Cambodia

After a canceled flight and two unexpected nights in a hotel, I finally made it to Cambodia, just a day behind schedule, and met up with Justin Van Zee with no trouble. He didn't waste time introducing me to Cambodia, however, and threw me on the back of his motorbike. It would have been terrifying except for the fact that I had just come from Bangladesh, and traffic here is tame by comparison. I've met a number of people Justin works with, seen much of the city and a nearby village, enjoyed extremely good food here, been drenched in the rain, stopped by the police, and stuck in traffic. All in all a great visit. Yesterday I spent most of the day visiting memorial sites to the genocide that took place here under the Khmer Rouge. Incredibly sobering and distressing. It's been really good to see Justin, to meet his friends and housemates, and to get a feel for Cambodia. Cambodia is much different than I expected--certainly more foreigners here than in Bangladesh and thus more Western influence. Everything is clearly changing very fast as well--the city is expanding and building are going up all over. It's also striking the difference between the predominantly Muslim country Bangladesh (with some Hindu influence) and the predominantly buddhist country of Cambodia. Tonight I get back on the plane and start the long journey home.