Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!

I did not sleep well last night. I was actually nervous (or maybe anxious) about moving on! I have made GREAT friends here and have fallen in love with the orphanage. I also had trouble sleeping because I am really sad about leaving Thuong. It’s frustrating that there is no way to keep in touch with him or see how he is doing. I didn’t even attempt saying goodbye to him because I knew he wouldn’t understand. So I also sort of feel like I just abandoned him. Anyway, I also didn’t sleep well because I knew I had stuff to do and I was STILL worried that I would oversleep, even though I didn’t have to leave for the airport until 1:30pm!

I woke up around 8:00am and got ready. I did a little bit more packing and then I brought my sheets and other things to Ken to bring to the orphanage. I am happy they will hopefully get some use from them!

I picked up my backpack (all clean..wahoo!) and met Khaly for breakfast at Bobby Brewer’s! We picked it because it has a nice Western feel and most importantly, it has Eggs Benedict! She has been looking for this the ENTIRE month we have been in Vietnam! So when we came last night and she saw it, we decided this would be the place for breakfast!

I ordered a tea (for my cough) and Khaly got a cappuccino. But when the waitress came back she had some iced latté thing (I am not a coffee person so I really don’t know). Khaly explained she didn’t order this. The waitress said how it was her fault and she was sorry but Khaly needed to drink it. It amazes me how costumer service is SO different over here. I would LOVE to see the faces of my costumers at BG’s if I said to them, “Yes I messed up but sorry you have to eat it AND pay for it!” Khaly nicely said she just didn’t want that (it wasn’t even close to what she had ordered) and finally the waitress left. She came back a few minutes later saying that Khaly really should just drink it. I think at this point we were both just tired of the culture, AND the fact we were at a place that catered to Westerners. Khaly told her again (nicely) she just couldn’t drink it and finally she came back with the right drink.

We then ordered our breakfast and I got fruit and pancakes and Khaly got her Eggs Benedict! My fruit came out first along with Khaly’s meal, which was NOT Eggs Benedict. I think they were fried eggs, I can’t remember, but Khaly laughed and we couldn’t believe she had gotten it wrong again (I swore she wrote it all down). Khaly apologized but said she really didn’t want it (the whole meal was COMPLETELY different). The waitress kept saying how Khaly needed to eat it or she (the waitress) would have to pay for it. We both felt awful that she would have to pay for it..and Khaly said if it was something she could eat she would have, but it wasn’t even close to what she ordered! Another waiter came over and (in Vietnamese) told the waitress that it wasn’t even close to what Khaly had ordered. She continued to try and get Khaly to eat it until we both had to say we were sorry but she should get the meal she ordered. It was hard because granted we were in Asia, but we were in a Western place and she really shouldn’t have to pay for a meal that wasn’t close to what she ordered!

With all this fiasco breakfast took a little more than an hour and a half. When we went back to the hostel Khaly was getting ready to check out and I brought my first (of TWO) bags downstairs. We both had big heavy bags and I guess we got yelled at because they were banging down the stairs so the guy came to help us. The hostel woman speaks VERY little English (just hello, goodbye, etc.) so Khaly helped me figure out my own checkout. I guess the woman was saying how she wanted me out now so she could clean the room. I understood..but half the place was empty and I only had one bag packed so I had Khaly tell her I would pack as quickly as I could. She also asked if I wanted her to get me a taxi. There are always taxis around the area but I thought this was good since that meant they would help me with my luggage as well. She said it would be 130,000VND and I had to pay her. I thought this was strange (it usually cost about 100,000VND AND the fact I had to pay her). I was just too tired to deal with everything so I told her that was fine and she said I would have a taxi at 1:30pm. I had to say goodbye to Khaly (not fun) and then I went back up to pack!

I was downstairs by 1:15pm and she said the taxi was there and I was good to go. As expected, she pocketed the 30,000VND and gave 100,000VND to the taxi driver. I think it was just the taxi that was out front (in the area where there is always a taxi) so needless to say that was frustrating. One thing I miss about home is not having to always be aware that people are trying to scam me and get money from me etc. It’s exhausting! Oh well now I know! When I got to the airport it was 96,000VND so I should have just listened to my instincts but hey hindsight is 20/20.

