Felicity's mega adventure! : Phnom Penh

I had an interesting day exploring Phnom Penh yesterday. The city is buzzing but the poverty and hardship of many people here is a lot more evident than in Vietnamese cities or cities in Laos. This changes the atmosphere somewhat but I still enjoyed the markets and eating street food with the locals.
Edward got in touch with an old school friend of his called tomas who is working in Phnom penh and he messaged me with some tips. His job as a private investigator keeps him busy so I didn't think I would catch up with him however as I was having dinner in a restaurant with some guys from my hostel he walked passed us by chance and recognised me, so he joined us for a beer.
I was with a 19 year old german guy who had just quit an internship he was doing in ho chi minh city to travel for a month and an indian canadian guy who had been travelling for the past 4 years. This is the part of travelling I really enjoy. Just sitting with other travellers and sharing stories and experiences.
As we were sat on the street a small cambodian boy came up to tomas and said 'hey 1000'. Tomas and the boy seemed to know each other and I realised this was a game they often play. 'You name 1000' said theboy and after some haggling, tomas gave the boy 1000r (25cent) and he went off with an excited smile.
There had been some lightening in the distance as we were eating but didn't think much of it until the torrential down pour started. A tuk tuk driver came into the restaurant after us and waited until we were ready to leave. I stood with him at the door as the guys finished their beers and started chatting. I asked him about his life and he lives out of town with his wife and two young sons. He has always been a tuk tuk driver and had surprisingly good english. I asked how much he earnt a day and was told he would earn between 8 and 15 dollars for 15 hours. He told me it costs 8 dollars a day to feed his family and they eat twice daily. He is also trying to save for this sons' education so he told me he sells weed too. This is apparently something lots of tuk tuk drivers do to try and make even. He doesn't like doing it because if he got caught he would get into big trouble and could lose his license and have to pay a fine.
It's when you find out information like this that makes you put a lot of things into perspective. Travellers always complain about tuk tuk drivers trying to rip you off and I am guilty of this too. But in the grand scheme of things an extra dollar here and there does not stretch the wallet too much and sometimes it is good to think where the money is going. Everyone has to earn a living and support a family.
A conversation topic I often have with travellers is how lucky we are to be able to travel far and wide without too much trouble and be able to find jobs that allow us to afford it. Some people feel guilty that cambodians or vietnamese people don't have this opportunity but I don't think that is the point. It's important that we use this privilege we have effectively and support sustainable tourism. For example, eating locally and supporting community projects. In siem reap they have restaurants that train young people with difficult backgrounds and often the homeless to cook. Providing then this skill allows them to work and get off the streets.
Here are some pics from pp.
I have now arrived in kampot and it is so much better than being in a big city.

If you can see the brown spots on the walls I was told it is bat poo. The man who told me couldn't speak so he had drawn a picture. It must be a common question.