Careening Through the Universe: Random Tidbits from Cambodia

A list of random stuff from Cambodia:

1. Lobster Butts
When my tour first started we had a group meeting to go over all of the introductory stuff. The tour leader showed us how people welcome each other in Cambodia with their hands palms together in front of them (sort of like they're praying). He was saying that they put their hands together so that "they look like a lotus bud" but I heard "lobster butt". He then went on to say how "lobster butts" are used a lot in Buddhist religion and you often see them at temples and other religious locations. It was at this point I realized that perhaps I had heard wrong and he wasn't talking about lobster butts. I figured it all out but now think "lobster butt!" every time I see lotus flowers.

2. Bracelets
There are many people (most of them children or the disabled) selling things on the street in major cities in Cambodia. I know you shouldn't buy from children beggars/sellers because you're perpetuating the problem (they should be in school/playing/being a kid instead of being sent out to peddle things to tourists) but it is really hard to say no to a kid (which I know is the whole reason they get sent out). There were a LOT of bracelets for sale and I ended up with an arm load. I originally bought one because I had heard that people hang them off the tree at the Killing Fields where they used to kill the children (yeah, you try saying no to that). Then in my head they became a symbol of the greatness of Cambodian people so I wanted one or two for myself. Then I just really liked the colours of a couple that I saw. Then they became a group thing (you buy them in multiples - 2 or 3 for $1 - so you end up splitting it with people). Before I knew it, I some how ended up with 11 bracelets. So, my sincere apologies to the world for not resisting child beggars and if you end up with a Cambodian bracelet souvenir from me, you now know why.

Nothing says "I'm a sucker who'll buy anything"
more than an armful of bracelets.

3. Crossing roads
I have never been so proud of myself for managing to cross a road without getting hit by a vehicle as I was in Phnom Penh. On our last day there, I crossed a busy 4 lane road (with traffic travelling in both directions) in the pouring rain during rush hour by myself with no traffic signals. I was so chuffed!

4. Bag Weight
After purging stuff from my bag in Japan, I strutted up to the bag check-in at the Fukuoka airport for my flight to Bangkok, eager to see how much weight my pack had lost. I put my pack on the scale and it had gained a kilogram!!! I'm blaming it on the fact that I had packed my hiking boots and hoodie, deciding instead to wear sandals and a t-shirt. That must have been it... I didn't have to carry it very much at all through Cambodia so it didn't really matter. Plus, having a full heavy bag has prevented a lot of useless souvenir purchases (you know, the kind of souvenirs you throw out within a month of getting home).

5. Lessons in Travelling
Backpack stored in luggage compartment of bus driving down dusty roads = dirty backpack.
Carrying dirty backpack while wearing freshly laundered shirt = waste of a clean shirt.
It wouldn't have been as bad if it hadn't been a white shirt.

6. Extra photos
Photos from Cambodia that don't belong to other blog posts (because I want to share the pictures but can't be bothered to write about every single place I went).