CURRENT MISSION

Breathe Deeply. Live Justly. Love Fully.

ABOUT ME

Welcome to Cambodia!

As a permanent resident of Cambodia, I hope that when you travel here you will leave any preconceptions at home and explore the beauty and wonder of this amazing kingdom!

My schedule is changing all the time, so I don't host surfers anymore, but occasionally I welcome a responsible surfer to stay when I am traveling. I post about this in the Cambodia Group.

If you want to know my recommendations of where you CAN stay, please scroll down to the "Teach, Learn, Share" section near the bottom.

I am not a travel agency, so please check the CAMBODIA GROUP and PHNOM PENH GROUP for local events and info.

Before I let you read about myself, I want to share a link to a favorite blog of mine about Cambodia. There is always someone who starts a new post in the Cambodia Group asking if it is safe, what is there to do, etc. Of course, it is great to ask questions, but I recommend reading Andy Brouwer's Blog first. He had fallen in love with Cambodia long before me, but he made his move the same time I did - 2007. He continues to offer updated information about what goes on in Cambodia, and how Cambodia is represented around the world, with a special emphasis on cultural things.
http://blog.andybrouwer.co.uk/

You can also check this one for event listings:
http://ladypenh.com/

So, "All About ME:"
My nickname has always been "Sunshine" (even by people who don't know that), they just start calling me Sunshine. Therefore, in Khmer, my name is Arun Raksmey. I tend to be positive and bubbly - so if you want a pity-party, it might be best to call someone else. I am also known as The Road Gypsy because I love to travel. Not as a tourist - I like to experience the culture where I visit - food, music, dance, art. I tend to be creative - but I can be all business when I need to be. Even though I am new to Couchsurfing - I have been traveling this way for more than 20 years.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I can meet for coffee or a drink and share about life in Cambodia. I can recommend places to stay or visit. I can show the "real Cambodia" if you want to see it.

I used Google Maps to mark a lot of the places in my neighborhood with descriptions/details. I'm not sure how well it works, but you can check it out: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107463290597001102590.00047a7f8acc696b091e6&z=12

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have driven across the US several times. It's the best to arrive at a friend's house when we haven't seen each other in years and catch up. I usually have a small photo album to share bits of my life. Once I was going to NYC so I called a filmmaker that had submitted a film in the festival I was running - but we had never met. He said he didn't even have a couch, but I could sleep on the floor if I really wanted. It was the best experience! The apartment was near 1st Street and 1st Avenue - in the new trendy Lower East Side. The window was open to the lively action below and I fell sound asleep to the noise of the nightlife below. I had a similar experience staying with a friend in downtown Chicago. But staying with my Khmer friend in the countryside when visiting Cambodia for the first time changed my life - no electricity, no running water, but I found it to be "natural" and simplistic. I decided to move to Cambodia!

Interests

1. Music: I love to sing folk music. I have often thought about having jam sessions at my apartment...

2. Rock-climbing: I am 5.4 - 5.6 level climber (from my days living in Utah). I have been to 2 different climbing spots in Cambodia. I have shoes and beaners, but I sold my rope since I didn't use it often, so I gave it a "better home" with a more active climber.

3. Trivia Games Nights: There are a lot of bars with these - lots of fun!

4. Traditional Ceremonies: Most people think of excuses not to go, but I love getting dressed up in the traditional Khmer clothes and observing the cultural ceremonies.

5. Hot Springs: There is only one in Cambodia and it isn't developed in a way that is accessible. Bummer. I would love to see this change :)

• arts
• culture
• writing
• singing
• beauty
• festivals
• dancing
• dining
• coffee
• running
• walking
• nightlife
• partying
• drinking
• pub crawls
• clothing
• trivia
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• folk music
• jazz
• rock climbing
• business
• cartography
• beaches
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

(just getting started)

Authors (modern):
Patricia Cornwell, Sue Grafton, Douglas Preston...

Authors (general):
Henry James, Tennessee Williams...

Books:
Ishmael, Who Moved My Cheese?...

Artists:
Renoir, Fatali, Leang Seckon...

Actors (alphabetical):
Drew Barrymore, David Bradley, Adrian Brody, Sandra Bulloch, Nicolas Cage, Robert De Niro, Johnny Depp, Matt Dillon, Clint Eastwood, Sally Field, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks, Marcia Gay-Harden, Dustin Hoffman, Diane Lane, Laura Linney, Steve Martin, Frances McDermott, Viggo Mortensen, Bill Murray, Liam Neeson, Al Pacino, Michael Pare, Sean Penn, Oliver Platt, Parker Posey, Aidan Quinn, Tim Robbins, Meg Ryan, Liev Schreiber, Ben Stiller, Shirley Temple...

Movies (alphbetical, by genre):

Action/Adventure:
Apocolypto, Dirty Harry, Lethal Weapon(s), Midnight Run, National Treasure, The Rock, Snake Eyes, Tomb Raider...

