my first impressions of Phnom Penh, while still fresh in my mind.
The bus ride took longer than expected. We left Saigon at about 9 am, got through customs at noon, waited there for two hours, arriving in PP at 6 pm. The second leg of the trip was a different bus---the A/C broke down and we were carrying huge jugs of petrol ON the bus, but it wasn't as bad as one could be reasonable to expect in a country such as this.
The land here is browner, since it is the end of the dry season and the rice had just been harvested. Even saw some corn. Women carried things on their heads, no hands, like I'm used to seeing in Egypt. They had shrimp cracker/pizza things, roasted duck, strange green fruits on platters atop their hatted-heads. Children and women clamored aboard the bus as we waited to board a ferry to cross a river, trying to see things or get money from us. Two blind people were lead to the windows, looking for some money (I don't think anyone gave.)
Once we got to PP, it turned out that Cindy, a Fulbright Scholar here, was waiting for us. Since we came a day earlier than expected, I wasn't sure she'd be there. With her was Paul, an university tourism student who is her driver on the side. They took us to find a hotel. First choice, full. Second choice, all good. Then Keith and I took Cindy out to dinner, to chat and I wanted to thank her for all her help. Great conversation, really interesting, friendly woman in her 40s. She's a psychologist, who is supposed to be here studying volunteerism, but isn't having much time/support to carry out her research (doing uni work mostly now).
We parted ways after dinner (I had a really good local fish curry called amock), walking along the river on our way back towards our hotel. There was a crowd of young people (teens-twenties) in the park area between the road and river, so we decided to go see what was going on. There was a circle of people, beyond them were spectators, and then a group of people forming within the circle.
It appeared that they were playing spin the bottle...but a milder version than in the US. There was only one bottle-spinner...if it landed on you, you had to go pick someone of the opposite sex as your partner, then join interior group, lining up girl-boy-girl-boy. When the bottle landed on a spot, everyone sort of inched away from it or sometimes, ran away to the edge of the group (generally out of mock shyness). When the selection was being made, the chooser would give a polite bow with hands joined together prayer-style, just below the mouth, and the chosen would return the bow.
Well, not long after we joined the outer-most group of spectators, we got chosen (as a pair). All smiles, we joined the group, having no idea what was going on. We got lots of applause. The bottle-spinner made Keith spin me, ball-room dance style (nobody else ever had to do that). Then we joined the line, squatting down as the rest of them were doing. After a few more couples joined, we all stood up and started to do a dance. Really, I was just clapping my hands and walking in a circle. People were singing, a few playing make-shift drums. After the song was over, the people returned to the circle and it started all over again.
The next time, a girl came and picked Keith (more applause). Then I got picked (and the guy spun me, the others would just do a promenade-type walk about the circle). Same song and dance. Then again. That boy wasn't going to spin me, so I spun myself as he was walking me to the group. Then while we watched, a man gave us some sugarcane to chew and suck on (I'd done this in Malaysia before and don't really like it, but you've got to accept it so as not to be rude!).
Then a man nearby asked us something and we realized he spoke English, so I began talking to him and then Keith got picked. The man is a university teacher, with a wife and a three-year old child. He explained that these were games that were happening because Khmer New Year is coming up next week and for about two weeks before, lots of games are played. But that this game was pretty new, not traditional. The boys and girls who picked each other often did not know each other, so it was a matter of flirting and checking others out (though he didn't say this).
One of the ring-leaders was this boy (maybe around 20?) who I was sure was gay...and a total ham. He was practically doing stand-up, making the crowd laugh. Doing little dances, saying things in voices, etc. The university professor made reference to him as "being not a man, not a woman" and then said he acted womanly. I asked if that was okay and he said yes.
Then HE got picked (probably because he was associating with ME!). Then the bottle landed on ME, so I had to pick someone. I sashayed to the interior and, with my hand rubbing my chin in a thoughtful gesture, surveyed the crowd jokingly. The current bottle-spinner lead me around and I got to the original gay bottle-spinner and decided to pick him (he was staying there as if praying I would). Cheers went up. And he spun me, around and around and around. I got dizzy and did a fake stumble out of the spin to ham it up myself.
The crowd had gotten bigger and I saw a few other foreigners about, but Keith and I were lucky because we were the first foreign spectators, so had gotten invited to join in. Once we'd proven to be good sports about it, it was easy for them to keep picking us.
I LOVE STUFF LIKE THIS! They were inviting and friendly and it was just so much fun! All the people seemed to be happy and having a good time. Granted, it could be that the festival is coming up, but I noticed something different in the air from Vietnam. (And we had even been in the south: A cyclo driver we had in Saigon had told us that people in the south were happy, but people in the north were not.) The people here have some vitality or vivaciousness that I didn't detect in Vietnam. I was practicing skipping once we left the crowd, I was so happy to have had that experience.
The buildings are spectacular, particularly with a lovely pink sunset as the backdrop. I'm glad we cut out of Vietnam a day earlier and can't wait to see more of the city and the country.
And maybe even try to line up a job for this fall here?! At least tell the people I'm connecting up with that I'd be interested if they know of any development jobs opening up...I didn't have that reaction to Saigon (though there wasn't anything particularly wrong with it, there also wasn't anything particularly wonderful).
More soon, I hope!
