Happiness!

B. and C. and I were just in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for a few days. As I've mentioned before, I looooooooove it there. The flowy curtains and the wicker and the tuk tuks and the elegant architecture (with balconies galore) and the articulate street lamps and the breeze from the river and the frustrating bargaining experiences and the smoky smell and the history and the resilience and the good energy and the relaxed feel and and the kramas and the pirated Lonely Planet guides and the Buddhas and the gemstones and the silks and the silver and the "beach town" vibe going on and the massive quantities of people who just hang out in the verdant expanses of urban lawn and the open air restaurants with music pouring out of them and the fairy lights everywhere and the monkeys that hang out in the trees by Wat Phnom and the things that people manage to carry on motorbikes and the children that make my heart ache with compassion and sadness and a pang of gratitude for all of my blessings and the long, slow, deep breaths that I manage to take when I'm there.

I don't even mind the acute intestinal infections that I seem to get every time I return from there. I've been willing it away this time, but the bubble guts are a-churnin'........(was that tmi???)

It was really nice showing Cambodia to two such wonderful people. They've even helped me start a new travel tradition!! C. has a tiny stuffed monkey (complete with tiny jeans and a tiny Hawaiian shirt) named Aloise that he (and various members of his family) takes with him whenever he travels internationally. Aloise even has a tiny little passport :). The whole concept is a little like Flat Stanley, as the monkey has to be photographed at each of the sights that he visits. C. is pretty creative with the Aloise pictures--riding an elephant statue here, posing in front of the Grand Palace there--and I thought the whole idea was just so kick ass that B. and C. went ahead and bought me a little elephant (whom I named "Chang," which is the Thai word for elephant) in Chiang Mai to have as my very own travel companion. Aloise has been to (just to name a few): Spain, Turkey, Belize, Mexico, Ireland, Italy, Cayman Islands, various countries in Eastern Europe, and has just added Thailand and Cambodia to that list. I'm looking forward to having many more adventures with Chang (who is rather photogenic and can strike many varieties of poses). Cambodia was a great maiden voyage for him.

I always feel a little sad when I leave Phnom Penh, but this time it was multiplied by a thousand due to the fact that B. and C.'s visit is almost over. I love my life in Asia, but it has been so nice to be around true friends who accept me in spite of my flaws (even when I misplaced my hotel keys for the zillionth time), and we can still enjoy each other's company at the end of the day when everyone is a little hot, a little cranky, and a little tired.

On the upside, though, I know that this was the first of many outings for the dynamic duo of Aloise and Chang.

I have a cute picture that C. took of the two of them in Cambodia. I'll post it tomorrow once I have a chance to upload my pics.

In the meantime, though, I have a special message for B. and C.: DON'T GO!!!!!!!!!!!