Chapter 1. Mini Intro
Once upon a time in a land far far away from home there was a Kingdom called Cambodia. This Kingdom was hot and sticky and the traffic was beyond out of control. It was in this Kingdom, where Nicole found herself spending one month of her life, touring Ankor Wat, Otres Beach, and posing as an English teacher in Phnom Pehn.
Chapter 2. Ankor Wat
One dark, early, chilly morning a group of girls left their hotel at 430 am to see the sunrise over the famous 8th wonder of the world, Ankor Wat. It was truly beautiful, a site to see, worth waking up for. Nicole would recommend anyone who finds himself or herself in Siem Reap, Cambodia to catch the sunrise at Ankor Wat.
Chapter 3. Phnom Pehn
Nicole moved to the bustling city of Phnom Pehn where she was teaching 3 English classes a day, eating lots of KFC Zinger Burgers (spicy chicken sandwich), and hanging out on the Riverfront playing frisbee with the local street kids at night (which was her favorite)! Another one of Nicole’s favorite things about Phnom Pehn was the traffic.
There are no rules on the road here. Cars, tuk-tuks, motorbikes, and bicycles go wherever they feel like going. There are “east bound/west bound” streets; however it is regular to see east and west bond traffic on the same street, it’s a free for all! One sunny, hot, day after eating a nice Zinger burger, Nicole got hit by a scooter crossing the street. She was fine, nothing but minor scratches on her leg, but the problem was she forgot to look 4 different directions before crossing the street. Rumor has it, that walking across traffic can rank as one of Nicole’s most beloved things to do, it’s quite the rush!
Nicole loved her eleven 4 year olds she taught every morning at 8am, she really loves them, they were so darn cute; she just wished they listened to her…even a little. The cutest part of teaching these little guys, was when they had to go to the bathroom. The children would come to the teacher, place their hands in a prayer position, and say, “tee-chaa, toilet?” Listening to the children thank Jesus for their food was also super cute. There were lots of troublemakers in this class full of cute kids, but it sure was a fun time with them.
She also loved the afternoon classes that were full of older students who were so excited to be learning English. There were not as many funny times with the older children, but it was still a good time.
*my #1 Trouble-Maker. SO CUTE!
*sweet girl at school.
Nicole was scared of all of the local food but was extra thankful for the local supermarket that sold mac-n-cheese and pop-tarts! Nicole would make two boxes of mac-n-cheese and eat it for three days straight. Sometimes there would be “sweet chili-sauce” poured on top of the noodles; either way, it was so delicious! It is said that in Cambodia the locals eat everything except the chair and table. The locals will eat intact orange snake on a stick, and every type of huge insect, including fried tarantula. *gag me! It never fails; on every outing there is some type of strange smell lingering in the air, mostly a fishy smell. Not the best smelling city I’ve been in.
* me playing with someones food!
Chapter 4: Otres Beach Outting
In honor of the King’s birthday there was a four-day weekend. So, naturally, Nicole and her friends looked up the best beach. After a 5 dollar 5 hour bus ride they arrived near the coast around 8pm, met some other backpackers (from Spain, Austria, Germany, and Argentina) and became friends. The new group of 7 friends made their way WAY off the beaten path, to what seemed like a sketchy, dark area where they were all going to die but in reality it was a sweet little backpacker beach with several bungalows, bars, and restaurants. Bungalows cost 9 bucks a night and had a little sign that said,
“Prostitution.
Don’t do drugs.”
Still not too sure what exactly that sign meant. Anyway, The crew had an awesome time, hanging out, telling stories about their journeys, and laying on the beach.
One of the days the motley crew set out on a boating/snorkeling/island hopping adventure that they will never forget, and almost didn’t live through.
Here are the highlights:
We get to our snorkeling spot, get in the water, and we can’t even see our feet. There was nothing but murky water. The “captain” calls us back on the boat…storm is comin’! Next:
Thunderstorm (lightning and thunder), black skies, pounding rain, (big, cold, cutting rain), in seas of about 15 foot rollers…all in a rickety little Cambodian boat with a weed-eater motor put-putting us along through the storm, there is not top to this boat either. A guy from Switzerland pulls out a black guitar in the midst of everyone hanging on for dear life or over the edge puking, and starts playing Bob Marley! So hilarious. Why he brought his guitar on the boat, I’m not too sure, but it sure was funny.
Finally the boat makes it to an island. Everyone jumps off the boat and ends up staying in the water because the water was so much warmer than the wind and rain; we were wearing life jackets over our heads b/c the rain was so painful! While bobbing in the massive waves, and laughing at our situation, all the boats on the island start to crash into each other…one boat doesn’t survive, it ends up tipped over on the shore and is taking on water. All we did was laugh at our situation. After about 2.5 hours of this, the storm calmed down and we were able to make it back to the mainland.
Has to be one of the best memories of the trip for sure! Pictures do not do this one justice! It was nice to take a cold shower and get in dry clothes after that.
*Sketchy boat!
**I'm telling you pictures do NOT do this weather justice. You just have to trust me when I tell you the waves were HUGE!
Chapter 5. Today
Six days till Malaysia. Crazy. Thanks for your prayer, thoughts, and emails. This month has had some hard days, and it’s hard to keep going, but I know it’s where I’m supposed to be. God is good and His plan is bigger and better than mine.
The End…or should I say,to be continued!
