48 Hours in Cambodia

At Phnom Penh International Airport there was a party of 12 (twelve!) people there to welcome me.
Didn’t see that many people in over a month...
Certainly not for me.
But there they are; all smiles, taking a day off to spend 8 hours in a mini-bus just to welcome me...
Very, very Ev- for them
(if someone would ask my opinion)
No one does.
Family has a different meaning here.
(as opposed to no meaning at all where I come from)
I don’t understand it.
I handle interest in my persona pretty poorly.
Luckily, there’s the jet lag to blame.
Jet lag and going with the flow.

Welcome to Cambodia!

So enter the minibus and into Phnom Penh traffic.
First stop: a wholesale flower market
(no questions, just roll with it).
Standing there in my winter clothes, staring at the afternoon traffic under the tropical sky/
getting stared at by the locals...
Next stop: street side food-stalls... strange meat on a stick, beer with ice and lots of smiley, happy faces... Reaching pass out-time, stumbling back in the van... Hitting the road to Sihanoukville...
Sleep makes me blissfuly unaware of the 4 hour drive.
Arriving at my sister-in-law’s.
More happy, smiley faces.
We need drinks.
No problem, you drive.
So here I am, fresh of the plane driving a pink Honda Dream trough the Cambodian night.
Trying to find the right trade off between top speeds (to discourage getting robbed) and prudence (to avoid crashing on these bad roads)...
It’s a tricky balancing act but I manage.

Later there’s sleep.
Long, long sleep.
Sleep beyond jet lag.
Waking up late afternoon.
Cruising ‘round town on a rented moto-bike ‘till dark.
Party time!
Hitting a Cambodian beach bar together with Khmer friends..
Cold beer and goofy dans moves.
Moving to a high-end night club.
Cold, cold aircon and loud, loud music.
More dancing, more beers
Lots of fun.
One of my Khmer companions stumbles into someone else.
...stumbles into a rich dude.
Problem.
No good.
48 hours in Cambodia,
dragging my drunk friend out of nightclub to avoid getting our asses kicked...

It sure is adventurous out here!