Travel Changes

    When I first visited Lisa in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in the early '90's, the city was still devastated from the rule of the Khmer Rouge (Killing Fields). Sitting in the airport waiting for a flight to Saigon I saw a pilot practicing 'touch and goes' on the main runway. Upon arrival in the airport entering Cambodia there were 8 or 10 officials sitting in a row. The person arriving would hand his/her passport to the official on one end of the row and it would pass down the line. When the passport was retrieved at the other end there was a charge of $10. U.S., and a visa was in hand.
    Lisa will be working temporarily in Cambodia when I arrive in Thailand in January. We had planned to meet in Phnom Penh last year but she was called home early so we didn't connect. This year we plan to spend a few days together there. Tonight she helped me get my visa online...no row of officials behind a desk and, of course, the $10. has increased to $36.. It's been 11 years since I was last there so I wonder what I will recognize? This trip will be before I begin teaching in Thailand for my 12th year.
    Cambodia's currency is the reil but American Dollars are widely used. One Cambodian reil equals 0.00025 U.S. dollar. This will be a challenge for my decimal skills. Perhaps I'll just stick with the dollar.

Takk for alt,

Al