Emily in her dream tuk tuk.

Cleaning up the flooded kitchen. Brain didn't put the tube the dispenses the water from the washing machine in the bathroom.

Emily & Brian's bungalow at "Mushroom Point" in Sihanoukville.

the smells of phnom penh

Sometimes it's impossible to breath in Phnom Penh. A combination of toxic fumes emitted from motos, big trucks, and cars as well was the never-ending large heaps of trash, which build up in every imaginable space of land, together could cause a black lung. Not to mention the litter-infested rivers, stained an opaque gray or unnatural green-blue. They reek of sulfur - a scent that repulses human beings. What surprises me, actually, is the fact that some here are not even repulsed by this naturally repulsing smell. The pungent neighborhood river fumes seem to not affect Phnom Penh locals. Of course, they are used to their opaque gray, completely trashed rivers, and voluntarily hang out by them - a place where I must hold my breath by. The Tonle Sap River is undoubtedly free of any pervasive odor, but it's the small bodies of water that run through the neighborhoods, surrounded by concrete and bustling traffic, that are most affected by plastic bags and poop.

Other notable scents are of gasoline, incense, dried fish, tandoori frog, and toxic chemicals that I don't know the names of. Most importantly however, are the dust and humidity, two things most people would not consider "smells." There are though, two things that do fly up into one's nose so often that they almost are scents. Dust and humidity are two factors essential to Phnom Penh life. I'm taking a deep breath of both now.