Friends Make It Feel Like the Holidays

Staying put seems to be the right tactic if you people to visit....and we always want people to visit. We've been in Phnom Penh for a couple months now and it seems like this city is on the road "to" or "from" someplace or other for a number of our friends. Sherry, pictured above with Tami on the roof of the Foreign Correspondents' Club, was the latest familar face to spend some time with us. We hadn't seen her for almost two years. She was one of the stalwarts who saw us off on our last night in the States back in NYC.


Unlike other visitors - this is actually a first now that I think of it - Sherry came to visit as a result of work, not pleasure. She works for the United Nations and took a weekend out of a very hectic schedule to fly down from Vientienne, Laos. She's no stranger to traveling in the developing world and fell right into the rhythm of seeing the sights in Phnom Penh. We did some of our local favorites (riding in tuk-tuks - above).


You never know what you'll find on the streets of this city. Notice how at-ease Sherry is. I was afraid the rump of that beast might have swung over and crushed me.


One of the nicest things we've been able to enjoy by staying put, is our kitchen for cooking . . . . and our terrace for eating. Every guest has had to endure long brunches or dinners where Tami and I try to get satiated on all the foods from home we miss. This particular morning it was Latin American - desayuno tipico. Homemade tortillas and salsa, too.

One afternoon, a friend of ours who lives here, Bari (far right) arranged a private, sunset boat cruise on the Mekong. Ouch. You can't believe how peaceful and mellow it was out on the river. Phnom Penh can be kah-ray-zeeeee and the boat was an unexpected release. After a couple snail-paced hours, we were all smiling.



The icy beers helped, too.


Even the captain enjoyed himself. (Check out his Britney logbook...)


One morning, we had the bonus treat of two more people joining in from home. Perry and Mike, two friends of one of Tami's girlfriends were passing through and joined for brunch.


In and out. Two days and she was back on a tuk-tuk to the airport. Much fun. It'll be that much more fun to laugh about our little sojourn when we're back home someday. Adios amiga!