August 5, 2011

Jan, Tony, and I got our Cambodian visas yesterday. It was a surprisingly painless process, actually. We did it all over the Web. The only hiccup was that we needed to upload photos of ourselves, which none of us had handy, to be printed on the visas. We each just stood against a wall in my house, and I snapped us with my iPad. Voila. We also went ahead and selected our hotels for our nights in Phnom Penh. We decided, after much thought, to forego the wild Walkabout Hotel after we watched a YouTube video that showed a young woman failing to charm her way past the hotel “concierge” in the “ticket booth” of a lobby and the steel door that separates the bar from the hotel. Too much local flava for us. We are going to stay nearby, though, and enjoy Friday night in their bar.

Speaking of YouTube videos for hotels in Phnom Penh, why do they all feature 60-year-old men escorting 15-year-old Cambodian girls? I can only imagine how often Tony and I are going to have to decline the advances of charming young ladies while we’re there. Sigh.

I still have a laundry list of things to do and questions to ask, but the trip is definitely in the air now.

July 30: Columbus, Ohio

I bought an iPad yesterday, which will make it possible for me to blog my trip to Cambodia and Bhutan. I was planning to buy one for EPUB testing anyway, so this trip just spurred me on to getting it done. Along with the iPad, I bought an adapter that will allow me to upload photos directly from my camera, so look for lots of pictures from the East.

We’re just less than six weeks out, now, and getting excited. I had my vaccinations–for dyphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, mumps, measles, rubella, typhoid, and polio–and my anti-malarial pills. In the next few weeks, I’ll pick up some stomach medicine, some food that I know I can eat if I find myself unable to choke down any other available option, and a new day bag that can hold my electronics and a change of a clothes in case my luggage gets lost.

June 23: Columbus, Ohio

It’s June 23, 2011. While I wait to find out if I have a commitment from an Arabic-language proofreader for an upcoming project, I’m thinking about my upcoming trip to Cambodia and Bhutan. We’re inside the three-month mark, now, and inspired by a friend of a friend, I’ve decided to blog the trip. Today, I set it all up, and this is my first blog entry.