I had plenty of time because I was at the airport at about 1:50pm for a 4:30pm flight. Although after our experience in Hanoi I wasn’t complaining about being early. I went to check in and this time got caught with my bags! UGH! $96 for my bags and I was bummed! Since I booked this flight a while ago I don’t think I checked to see how much it would cost (when I have been booking flights in Thailand I have been checking). I mean my bags have to get there, but I was just bummed. The thing is (and yes, I do feel the need to defend myself) I know I am not a light packer but honestly I don’t have ANYTHING that I haven’t used. I have my winter and summer clothes which is just a lot and then I have medicine etc. but all of that has come in handy! It is what it is.

Since it was only 2:00pm I decided to check out the shops and restaurants. But my peeps (trip advisor) had told me the airport had NOTHING, and what food it did have was so overpriced. They weren’t kidding! I saw what looked like a chocolate munchkin..$2!!! Crazy!

I decided I might as well just go to my gate. First stop was customs! I handed him my passport and ticket and he asked me for some other form. I looked at him and said I didn’t have that (and started to panic). He told me that when I arrived in Vietnam they stamped something and I needed that. Now I am sure he is right, but I honestly don’t remember this at ALL. I know when I was leaving China I had some card that I had kept with me the whole time and then they had stacks available at customs. Maybe with all the traveling I just thought it was another piece of paper? Although I think I am usually pretty good with staying organized and knowing what I need. He kept telling me this and I told him I understood but I was sorry I didn’t have it. He even waited until another guy came through with the form to show me. Again, I told him I was very sorry but didn’t have it. Oh the things that went through my head!!! I thought about Trinh and how she got brought to an interrogation room until she gave them money to let her go. I thought that would be ok..I didn’t have that much on me and I would give it to them right away if they let me go. I also wondered who I could call for help as it seems I have heard/read a lot of people in Vietnam are corrupt. I just kept saying I was sorry I didn’t have it and prayed that because I was from the U.S. he wouldn’t give me a hard time. FINALLY he stamped it and said he would just do it this once. I thanked him and BOOKED it out of there. Ugh I did NOT like that feeling. Granted I am sure it was my fault and I should have had this paper. I hated thinking of what might have happened. I am very thankful that it was fine and he let me go without any problems.

My flight was fine and SHORT especially since I felt like I spent most of the time filling out forms (which I will make sure NOT to lose!) I think we were only in the air for about 30 minutes!

Getting off the plane was crazy! It was just one of those things where you walk down the stairs but I honestly thought I was at Disney World! The airport was beautiful and looked like a Temple. But everyone was just kinda hanging out, roaming around and taking pictures! Some people were having their picture taken out in front of the plane and some people had theirs in front of the airport. People were just..chilling! I have never seen anything like it before. MAYBE there was some order, but I felt like I could have just hung out and walked around and nobody would have cared. I had no problems going through customs or getting my bags and the custom lady stapled the paper I need to leave in my passport so I don’t have to worry about that either! Woo hoo!

As I left the airport (it was very small) I did NOT see anyone with my name. UGH not ok! I sort of looked around and hoped someone would spot me..but I knew what my coordinator looked like (Maureen from Australia) and I definitely didn’t see her. So I waited for a bit, but then everyone was GONE! All of the people with signs had picked up their passengers and they were off. I was left, alone, with the Cambodia taxi people. There was a small place to get food and they had some chairs so I sat down there. The man came over to me and asked if I was alone/by myself (NOT OK!) Ugh these are the types of things I feared. I forget exactly what I said, but something about how I was waiting for my friend in the airport AND my friend was picking me up. I figured this covered both bases..I had someone else with me and I did not need a ride. Then, a man from either the airport or the taxi station (I was a bit confused) came over and asked if I was still waiting for my friend. I have no idea how he knew, but he said something about how I have two bags, so I said yes I was still waiting for my friend. This is when I just wanted to burst out in tears. It was about 6:15pm by this point and I had been waiting for 45 minutes..30 of which were just me and these random guys. My American cell phone didn’t work and since I didn’t have a Cambodian sim card yet my other phone didn’t work either. I had asked my creepy man who worked at the little shop if there was a phone I could use but he just laughed and said they didn’t have public phones.

