Arrived safely in Phnom Penh, build day 1 about to start :)

Susanne:

well, I seem to be the one with the sleep deprival. Can`t seem to sleep much after 4 a.m., so the blog is being looked after :)

we arrived in Phnom Penh yesterday afternoon after a one hour flight from Bangkok. Was fun traveling as a group of 6 after a last day of shopping and another squeezed in $5 massage for some of us. Chelsea was excited to get her luggage in Cambodia yesterday. it never made it from NY to Bangkok and had to be sent to `catch up with us`. So all is good. Michelle and Chelsea are being little market shopaholics and gathering a little arsenal of dresses etc at bargain prices. I am holding out as I don`t want to carry everything around for the next 5 weeks.

Also very hot here, but apparently this week has been better (30`s) versus temperatures around 40 degrees last week. Getting a bit used to it, it seems.

we met the Habitat staff and rest of the team (except pete and Kate who are flying in tonight) last night at an orientation at a nearby restaurant and had a great dinner. The food here seems excellent just like in Thailand. The team seems awesome, very nice group and cant wait to get to know them better.
The hotel is quite nice actually. have to explore it later a bit more. Last night it was just a place to sleep :)

We are about to go down for breakfast and are then heading out for the one-hour drive to the build site. Can`t wait.

First impressions:
-Phnom Penh airport is much smaller than Bangkok. Not sure what I expected, but it was much easier to leave and get our stuff after paying our $20 US visa and being shuffled through customs in about a minute.
-scooters and mopeds EVERYwhere. All around the cars, all over all the lanes. 3 people per moped sometimes, mostly 2. Driving here is quite amusing...glad I don`t have to be behind the wheel
-drivers again are sitting in the left seat and driving on the same side of the road as we are. In Thailand it was the opposite
-Angkor beer versus Chang or Singha (the latter we discovered at the airport in Bangkok, yum!)
-customs: we are trying to get the greetings down. You put your palms together and giver a little bit of a nod. No shaking hands.
super friendly people. Extremely polite and always smiling. Feeling very welcome

Can`t wait to see the build site.