I couldn't think of a funny title for today, sue me. 

Firstly, morale was better today. I think yesterday we both were over tired and decided (stupidly) to have a drink at the end of the night.  But today started better, we slept in a bit and the breakfast at this hotel is awesome. Full buffet style, with an omelette bar and everything. 

Leaving the hotel a bit later than usual we noticed right away that Cambodians have a very similar view on mid-day siestas as Europeans because mostly everything closes from 11-2.  We discovered this at the very moment we had walked a few km into the main part of town to go see the Kings palace. Now, having several unplanned hours to kill we walked to the riverside where a beautifully renovated quayside walkway splayed out in either direction.  As we walked up(?) river I couldn't help but notice how much of a juxtaposition there is in Cambodia.  Beautiful buildings, obviously newly built stand next to legitimate shacks made of corrugated steel.  Just by walking around there is an obvious discrepency in wealth. You are either super wealthy or you are in abject poverty.  There is hardly any middle ground.  As we walked we decided to walk to a mall I saw on our drive in. 

So the mall was big.  Like really big.  Seven or eight floors big and obviously brand new. Looking into it a bit we found that it only had opened in 2014. Grabbing a blended iced thing from Costa Coffee we decided to walk around a little to see what kinds of shops were in the mall.  For my friends back home think like two Pacific Centers stacked vertically and not as sprawling.  Deciding to grab lunch we ate and then, after getting up the nerve, braved the heat to go check our flights at Air Cambodia. 

Ironically it was only when we got there that we saw that they are closed Sunday's and holidays. Getting fed up we took a Tuktuk back to our side of the city.  It was around three in the afternoon so we decided to finally go to the royal palace to see the Kings residence. Apparently Cambodia has a king but it's more like a constatuotional monarchy than a complete dictatorship.  For all intents and purposes Cambodia is a democracy.  The prime minister holds most of the power but the Kings approval is needed for popular vote.  The king is actually elected by a government body so he doesn't necessarily need to upkeep a bloodline. 

The palace is vast and decadent with lots of marble, gold and silver embellishments.  Strangely lots of wild cats were running around which made me miss my cat Jess. 

Anyway we've had a quiet night. Jack actually went to the national hospital to donate blood because in Cambodia there is a national shortage on blood donations.  It's apparently a religious faux pas for you to donate blood. It's seen as unclean or dirty.  So on a serious note if you're a tourist and want to give back to the community donating blood is an amazing way to do it.  You get like a box of baked goods and a shirt and everything.

I think tonight's just going to be chill, hanging out close to the hotel, just relaxing.  

G-