Children's/Family:
Bambi, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind, Into the West (UK), Night at the Museum, Pollyanna (Disney), The Secret of Roan Inish, Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken...

Christmas:
The Little Princess (Shirley Temple), Scrooged...

Comedy:
Abbott & Costello, The Ghost & Mr. Chicken, Groundhog Day, Housesitter, My Blue Heaven, The Wedding Singer, What About Bob?...

Drama:
All the President's Men, Chocolat, Fargo, Life is Beautiful, Midnight Cowboy, Over the Edge, The Pianist, The Red Violin, The Shawshank Redemption, Shindler's List, The Spitfire Grill, That Thing You Do...

Indie:
Apt Pupil, City of Ghosts, City of God, A Courtisan, Dear Wendy, Donnie Brasco, Juno, Levity, Little Miss Sunshine, Miracle (Denmark), Pieces of April, Rabbit-proof Fence,

Romance:
Benny & June, Ever After, Kate & Leopold, Miss Potter, Must Love Dogs, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Never Been Kissed, New in Town, The Notebook, P.S. I Love You, Pretty in Pink, She's All That, Sliding Doors, You've Got Mail, A Walk on the Moon...

Suspense:
The Bone Collector, The Sixth Sense...

and many more!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've been on CS for more than a year now. I have avoided writing anything here, because I have done so many amazing things in my life.

So, I will start with a recent one and work my way back through those memories that always put a smile on my face when they decide to pop up from time-to time. This will be a work in progress :)

May 2010, Attending the Royal Ploughing Ceremony in Siem Reap, Cambodia with the Royal Family. At the end of the day, King Sihamoni turned to me and clasped my hands.

2002, Denver, Colorado: attending the US Geological Society conference and going out to dinner with Jon Duke, where in a moment more real than any Hollywood movie, after I commented that the music made me feel like dancing (jazz, old standard - too bad I don't remember which song), he stood up, and reached out his hand (there was no dance floor). I was mortified, but decided to stand up and take his hand. Right there in the middle of the tables, we slowly rocked back and forth to the murmurs of those around us "How romantic - they're dancing!"

2000, Pah Tempe Hot Springs, Utah: I frequented the springs for my health, and on several occasions, dragonflies and hummingbirds would come to me and land on my finger.

1982, Pescadaro Beach, California: walking along the beach with a date when a soft rain began, running around like children in the rain and then going to a small restaurant where the old lady who owned it treated us like a mother hen, giving us towels to dry our hair and bring us bowls of lentil soup without even asking us what we wanted.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'd like to share about recommended guesthouses, since a lot of people ask me.

1. For backpackers, International Guest House, Street 136, near Norodom Blvd.

2. For location: Diamond House II (formerly AKA Guesthouse) a few doors down from me on Street 178 - across from Royal Palace. Rooms start at $15.

3. Rory's Pub & Guesthouse, practically under my apartment. Starts just under $20.

4. From other CSers: The name of our guest house is Keo Mean Guest House, street 51 (other side of the street form happiness GH, near Central Market).Cheap, clean...

Staying in the Riverside district has a lot of choices, especially if you like bars and restaurants. Motos and tuk-tuks tend to ask for higher fares, but you get them for a lower local price if you do your homework and don't make an unreasonable offer.

There is a new hostel near Wat Phnom, but you will have to do a search because I can't remember the name. Another hostel is the Mad Monkey in BKK1.

BKK1 (or NGO land as locals call it). is the area that caters to long-term residents and their visiting friends. Just as many bars and restaurants as the riverside in the first two blocks from Sihanouk Blvd, but a different vibe.

There are quite a few new guesthouses near Central Market and O-Russei Market. Backpackers are tending to gravitate to these areas.

POIPET VS KOH KONG (border crossings from Thailand)
I HIGHLY recommend taking a bus from Bangkok to TRAT and crossing the border at Koh Kong. It looks longer on a map, but the roads are better and you will spend less time at the border and it is safer.

One friend stayed the night in Trat and left for PP in the morning. She called BEFORE NOON to tell me she was in PP - I couldn't believe it. I've crossed the border there twice and I have NO bad reports from anyone, while the OPPOSITE is true of Poipet.

Notice all the advice for Poipet is how to be safe and how to keep things from being stolen, etc. Why put yourself through that when you don't have to? But people must follow their own path!

It is true that the road from Poipet to Siem Reap has finally been paved and the time is less than half of what it used to be, but in my opinion, traveling is about more than the road - it's the experience.

My belief, for whatever it is worth to you, is that crossing at Koh Kong is a better experience and much more scenic through the Cardamom Mountains.

A good bus service between PP and Koh Kong is Virak Bunthan. 099 628 448. They can also get you from PP to Ko Chang (or Bangkok) for around $20-30 (all inclusive from getting on the bus in PP to getting off the ferry on Koh Chang).

Countries I’ve Visited

Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Cambodia

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