Cambodia Here I Come!

    It has been a few years since I've backpacked anywhere. I traveled via Karma, the hippy van last year, and before that it had been 2004 when I last backpacked. My daughter and I went to central America and visited Guatemala and Belize. Now I am off to Cambodia in a couple of days with a friend and am so excited I may not sleep tomorrow night. I even bought a new backpack for the journey. I had a really nice backpack from the last trip, but sadly that too went up in flames during last year's house fire on New Year's Eve. I did buy a replacement at Value Village for $7 but it was a single compartment, no pockets or rain shield, so I splurged and bought another. Cambodia is rather damp this time of year and I needed not only a variety of pockets for shoving things in, I also needed some waterproofing for when the monsoon rains hit. It isn't nearly as large as my old one but I have learned that the bigger the pack, the more crap you fill it with.

     My new pack is fabulous, and they really thought of everything. It has pockets in the waist straps, possibly for essentials like money, flashlight, keys, etc. Pockets on the shoulder straps for an mobile phone or iPod - I have an iPhone, so it will fit nicely there. There are mesh pockets on the sides for water bottles or shoes/sandals, and a huge front pocket outside the main compartment. My friend F. who is traveling with me calls it my Mary Poppins pack because of all that I have managed to cram into it. She has a pack twice the size of mine, also brand new, and is taking nearly half of what I have so will have lot of room for souvenirs, hers and mine. I'm also taking a day pack, which will be my trusty University of Waterloo backpack that was luckily in my car at the time of the fire. It's been with me since I first landed in Waterloo in 1997 and is now covered in colorful patches, and has heaps of stories of its own to tell.

I've never been to Asia, so am excited about finally landing on that continent. It will be very different for sure to be among such a vibrant culture where I do not speak the language. We shall be counting on hand gestures, broken English, butchered local language, and photos/maps/drawings. I'm sure it will be interesting to say the least to find ourselves directed to the wrong place, or asking for the completely wrong thing. Shopping will be much easier - everyone understands dollars, and American dollars are easily accepted, so I reckon we will use American money for most things when we can. A dollar is a dollar.

     I have someone who will be feeding Dundee and scooping his litter while I'm gone, but this neighbor is allergic to cats so can't spend much time here, so I am enlisting the help of a friend to visit with Dundee while I'm gone, just to hang out and play with him as I'm certain he will be lonesome. Perhaps his teddy will get a workout...

Some of what we will be hoping to explore is:

• the many beautiful temples, especially Angkor Wat
• the bamboo railroad where they take the train apart when someone approaches from the opposite direction
• the killing fields - important time for reflection here
• the floating villages
• the many markets
• volunteering at a local orphanage
• and just about anything else that catches our eyes - we're open to any visceral experience!

Cambodia is the orange country in the middle

     There will be blog posts and Facebook updates when I can, as I will be bringing my small laptop with me, but it will depend on power source, wireless signal, and the time to actually upload photos and label them. What doesn't get done while I'm there can easily be done when I return to Australia. I will have my iPhone with me too, but please do not call me unless someone is dying, as it will cost me a fortune. I'll be checking emails when I can. I have also registered with the Canadian and Australian Embassies and they have my travel insurance details. We don't plan on going through any of the politically charged areas of the country, and sticking pretty close to the gringo trail.