Hello Folks,

I am currently in Chaing Mai, Thailand. Before coming home I really wanted to see what Thailand was all about, so I justified a plane ticket with the notion that I may never get the chance to see SEA again. I have learned that life throws so many things at you, you never really know if you will have the chance to do something you want to do even with the best intentions.

Sorry Everybody for the long delay in writing. For a while I didn't have net access except in internet cafes, and it is a royal pain to do this there since it takes so much time. I am now hooked up again in my apartment here in Phnom Penh, and although the access is very slow, at least I feel like part of the world again. For a while I also had computer problems and had to reinstall Windows, etc...

Mike visited me for 3 weeks, and while here we toured the temples at Angkor, came to Phnom Penh and then went on to Viet Nam. We especially liked our time at the Saigon Mui Ne Resort near Phan Thiet, Viet Nam. It was idyllic, just like what you imagine Hawaii should be. And perhaps best of all, we were there during the week and felt like we almost had the place to ourselves.

Hi Everyone,

Well, I am sick yet again with this South East Asian bug that seems to follow me. It's a nasty chest cold thing, a lot like bronchitis.

I was fortunate to meet a nice older gentleman from Kentucky named Dan last week. He's a dentist and comes here about 3 times a year. He says he's been to Cambodia at least 14 times, he loves it so much. While visiting, he brings some basic equipment and travels around pulling teeth for people who can't afford to see a dentist. He has invited me to visit a village where he has some life-long friends, and I am going to take him up on it as soon as I am feeling better. Lucky for me, he phoned me a couple days ago and since he is a dentist he knew what I should take to get better. It's an antibiotic called Cipro, so I made a trip to the pharmacy and picked some up. This time my cold shouldn't last as long as the last time with no medicine. The pharmacies here are open to anyone to get anything (without a prescription) for almost nothing, but I never know what to buy, so it was fortunate that I met him. He also told me that every time he comes to Asia, he gets what I have. I now think it is common for travelers to get this, especially since we aren't used to the climate.

Hi All,

I thought I would dedicate this entry to my next door neighbor, the man I share a balcony with. Although the balcony is partitioned at about waist-high level with a cement wall, it's in full view of his, so I often involuntarily view the antics of my neighbor, one retired French man named Jean-Claude, (pronounced as in Jean-Claude VanDamme). I've only had a couple of conversations with Jean-Claude. He's friendly enough, often waving a hello to me as he wanders around on his side of the balcony, cigarette in mouth, usually dressed in only a towel wrapped around his waist or tight colored briefs with his large 65+ year old belly hanging out in full view.

Hi All,

Sorry it's been a while since I've updated, but I've been so busy every day. There are of course so many things I have to do just to take care of myself on a daily basis, and most everything here is a little more difficult. Just doing my laundry for example, takes an hour or two since I have to do it all by hand in the sink and hang it out to dry. I don't mind these little inconveniences, but sometimes the course of a day goes by so quickly I hardly believe an entire day is gone.

Hi All,

Yesterday, as I walked back to my apartment from talking to my Mikey online, I often shorten the length of my walk by passing through a nearby Wat. (A Wat is a temple where Buddhist monks live.) It's nice to pass through there anyway, and smile at friendly people and look at the interesting architecture. I was almost all the way back out, and a monk started talking to me and asked if I would teach English to them. I thought it sounded like a lot of fun, so I said yes and came back at 7:00pm that night.

Hi All! Between rainstorms today I took a few pics today of my place here in Phnom Penh so you could see. I've spent over 10 minutes per picture uploading and dealing with error messages and slow connection speeds, so I hope you like them. :) This apartment is $180 a month, and is on the 3rd floor. It's quite safe and I am above an art gallery. I have to walk through the owners home every time I come and go, but here that is quite common. All of my furniture had to be hoisted up onto the balcony with ropes since the stairwell is narrow and small, but it wasn't too much of a problem since it is all rattan stuff anyway. I hope you like my little tour. Here is the link: http://community.webshots.com/user/shadowfaxx1

Have fun, and I will write more later! :)

Hi everyone!

So sorry it's been so long since I've updated my journal. It's so hot here, that it's hard to make yourself do anything and most of the day, say from about 11:00am to about 4:00pm is wasted just having to lay around like a limp rag in this heat.

Okay, so it's the year of the chicken or some such thing, so I decided to have some chicken today at dinner, maybe it'll bring me luck or something. :) Asians are big on luck, they either think you are or aren't and that you don't really make your own destiny as much as it's all up to fate.

Did I mention that it's HOT? Yeah, I'm sure I did. And there is just no relief in sight. Not even late at night does it feel noticeably cooler, only slightly, and that gets old. I am glad that this is as bad as it gets because I am sure I couldn't take staying here if it were even worse.

Wow, it's HOT. No, I'm not talking the kind of "living in the northwest and it's hot a few times in July" hot, I'm talking equatorial drenched with sweat, have to shower about 3 times a day HOT with humidity to match. The other night I sat down at the river after the sun had gone down, and the marble seat was still so hot that it burned my a$$... ;)