Living in Cambodia – Day 2

Since I wasn’t able to stay at the original place I had planned my second day living in Cambodia was quite busy.  I had to go look for a new place, and I also needed to get address verification stuff scanned for PokerStars to get working online again and prove I was out of the US.

I had the same moto driver I met the night before pick me up and we went and checked out a handful of other hotels in Sihanoukville.

One of them had a really interesting landscape with lots of stairs going up and down (for seemingly no reason) to different levels out in front of the hotel, and some plants and walkways.  When I inquired about a monthly rate they said they would get a hold of the owner and I should come back later.  We went around and then came back at the end of the night.

It is now very dark and I  am in a hurry to get to the front desk before they close.  As I am walking suddenly I am no longer walking and I’m stuck in a hole.  My leg hurts bad and its wet,  apparently not only were there lots of steps and levels but there were also a few small fountains along the sides that weren’t on that day.  I pull myself out and my leg is all cut up.

Now I am totally freaking out as I am quite paranoid about getting sick or injured because I have heard that living in Cambodia you’re screwed if you need decent medical attention.  I have no clue how dirty that water is but I am quite sure it’s not clean.

I find some big bottles of water and wash it off and then head to a pharmacy.  I bandage it up as best as I can and next day head to a bar to meet the owner who is getting me a fake lease to quickly prove I am in Cambodia.  An expat there used to be an EMT and we talk and I ask him if he thinks I should go to CT clinic which is the “best” place in Cambodia.

He says he’ll take a look so I pull my pant leg up and instantly he says yes.  So I go to the place I hope to avoid, and they bandage it up quickly for $3.  The place was not quite as scary as I was expecting, but at the same time it was not anywhere I would want to go to with any serious medical issue.

Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap

Passports are Important

Later that night I went to a copy shop with my passport and the fake lease I got to get them scanned to send them in.  They were just about to close and the Cambodian family that ran the place spoke pretty good english and we chatted for a bit.

They got everything scanned and I was on my way.  That night when I got home and was getting ready for bed I reached in my pocket for my passport to put it bag in my bag.  Oops!  After not being able to find it and racking my brain I realized that I had left it at the copy shop.

Luckily when I went back the next day no one else had even used the scanner and it was still inside folded open to the page with my picture on it.

So 3 days into my time living in Cambodia I had already A) left my bag with my only valuable possessions in the world on the bus while everyone was getting off and it easily could have been stolen, B) cut my leg up so bad that I had to go to a place I feared ever visiting, and C) almost lost the most important documentation any expat can have.  Off to a great start.