i arrived!

its H-O-T.

you can check the weather in Phnom Penh in order to feel better about your local situation. its currently midnight and its 86 deg F, "feels like" 96. 

the trip over was charmed. truly charmed. for about 17 hours of flight, i had an entire row of seats to myself. unheard of, and much appreciated. i got some much needed sleep and arrived with exactly zero cankles (lower leg swelling where you cannot tell where your calves merge into your ankles).  

for those of you that know how strong (not) my geography skills are, you will appreciate this: no one told me that we were stopping in Anchorage, Alaska between JFK and Taipei; i thought it was a direct flight. so i got a little panicky en route when the big map on the movie screen on the plane showed a white diamond-shaped destination that i was pretty sure was not in Asia. i finally flagged down a stewardess and asked her if i was on the right flight. (hey - ive been known to take the wrong interstate for miles and miles, so this was a valid inquiry.... although a bit late, perhaps). i was on the right flight!! so i took some Xanax and Dramamine and went to sleep.

China Airlines is a bit lax on the details, apparently. but i got to have that lunchdate in Alaska with Sarah Palin that we have been putting off, so that was nice. shes such a sweetie.... so insightful and caring, and she didnt know where Taiwan was, either!

here are some observations thus far on Cambodia.

things that are the same:

• they drive on the same side of the road.

things that are different:

• Cambodians do not sweat. 

a photo of PP's monument/traffic at sunset: