Khmer and check this

And the hits keep comin. Today was another incredible day I have to say. In order to give you some context as you read the rest of this blog, here's where I am right now: about 3 beers deep after a great meal at 10:30pm after a solid day of exploring since 7am. In other words, I'm happy and sleepy =)

So Phnom Penh, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
This morning we were torn between jumping a bus to Siem Reap/Angkor Wat or staying another day. We left it up to the travel agency gods as we headed out into the town to see what was available. The gods treated us well methinks, the first bus available out of town was tomorrow morning at 9:30; Phnom Penh, round 2, here we come. After making arrangments to get out of town tomorrow, the old man and I hired a tuk tuk driver to give us a tour of the city for the day (for those of you that are unfamiliar, at tuk tuk is a little 50-100cc scooter with a double benched improve carriage in tow). Today was a special day in Cambodia however, it was election day. Everywhere we went people were sporting dark blue right pointer fingers signifying that they had had their rint taken in order to vote. It also meant that a significant portion of stores and historical sights were closed for the day. It was surprisingly really nice, albeit somewhat inconvenient. Even though we weren't able to make it into the city's biggest tourist attractions (the Silver Pagoda, National Museum, the Russian market, etc.), the holiday made for a unique experience of the city. The pace was much slower, most people were indoors watching the news for the results of the election or just taking a day off. We started by going to the main city market. While the main domed buildng was closed for the day, a select few vendors stayed open around the perimeter in a series of wooden stalls that created narrow alleyways roofed with tarps. I was recruited several times by my pops to do his haggling for him. Even though he wanted me to do the negotiating to save him money, it seemed as though he were working against me. Several times I would be taking a defensive stance and making low offers on goods that would be going incredibly (sp? again I am lacking red squigely line technology, bear with me) cheap to locals, and dad would say something like "well, you know this is a really good deal" and then after the deals were done say something like "Man, I thought you were going to save me some more money!" On the day I talked down 35 usd off 130 which I thought was a decent percentage considering that I was working against tourist hardened bargainers and my dad. Anyway, after the market we made our way up to Wat Phnom, a tall shrine-like structure atop a hill in the middle of the city. On the side of the hill was a massive clock, maybe 60 feet across that even had a second hand that spun at a good speed out at the radius. As it seems to be the custom in Cambodia, the clock was 5 minutes slow. Afterwards we sat down to lunch at a Khmer restaurant on the Sap river. I had this incredible shrimp dish whose name escaped me shortly ofter leaving the restaurant, but the descriptor on the menu went something like "simmered in brown sauce". A small pile of shrimp waded in a rich brown sauce laden with finely chopped garlic and green onions, which was bordered with scalloped cucumbers, that rolled of the back of the tongue with a nice balance of salt and pepper that reminded me of home. As a pick-me-up I also ordered a 3000 riel Red Bull that had nothing to do with what we get in the states. Flat syrup in a short and stubby can. As we looked out onto the river scene before us, there laid a simple four post structure that had collapsed on one side and come to rest with half of the roof submerged. A few men were working around the structure as we sat down, and before we knew it, one of them had gotten into the water wielding a tube connected to a gas powered pump that was steadily and rapidly supplying air. The man, with no shoes, flippers or goggles, dove under the water to go to work on god knows what in the murky brown waters. We could see the stream of bubbles surfacing from where he was under the surface, but even after we finished our lunch, he remained submerged; 20 minutes at least before we left the restaurant with him still under. Our tour continued on to the city's Genocide Museum (the details of which I'll leave out), and on to a nice drive over the Japanese bridge and back to the hotel. Now, all trip long, I've been talking about how freaking cool the scooters everyone drives around here and about how bad I really want one back in Seattle. Well, I knew of a place (from pre-trip research) which rented them out for 4 usd per day which turned out to be one block from our hotel. I really had no intention of driving any of them in this part of the world, mainly on account of how really fucking scary the drivers are around here, but when the old man suggested we rent a couple, there was no turning back. (cush: you would be in heaven here) So we grabbed a couple ~50-100 cc manual shift, automatic clutch scooters and cruised around town for an hour and a half. (mi amo, mi amo mi nuevo bicicleta) Pure joy. Cruising through 75 degree streets with the breeze through your hair with nowhere to be but exactly where you are: amazing. I took the lead cruising through the city wherever the streets took us. Before long I had gotten myself disoriented with about 10 minutes to return the bikes before the shop closed. Leisurely cruising turned into 2-semi-fast, 2 furious racing through the streets to find our destination. It was a perfect amount of adrenaline and speeding for the evening as we snuck into the shop with no time to spare. We came down from excitement by returning to a site that we had stumbled upon earlier while cruising, a strip of street in which the locals had set up several half-steel drum barbeques where they grilled the day's market meats on the curb. I know! It was amazing! We started off with some incredible sausages that had the locals piling up in line for. Mmmm, light meat with complimentary spices, cooked to perfection with a nice even char that was only interupted by the meat snapping through right before being served to us piping hot. That was only the beginning. We crossed the street to the next barrel of coals releasing smoke that carried a smell that could only be made by dripping fat. We grabbed a strip of meat that dad hypothesized was pork belly. Oh. my. gato. The thick strip was about 12" by 2" and was divided longwise with an inch of tender juicy white meat on one side and a solid sizzling inch strip of fat on the other. When on the street, eat as the grillers do. We finished up the meal with some the wings of some chicken that definitley did chickens everywhere justice. Heading out of the street we grabbed a tuk tuk home and ducked into the restaurant next door to the hotel for a couple tall (640 ml) Angkor beers. So far the beers of Vietnam and Cambodia have been somewhat forgettable, dry lagers that carry a coppery finish, but it was a great way to round off our day. We drank and went over pictures and talked of travels. I'm really really appreciative that I am on this leg of my trip with my dad. I have learned a ton about the practicalities and necessities of traveling from him, but even greater than that, from the standpoint of getting mentally prepared for wandering off into the rest of the world solo, what better day to lose your training wheels than to have your dad give you a push start on your first two wheel ride. So now it's 11:37, and again I have blogged past my bedtime. See you in Angkor Wat!
Much love,
-Jon

Chris: sorry about bringin the hunger pains again in tonights blog, remember, it's all in your head
Erik: Thanks, it's better than good and the best is yet to come, stay tuned
Jenni: Haha, yea this is also doubling as my diary so the mo the betta for keepsake... sake
Trav: Thanks for looking out for my butt, luckily last night's alley chicken and sugar can(e) adventure ended safely.