Put-Put, Tuk-Tuk

I did some quick math in my head, and estimated that I spent almost ONE WAKING DAY on tuk-tuk in Cambodia. 

4 days of school x 2.5 hours tuk-tuk

1 day of school x 5 hours tuk-tuk

5 non-school days x 0.5 hours tuk-tuk (at least, not counting tour time)

= 17.5 hours on tuk-tuk?!?!!!!!

Wow, this deserves a post on its own. :p

Cambodia in the dry season is not the jungle that you would imagine, especially when the land is cleared out for agriculture.

Dusty fallow rice paddy fields until the rains come again.

Face masks are recommended to block out all the dust that gets kicked up on the road.

I very much enjoyed sitting on the tuk-tuk alone for hours. It was active meditation letting your brain relax and watching the world whiz by. But just because you were sitting in the tuk-tuk didn't mean that you were confined in a mobile box, you could also interact with people at the same time -- children would wave "hi!" when you passed by, adults would smile at you if you smiled at them. People worked on their fields, sat by their roadside stands, went about their daily lives. It was great having Pesete drive me anywhere around the whole Angkor area without worrying about any logistical details.

A more interesting stretch of the road through a village.

One afternoon after a lunch pitstop back from school, I had the brilliant idea to enjoy a coconut on the one-hour ride home. I thought, "Hmm, wouldn't it be such a luxury to sip fresh coconut water on the way back?". The vendor chose a really nice one for me, and Pesete and I set off back to Siem Reap. #winning!

At that moment, I was so engrossed in my tropical dream that I failed to remember that tuk-tuks are very bumpy. I also failed to remember that coconuts are basically the size and weight of bowling balls.

Instead of a relaxing and hydrating ride home, I spent the entire one hour ride juggling the stupid (yet awesome) coconut from spilling out its contents all over myself and the tuk-tuk. If coconuts were to compete in the State County Fair, then this one definitely would have been awarded a blue ribbon. It was brimming to the top with water, and every little bump and jostle sent waves of coconut juice flying out. GAH!!!!! What could I do?!? Sipping was not an option, I had to GULP.

FRANTICALLY.
USING A STRAW.
WHILE BALANCING AN EXTREMELY HEAVY OBJECT.

Just imagine this -- you HAVE to hold the coconut up to drink it. It's not like you can put it on the ground and drink it like a dog. The coconut flies everywhere whenever the tuk-tuk hits like, a pebble. Your arms are also flying everywhere. Your face, connected to the straw connected to the coconut, is flying everywhere too. And of course, you are subsequently doused with coconut water. O_O

This coconut must have been AT LEAST 15 pounds or something. 

Imagine holding a bowling ball like Baby Simba for an hour.... hahahahaha

Don't mess with coconuts, guys. They will pwn you.