As uncomfortable as I was, I figured I would be FINE (well this is what I kept telling myself). I had the name of where I was going and I would just get myself there. I booted up my computer to get the address and I thought I would see if by ANY chance they had wireless that I could connect to. God was looking out for me (isn’t He great?) They did have wireless so I connected and then got on Skype. I had the phone number for my coordinator so I figured out how to buy credits on Skype (which you can do to call actual land lines and cell phones) and it WORKED. I tried to play it cool and not let my voice show how aggravated I was. As I am SURE you can tell by now I have been BEYOND disappointed with the organization I came through because they basically take all my money for themselves and leave me on my own. Once again, if I wanted to find my way around Cambodia by myself I wouldn’t have booked through a group who said there would be people to help me! So Maureen had me talk to her husband who said someone should be on their way. GREAT..well at least someone was picking me up but it wasn’t my coordinator.

She finally showed up and was a young girl named Songim. She came on a Tuk-tuk (a small three-wheeled transportation thing), so me, her and my MASSIVE bags loaded on to go to the homestay. I still would have liked to be picked up by my coordinator (AND on time!) but I figured this was ok. I tried to find out more about her and why she was picking me up and I found out that she knows Tom and Maureen because she works at the Singing Tree Café, a place they just recently took over. Definitely sounds interesting and this is the link to their site. http://www.singingtreecafe.com/

The tuk-tuk was cool, but I would rather not have done it with all my bags! For a while we were on a main road and I thought, “Ok this is fine I can do this..” but then it all changed! We left the main road (paved) and went down this long road that I think might have been paved once but now was just rocks. We then turned off that road to a dirt road with really nothing around and no lights. I panicked. We pulled into her house and she explained her house was in the front and the homestay part was out back. This is when I found out it is her family that runs the homestay. So now it all made a little bit more sense. Although I had asked her if she lived with her family (she said yes) and I asked if she lived in town or on the outskirts and she said in town..this was DEFINITELY not in town! They brought me out back to my room (number 3) and I literally just dropped my bags and we were off again.

We took the tuk-tuk to the Singing Tree Café so I could meet Maureen and Tom. It was probably about a 10 minute ride and was near the center of the city (I think about a 4 minute walk). I was happy to see civilization again, but dreading the fact that I really was staying in the middle of nowhere.

We arrived at the Singing Tree Café and I met Maureen and Tom and ordered some spaghetti. Maureen was sweet and she and Tom (her husband) have been in Cambodia for 4 years now. She told me a bit about what I might be doing for volunteering. In the morning I will be at the Home of Joy which I think is an orphanage. I am not positive what I will be doing, but she said it was about a 10 to 15 minute bike ride from the homestay. I figured a bike ride would be good since there is definitely no park nearby to work out in the morning. But, it is just SO hot here that I think it might almost be TOO much. We shall see.

Then she told me about another project I could do in the afternoon. But, it sounds like it is run by an American and past volunteers have felt they haven’t been needed because it is run so well. So she mentioned another project and called the woman to see if I was needed there. When she was on the phone I heard her say how I could teach English. Now I had told her about Beijing, but I had in no way said I enjoyed it. The other project is at Angkor Wat, the massive temple, which I think might be cool. BUT it is a 45 minute bike ride (one way). Now again, I don’t MIND riding a bike, but I am not sure how I feel about an hour and a half bike ride to this project. For one, I know my butt will be sore. Haha! BUT I am just not sure about the heat, ESPECIALLY because I will be there smack dab in the afternoon. So I will try it tomorrow and see what I think!

I said how I wanted to go to the ATM and buy a phone card so she said Tom could take me on his bike to the downtown area. She gave me a sim card (that they pass around to all the volunteers) so that was nice that I didn’t have to buy one, only add money to it! It was about 8:20pm and they suggested that I could hang out in that area and walk around and then Songim would pick me up and bring me back to the homestay. Tom dropped me off at an ATM but when I asked about also getting money for my phone he said I could just buy one at any shop. I was too tired to argue and ask that he HELP me with it since this is what I was paying for..HELP!

