November 19

Today is the last day of the week here at Wat Opot and my first annoyance free time in Phnom Penh! Yay! Again, although it is Friday the kids do not attend school because of the Water Festival since the teachers will not be in attendance. Similar to Tanzania, it seems the teachers have a very relaxed attitude about education--understandably so, with low wages and almost no resources for teaching. Two of the volunteers walked some of the uniformed and ready for school kids to the school this morning, and upon learning school was mostly cancelled one of the teachers that was there offered to take the two Americans down the road back to Wat Opot on his moto. They obviously declined and told him to just teach his class.

After lunch, we said goodbye to the children for the week. It was so cute, they told us they'd miss us so much and we'd only be gone for two days! One volunteer, who has been Cambodia for 4 months had a tough time saying goodbye to the children, especially Kunthea. However I was so happy for her to hear that she had plans on returning long-term next year. Most independent volunteers do end up returning for long term stays, or occasional trips to Wat Opot. Despite being here only 1 week, I think I may inevitably be one of these volunteers. I do plan on returning and visiting more of south Asia and southeast Asia, so why not fly in and visit these amazing kids, maybe when they're a little older?

The tuk tuk ride back was actually better than expected. We'd heard so many bad things about Water Festival this week--its congested and unbearable. However we made it to the apartment, right in the middle of town almost effortlessly. I was glad to enjoy a night of good food and drinks, almost luxuriously, something I had not experienced in Tanzania. I was glad to be spoiled with the amazing restaurants and hotels that were near the apartment. We ate at a great Thai restaurant Setsara, a few streets away, and not in the mood for something terribly spicy I opted for their Italian menu (I guess anywhere you go in the world, there's Italian food, it seems) and had a great plate of pasta alla carbonara, fashioned with a raw egg on top and all. With wine and Angkor beer it was a great meal. I fell in love with a new dessert! I love when I discover a new food addiction--I'd seen it in the Bangkok airport and I wished I'd taken advantage of its availability then. Mango and sticky rice, is a sticky sweet rice cooked in condensed milk and sugar and served on the side with a fresh sweet mango. As an avid rice pudding lover, I was in love. Khmer cuisine doesn't offer very many desserts but this Thai dish is pretty common on menus around Phnom Penh. Across the street is a lounge and guesthouse with a posh lighted pool at night and a cocktail bar. There were tourists swimming and sipping cocktails by the pool--the set looked like an exclusive nightclub in Los Angeles. Although this was not my scene (not even in New York) I was so impressed at the cosmopolitan (no pun intended) life that one can have in Phnom Penh, rather inexpensively by American standards (a good cocktail for $2). This street is pretty much just for expats, the neighborhood itself (NGO Town) is riddled with NGO offices and high rise condominiums for those working for agencies in child protection, HIV/AIDS and the like. It was great that it lacked that certain kitsch that can easily take over places with western food in foreign countries.

I've tried a lot of Khmer food, but I think I can spoil myself with some regional fare--from Thailand, here reguarly. And, the best French restaurant in Cambodia according the Lonely Planet right down the street....I think I know where I will eat tomorrow.