Phnom Penh

I've made it to Phnom Penh, a busting sprawling metropolitan. When I arrived from Kampot, I found out that my hostel had given away my bed and had to hustle to find another; I came across a very seedy $6/night "guesthouse," but I did get my own room and a fan so I can't complain.

I met up with some fun people at the Sunday night market and we ate BBQ grasshoppers and enjoyed the riverfront. People are so friendly!  Here are some photos of the grasshopper eating extravaganza. Luckily I'd already tried them so I could pretend like it was no big deal, but was funny watching the girls (and guys) squeal as they tried it! The Cambodia woman selling them was eating them like chips, so she put us all to shame.

I ended up moving to the hostel where my newfound friends were staying for tonight, so won't have to worry about the weird place that I stayed last night. I like this spontaneity - even the not-great stuff is still a good story, and then it leads you to good things somewhere else!

Hanging out with people from the hostel.

Eating grasshoppers! Mmmmm bbq flavor.

Most of the touristy things in Phnom Penh were shut down today because it's Cambodian Independence Day, so I went shopping for new sandals (I found some!) and walked around with Helena (Finland), Amy (Texas), and Josh (Australia).  I also found an awesome Indian food place - a tummy-filling meal was $3 and SO DELICIOUS! I'm never leaving SE Asia. Only sort of joking.

Velkommen Hostel! Great place to meet people and hang out by the riverfront :)

Sausage IN the crust?! BRILLIANT! I haven't actually tried this because I'm both intrigued and disgusted

Tomorrow I'll be doing more touristy stuff while I wait for my Thailand visa to process. Hopefully it all goes smoothly and I can get out of here by Thursday night, head to Siem Reap, and then back to Phuket! I already miss diving and being near the ocean...