Drive to Poipet

The flight on EVA air couldn't be better... good food, friendly staff. I arrived in the capitol city of Phnom Penh around 11AM, just in time to make it to the Anise hotel, put down my things, and head to the city with co-resident Usha. Fortunately, she allowed me to tag along for her afternoon agenda.


It was a sobering, yet appropriate start to my experience by visiting S-21, the Khmer Rouge interrogation and torture prison during their reign. We followed this by going to a local "killing field," a scar on the face of Cambodia that serves as a constant reminder of the atrocities that took place here. Human bones and teeth still work their way to the surface of the earth, guests quietly and respectfully trying to not step on them.


The following day we took a 9 hour bus ride to the border city of Poipet - a small town famous for 2 things, the border with Thailand and casinos (illegal in Thailand). Often referred to as the "armpit of Cambodia" in tourist books, this city seems to be full of life. Tomorrow I will check out the hospital and meet the other doctors there.

My nurse and translator, Visal, is a native Cambodian with better than average training form the Angkor children's hospital in Siem Reap. He tolerated my 9 hours of questions on the bus trip and gave me an excellent introduction to Cambodian culture (including beef intestine soup).

More later...