Happy New Year, Part 3

First there was the New Year on December 31. Then there was lunar new year, widely known as the Chinese New Year but called Tet in Vietnam. Now there is Chaul Chnam Thmey, the Khmer New Year. It's also the Thai New Year, or Songkran. Got it? Yeah, me neither.

I start my new job on Monday. I wanted to get to Phnom Penh and get settled. I knew it would be a ghost town because of the holiday. Folks here either go home to visit family or go to the beach.

(Fun fact: In Vietnam when people talk about visiting family they say they are "going to the countryside". Here they say they are "going to the province". )

I had an admittedly crazy idea that I would show arrive in the city and then head to the beach in Sihanoukville the next day. Everyone I talked to just laughed when I mentioned my plan. I would be lucky to find a hotel room, they said. A friend here took his children and indeed did have trouble. I'll wait a week and go when the hotels are empty and the rates are back down to normal.

In the meantime I'm laying low and resting. My last week in Saigon completely wore me out. I was making the rounds to see all my friends before I left. I was going out every night, which I normally don't do. And after months of not getting enough hours at my school they decided to pile extra classes on me before I left. Amazingly I was paid in full for all my classes before I left.

My first day in Phnom Penh was exhausting. More on that in a separate post. My poor old body just conked out. I spent the past two days vegetating, watching whatever crap movies happen to be on TV and sleeping whenever the mood hit me.

I wanted to find an apartment before I started classes, too. Ideally I'd like to find a place close to my school but I really don't know where to start looking. And because of the holiday it's also a bad time to look for an apartment.

I asked one of the girls at the hotel where I always stay if she knew anyone who has an apartment for rent. Her aunt! The hotel is on a small alley street which ends in a sort of cul de sac. Apparently her family owns the whole neighborhood. I had an idea of what I should expect to pay. The price was right. The place is like a hotel room with a small kitchen. Jackpot.