A Few Updates

On Tuesday I went to see my friend Abra who was in the moto accident on Saturday. She was staying at a hotel for a few days, and I just hung out there with her. Well, I did stop at the Kiwi Bakery (my first time there) to get a few snakes - something called chocolate rough (chocolate and coconut on some kind of crumbly crust), kaya cake (green and delicious - involving coconut and from Malaysia, I think Abra said), and two gingerbread men. She was going pretty well considering, but definitely definitely was scraped up on her leg and shoulder. I went to run a few errands with her (and picked up some things at a silk shop!!! - wedding gifts for friends, baby present for a friend, purse for me, a surprise for my sister, and more!).

It was pouring when I tried to get back home, but here are some pictures of the aftermath. Phenom Penh in its post-rain glory. It really is a nice city, especially when it isn't 102 outside!!!

In the distance you can see the Central Market. I haven't been there yet, and apparently it is under construction right now so all the stalls are outside around it instead of inside.



This is a picture of traffic stopped at a new light. See the mix of tuk-tuks, motos, cars, and bicycles. Somehow they manage to all drive together without running each other over (too often). There are definitely WAY more car accidents in the US. This is not to say that dirving here is easy. It certainly is not for the faint hearted!!!



And, one of the new traffic lights in all of its glory. They do not have yellow lights - just red and green. But, you know when it is going to change because it counts down, which is very nice actually. These are starting to pop up all over the city, and generally people obey them. It is surprising that people do because there really isn't any deterrent to not (no police around, no cameras, etc).



Some of the big signs around town. Especially in the more tourist areas and downtown, there are signs like this and most of the road signs are in English, too. Of course, most of the roads don't have signs. And, the roads don't mean much anyway. Most of the streets are just numbers, and no one knows any of those. You have to go off landmarks!