It made me smile when the ATM gave me US Dollars! I knew that the Cambodia currency was the Riel but US Dollars were just as common. While it was comforting to see something familiar, I hated that I was no longer using “monopoly” money! Oh well I guess I will try and be more careful with my spending now since it doesn’t feel like fake money anymore!

I spent some time walking around and I am already annoyed with “Tuk-tuk madam? Where you go?” I thought I was DONE with that in Vietnam but now instead of motorbikes it’s Tuk-tuks! I made my way to the Blue Pumpkin which I had read about as a bakery/food with wifi. I asked if they knew where I could add money to my phone and he pointed across the street. The woman spoke English but was asking me about when I bought the sim card etc. and I tried to explain it was given to me (this seemed to confuse her A LOT!) We finally figured it out and I was able to add some money (which was SO comforting!)

I then went back to the Blue Pumpkin. I had walked around a bit but I was too tired and overwhelmed to do any more and I just wanted to call home. I tried, for what seemed like FOREVER, to call the U.S. EVERY way I could think of I tried but to no avail. I finally asked the staff if they knew and a waiter said he did but that still didn’t work. FINALLY I figured it out (it was something different, maybe because of my sim card). It was SO nice to hear my Mom’s voice so I asked if she could get on Skype (it is SO expensive to call the U.S. from Cambodia) I got online and got on Skype and I tried to be strong, I did, but after seeing my parents darling faces I broke down. There was NOWHERE else I wanted to be but in my safe home with them! Here I was in the middle of this café (which was busy) crying while talking to the computer. People probably thought I was crazy, but hey maybe I am!

My parents were wonderful (as always) and said I didn’t need to worry..it was OBVIOUS I had a crazy, busy, stressful day and my body was just exhausted from having to do everything on my own! I also arrived at night so it was dark (which always makes it more difficult) and I have been away for 2 months on my own so it’s about time I had a good cry (surprisingly, this is only really the second time since I have been away!) They did make me feel better in reassuring me that it was only for 2 weeks and after that I would have my mommy with me who would spoil me rotten (you did say that, right Mom?)

It was almost 9:30pm so I shut down my computer and went to meet Songim and she said Tom was going to take her to the Singing Tree Café to get her motorbike and then she would bring me home.

We arrived back (in the middle of nowhere) and I met some of her family (although now I can’t remember ANYONES names) and then I said that I was tired and wanted to call it a night.

The homestay is set up like a motel with about 5 rooms in a row. The door from the outside leads right to my room. My room is huge..but most of the space seems “wasted”. I have a double bed which is very nice! There aren’t any drawers or closets which I really miss since there’s really nowhere to put my stuff, except in the empty open space. Since this was the first time I had seen my room, the first thing I looked for was an AC (it was SO hot). However, there is no AC. Now I realize this isn’t the end of the world (most of the world lives without AC and Steve, I know you don’t have AC so I should toughen up), BUT I was told there would be AC (oh wow another time I was deceived by my program). Needless to say I really felt out of place, isolated and alone.

I checked out the bathroom which has a western toilet (woo hoo) a sink and shower head (like all the showers here it is in the middle of the bathroom). I decided to take a shower, but quickly realized no hot water. GREAT! Now again, maybe if I didn’t have the day I had I wouldn’t think it was that bad. AND I was so hot because there was no AC, but it wasn’t like this was tepid water, it was FREEZING. Ugh! So needless to say my hair did not get washed.

I know this will be good for me. I am so spoiled and this will put me in my place. And I know it’s only for 2 weeks. But uuuuuuuuuugh I am already anxiously awaiting Thailand with my mom and Lorna.

I decided I had had enough of this day and just needed to go to sleep. As I was getting ready to shut off the lights I saw a decent size bug on the floor. I realized there was about an inch between the bottom of the door and the ground. Nothing like roughing it! Now I had no ill feelings towards this creature but I did want him out of my room. So I took the little mat to shoo him out under the door. That’s when he starting FLYING! “Oh no you don’t!” I told him as I stepped on him. I know, I know I am an awful person. But after my day I was NOT in the mood to have some big bug flying around my room.

My mom sent this along in case anyone wants to call me (DO IT!!!)
011 (Us exit code) 855 (Cambodia country code) 92 177 120
You had a zero before the 92...but we don't use it.
So, 011 855 92 177 120

Hugs and kisses from my Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!