So, I just don't like living in Cambodia that much. Well, parts I like: most of the people, most of my colleagues, the restaurants, the spas, our cat. However, the every day grind of fighting over a price and driver for my tuk tuk (because for me the traffic is too frenetic to walk or drive and there is no public transportation) and every other thing is really wearing me down. It's especially annoying to have to call a driver, arrange a price, in order to be driven somewhere I can walk around.
In our apartment, I feel weird when the doorman carries my groceries and bows as I enter the elevator. I guess it's something to get used to, but I wasn't really raised to accept a lot of help. The class system is very much in place here. In general, the rich do not even look the poor in the eye.
The view is pretty good, though, since I can see the sunrise and the sunset.
There are Christmas decorations everywhere, so that's kind of nice. (Cambodia has a lot of American style, over-the-top inflatable Santas and plastic trees, it's kind of funny.)
And the drumming. Argh the drumming! We have a Chinese School nearby (called the Chong Cheng school... no joke) and every night, even weekends, the kids practice the drumming and dragon dance... for three hours. That comes after the hours of aerobics (called Haat Praam!) from the stadium (I can count in Khmer up to 12, thanks to the instructors shouting the same numbers every sunrise and sunset.) The ladies at my gym walk 1 mile an hour on the treadmill and talk at the same rate. It's pretty funny. They might get more benefit from the aerobics classes, but they are the creme de la creme of Cambodia and it would be beneath them.
It's nearly time for the egg man to come around with his cart of eggs that not even our favorite driver, David, likes. They are called "pregnant eggs" because there is a chicken embryo and some black powder on top. He drives around on a moto. On his moto, there is a grill complete with wood burning kind of like a side car.
Around 10pm some guy comes around hitting a stick in a rhythm. I have no idea what he is selling.
Then the dog barking starts. Then, the howling. Then the roosters. Finally, our cat has an internal clock and starts meowing at 5am, even on Sunday.
Well, I will try to focus on the things I like...and the hunt for a new apartment. We are halfway through our first year already. I'll see how I like Vietnam. My hopes of living in Asia are be quickly being replaced by a plan to move home...
