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We had such bad luck in Thailand we were happy to finally get out of there! As we arrived at the airport we were shocked to find out that the lady from bagkok airport only sold us tickets from Bangkok to phnom Penn Cambodia. We still had to buy a ticket from koh samui to bangkok...Another suprise from Thailand! Anyways we ended up buying tickets to Bangkok and because we were late, we missed our flight to Cambodia, so we got there later than expected... No problem!
Right away we noticed how much friendlier The ppl in Cambodia were. They helped me with a wheelchair as I arrived off the plane. They even insisted on wheeling me to get my luggage and to the taxi... What great ppl! Considerable difference when compared to the Thai ppl whom are very proud. I am no judge, just an observer! The driver took us to a nice but inexpensive hotel where we stayed 7 nights. Our goal was to recover, but that did not happen in Phnom Penn! The first day I could walk albeit very slowly (2 hrs for a 10 min walk)! The pain was unbearable! Sleep was nearly impossible for me at this point! Day 2, I was unable to walk at all! Even to put my leg from the elevated position downwards was nausiatingly painful. I had to be either carried to the bathroom or crawl on the floor. Amrita had pain when walking, but someone had to take care of us, so he went out everyday to buy food, prepare dinner and even bought me 6 books to pass the time. I
couldn't have done it without him! By the 3rd day in Cambodia I knew something was wrong! We then took a tuctuc to the doctor. He said I had a bad infection in my muscle. That explained why I could not walk! He cleaned my wound and treated it with a strong antiobiotic cream which burned so badly! I have never had such pain in my life! My body shook with pain and it brought about my first tears since the accident! Even the cleaning and removal of old skin did not hurt compared to the concentrated antibiotic ointment! He recommended me to get an x-Ray to be on the safe side, and so I did. Nothing broken :) thank god! What a difficult day that was... Being carried from point A to point B, up stairs, down stairs and in & out of the tuctuc while in tears from the medicine on my leg. 2 days later (7 days after accident) I went back to the doctor to check up on my leg. He cleaned it again and gave me instructions on what to do so that I may take care of if
myself. I also found out that I am allergic to limes. I had lime sqeezed all over my veggies for dinner for a few days in a row and I started to get swollen lips the more lime ate on my veggies. I then also got slight bumps on my body (like poison ivy). 10 days after the accident I still had difficulty walking due to the swelling and infection. we decided to go to sihanoukville (the beach) to recover for the next 12 days.
Well what can I say, sihanoukville is paradise!!! We rented a bungalow on the beach literaly inches from the sea! We have a small peninsula from our portch out to the sea where there is a tree which i use for pullups and is used for the hammock. Luckily each room has a mosquito net which is needed! I must have over 100 mosquito and ant bites on me! We are staying at Sea Garden bungalows owned by Michael a 61 yr old American man with a Mohawk. He is such a great guy with a big heart! He put 70 Cambodian kids through school! The staff of 13 are family to him as is his young beautiful Cambodian girlfriend. He says that you are only as young as your girlfriends... I guess he is right in his case cause he looks at least 15 years younger than his real age! We came to this place to heal and get better, which was what Michael was also doing. He recently crashed on his honda 650 and broke 8 ribs and got some major road rash. Crashes are too common in asia. Being
here has healed me fast! Not only did my body get stronger, but also my mind. It's not easy sitting in one place for 12 days. I made good use of my time. The first couple days I elevated my foot and read books on the lounge chair or on our bungalow porch. After I could walk a little better, I started doing low impact excersizes, than I started doing yoga! Only After I began training again, did I start to recover much faster. Everyday I was walking easier and easier! My limp is almost gone and many of the wounds are already healed (except for the deep one in my shin and my missing toenail). Our daily routine has been:
green tea for breakfast,
excersize for 2 hrs (yoga, karate, pushups, pullups in a tree, squats, situps & stretches)
Shower
Clean my wound
Lunch (greek salad and veggies and fruit)
Read (dutch book-Ben je ervaren, the power of now, the secret revealed, the black swan, the perfection of yoga & how to prepare for the GRE test)
Excersize 2 more hrs
Shower
Watch sunset
Eat Dinner (usually tofu veg curry & fruit)
There are not many people on the beach, but when we did get someone passing by, or some of the staff working here, we became center of attention with my yoga and Amrita beating the tree doing his karate.
My first day reading on the beach I was greeted by a 16 year old girl who gives massages, threads (pull hair out with thread), gives manicures and makes bracelets. She was earning money to pay for school. She gave me a goodluck friendship bracelet to welcome me to Cambodia. What a sweet girl! I tried to give her money towards her school, but she did not want a handout, she wanted to work for her money, So I let her thread my eyebrows for a few dollars.
Our second day we took a tuctuc to town to buy fruit at the market. We bought about 30 kilos of drafonfriut, mango, pinnaple, lychee, watermelon, and some other stuff that I don't know what the names are. Asia is a place for great fruit! Little did we know that we were not the only ones who agreed on that. The next morning we found ants on our fruit and holes where mice bite into them. I even ended up getting a hole In my bag where a mouse bit his way to my oatmeal.
Tonight is our last night! We celebrated by watching the sunset with a glass of hennessey and Russian chocolates!
I am going to miss wearing my bathing suit all day long for 12 days in a row...hopfully Vietnam will be the same kind of coastal environment.
Tomorrow we are off to Vietnam (12 hr bus ride).
Life is good!
Sent from my iPhone
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