I Love Cambodia

I just bought a bike, which has given me a new life. It’s a beauty. I can see where they welded pieces together under the thin layer of spray paint, but it gives it a little character. Really, I’m going places now... I think I could outride my tuk tuk during rush hour. I don’t know whether or not it’s safer than a moto – I still have to throw myself into the middle of traffic to get anywhere. I had to do some serious bargaining with the guy at the bike shop. Actually, I’m a liar – Beate did. There were about ten shops lined up on the same street, so I went shop hopping with my friend from Holland – she speaks Khmer and is a mean negotiator. I’m not – I’m too soft. You may think finding a bicycle seems easy, but keep in mind I’m a giant in the land of five footers. I wish I could have taken snapshots of the test rides – my knees hit the handlebars, and of course most of the “new” bikes don’t go in a straight line. I ended up with a sweet ride for thirty-three bucks – the biggest bike in the country. It has a new basket on the front, a light, a bell that will rust in three weeks, and a lock that I can’t operate. I dig it. I bought some blue and orange contact paper so I can dress it up a little. I almost lost my mangoes (which I bought from a guy on a motorcycle) today when I hit a pothole, but I’ll learn how to navigate the side streets in no time. I don’t think I can ride it to work – I would be a sweaty mess by the time I got there – but I have an open door to this part of the city. I feel an odd sense of freedom with such a simple purchase.
I made another investment at a place I consider the miracle shop. Even in the U.S., finding shoes for my feet was impossible (“Your Feets Too Big” – Lucas, you know what I’m talkin about). You can imagine that a size twelve shoe in Cambodia is close to a four letter word, BUT there is a shoe store that makes shoes, boots, sandals, you name it, for next to nothing – custom fit! I chose the sandals I liked, then they traced around both feet on a piece of paper (my brother asked if they had paper that big - funnyman). The beauty of this process is that both shoes will fit my feet, since my right foot is over a size bigger than my left. I love Cambodia.