Good Luck in Phnom Phen

February 28, 2010

On the bus from Sen Menorum to Phnom Phen I sat by a sweet British woman named Shilpa. Her family is Gujarati so we passed some time talking about India. I asked her for recommendations on what temples and religious sites were the most worth visiting in Gujarat since had done a pilgrimage there and Atish and I wouldn’t have time to see everything.

The bus made several stops on the nearly 10 hour trip to PP, which was badly needed because the windows didn’t open and the AC didn’t work. We were trapped in a sauna the entire trip. I drank over 2 litres of water and never had to go pee… Stepping off the bus into the heat and humidity of the afternoon was a welcome change from the still, sticky air in the bus and a chance to move from our positions of being suctioned to the vinyl bus seats from our own sweat. The second to last stop I was particularly out of it. I bought some biscuits and another bottle of water and sat down besides a miraculous fan for a couple minutes. As I was staring off into space I heard “Zyanya?” from in front of me. I look up and there is Asaf standing in front of me, the Israeli that I had done the bike trip with to the Kong Lo cave in Lao. I knew he was also headed south into Cambodia, but he had more travel time so was staying in Lao longer to see more. I guess my time in Mondulkiri resulted in us meeting at this one of many bus stops. We chatted for a while, catching up on our latest adventures. After a couple minutes my bus honked, time to go. It was wonderful to run into someone I actually knew, it made the world (or SE Asia) seem so much smaller.

Once we arrived in Phnom Phen I immediately found a tuk-tuk to take me to my guesthouse. Everytime I get to a destination I am eager to find where I am staying and set my bag down safely. I forgot to say goodbye to Shilpa.

My Lonely Planet mentioned a theater that performed traditional Khmer dance and shadow puppet shows. I was still new to Cambodia and wanted to experience some of the traditional art forms. They only performed on Fridays and Saturdays, so being Saturday it was my only chance to go. I made it to the theater in time and settled onto a bench with a soda to hold me over until I could find dinner after the show. I look to my left and there is Shilpa sitting next to me, also with a can of soda! Two amazing coincidences in one day!

Just before the show started she realized she lost her camera. I felt so bad for her. I don’t know what I would do if lost my camera while traveling. I try to upload my pictures as often as I can, but there is always a loss of some pictures, which is really just tragic. Especially when you are traveling alone, your camera is your one constant companion. To lose it and all of the visual memories would be horrible. After the show I go with Shilpa to retrace her steps in the north part of the city by the river. We go into a couple shops, asking if a camera was left. It was hard to find the exact internet place she used. We head into one and the woman behind the desk instantly recognizes her and pulls out a camera case, “yours!” “Yes!! Thank you so much!” Shilpa was overwhelmed by the relief, as I would be if it had been me. Honestly, I’m surprised I haven’t lost more yet on this trip. The only thing I’ve lost is my headlight, which I left under a blanket in my hotel room in Vientiane. I had realized it about an hour into a bus ride suddenly. This experience has made me pay even closer attention to what I take out of my bag.