Take a breath and...Walk!

That's something Kaija and I say a lot. Its how you cross the road here. I'm in Phnom Penh in Cambodia by the way. It's mad here. Absolutely no road rules but it works so well. We haven't seen any traffic accidents. People just drive through intersections and nobody hits each other. Its scary at first but now that I've watched it for a day I don't mind it at all. Crossing the road took ages for the first couple of times but now we see that you just keep on walking. Everyone moves for you and its no problem.

The money gap is massive here and so obvious. There's people begging everywhere and motorbikes and all that and then suddenly a brand new toyota hilux ute will drive past you or maybe a lexus, shiny and black. There's no in between.

There's dogs everywhere. I think its great because for me animals are a really reassuring thing. When I'm having a bad time there's nothing that'll make me feel better then playing with a dog or cat. And the animals here just don't care about humans eh. They sleep on the road or at the top of the stairs in the train station and won't even flinch when people walk past them. There's loads of puppies around. Its terrible at the same time though. These animals are homeless and hungry and we can't touch them cos of the fleas and sickness that they have. Its great but its so sad. Sometimes I just can't look eh.

Moving along. Today we went to the Russian Market which was awesome. Then Tol Sleun Museum or S.21. It was a school but the Khmer Rouge turned it into a prison. I think 14,000 prisoners went in and only 7 came out alive. They killed whole families because of the theory of "getting rid of the roots to get rid of the grass". It was hard to walk around but beautiful at the same time. After that we went to the Independence monument which wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped for. Next we tried to get go to the Royal Palace but couldn't get in cos one of us was wearing a tshirt. We also went to another market today but that wasn't as good as the Russian.

Tomorrow we are going up to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. Should be fun eh.

There's so much to write but I forget by the time we finally find a Internet Cafe!

Oh we feel like celebrities here eh. Everywhere we go there's people asking us if we want rides on tuktuks or motos. It's hard out. They're really nice about it but by the end of today we are very tired of it. And when you walk anywhere near a stall they ask if you want to buy what they're selling. Or there's kids walking around selling water, glasses or books.

Better go. Tired now!

We have arrived!!

So we managed to make it to Bangkok, despite getting into the international departures lounge in Melbourne without a boarding pass or anything!! And Kaija getting stopped at every check point for having something wrong in her bag even though she didn't. And despite someone in Melbourne being dumb enough to refuel the wrong plane...does it not cross someone's mind that maybe the plane going to Sydney doesn't need 67,000 litres of fuel when it only takes about 12,000 to get there?? And that the one going to Bangkok might need fuel? So 2 hours of sitting on the tarmac later we got on our way.

We sat next to a lovely couple who were from Laos but have lived in Sydney for 30 years. And behind a priest who we're 97% certain wasn't actually a priest and after listening to his conversations we found out he thinks that the holocaust was fake and that 9/11 was a set up. Hmmm...and he had an american accent but claimed to not have been able to speak english until he got to australia. Hmmmm

Better go...shopping to do!!!

So yesterday I sat my last exam of my degree...its all done. Feels pretty good eh. No more assignments! No more exams! No more stupid 8am classes!

And monday Kaija and me go to Thailand. I've been packing today...bit of a mission! And I got attacked by the travel section of the chemist...dangerous!! So many convenient little bottles etc.

Keep checking for regular show off posts from overseas!!!

Tattoos

This design is representing my family. The large koru at the top represents my parents, the 4 smaller koru on the sides represent my sisters and brother and me. The 2 bumps on the base of the top koru represent those who aren't with me.

Yes it hurts getting it, especially on the bone but it stops hurting as soon as the needle is taken off your skin.

Its a bit bigger than I had planned on but still really love it.

Here is Kaija's tattoo:


And if anyone is interested here is my other tattoo: