overjoyed

It took a while, but here I am! Not only safely in Phnom Penh, but overjoyed that I found a really cool place to hangout called 33 Corner.

This is all after a scary experience having to return to Singapore an hour after we left for Phnom Penh. I had fallen asleep, only to wake up to the voice of the stewardess saying, "Please remain seated until we land safely in Singapore." In a bit of a daze, I then tuned in to the conversation between the two men seated nearby. Apparently, the pilot said that the front wheel couldn't be turned so that landing would be a problem in Phnom Penh. Not so much landing, but more getting the plane fixed. So the pilot decided it best to return to Changi. Oh dear, I thought, and started praying. One could feel the tension in the plane mounting. We were only half an hour away from Phnom Penh, yet there we were...flying back to Singapore, not knowing what to expect next.

Once we landed, I noticed that the fire brigade and an ambulance was on standby - lights flashing - and as soon as we stopped the engines were cut so that the fire brigade could inspect the plane. There was no way we'd be able to taxi to the terminal on our own, so there we were...waiting to be towed to the terminal - another half hour wait on the tarmac. But, we had the aircon on in the plane so it wasn't uncomfortable...just a hassle for having to wait and not know what was going to happen next.

Finally, we made it back to the terminal and were immediately ushered to a holding gate where we were fed and then told to wait again. By 9pm (the flight had been scheduled for 16:20, delayed to 17:50 in Singapore) we boarded a new plane and finally made it to Phnom Penh at 22:30. As my day started at 5 a.m., I was exhausted.

But! This morning I was determined to find a cool place that had wifi and good coffee. Wasn't sure how, but the law of attraction works in interesting ways. Since there was no internet in the room, I wasn't sure where to look for info. But just as I was about to leave my room, I noticed a little booklet D&D Phnom Penh that listed places to drink and dine. For some reason, my eye kept on catching the name of this one place, "33 Corner" - no matter what else I looked at, I kept on going back to it.

So I tried to call the place, with no luck. Asked the hotel receptionist to help find the place, no luck. Even went on the internet...still no luck. All I found was the same information I got from D&D. Then, I sat down and looked closely at the maps in my little booklet. And there it was! Clearly on the map, right next to the National Museum. Finally!

So I got into a tuk-tuk from the front of our hotel and off we went...yaay! It took several wrong turns, but in no time we found the place. Right smack on one of the corners facing the National Museum. I asked Suthap, my tuk tuk driver, to pick me up later...so I'm set for my adventure this morning.

Up the stairs I went, and bam! What a wonderful place to hang out. Now I want us to have a place like this too. Heheh. Not sure what we'll call it. A place on a corner is nice. Near somewhere with a park or at least lots of trees. Yes, this is a good layout for my dream INSPIRIT. Will have to post a photograph later. Forgot to bring my camera card reader. But there will be time. I know for sure I'll be hanging out here a lot!

It ranks up there with Laris Manis in Sanure, but even more so because it is full air-con, has wifi, and has really cool music. When I walked in, Colbie Calliat was playing. And everything since has been really cool too. Now it's smooth cool jazz. Had an apple lime freeze (super yummy) and breakfast at 11:30 a.m. They serve breakfast all day, so this is defintely a place for me.

I just noticed that I'm "one-buttock" typing - the way that Vespa riders sit, or people who are really into their music while playing the piano sit...sort of leaning to one side, more on one buttock than the other... a phrase coined by Benjamin Zander, the awe-inspiring composer I watched for the first time on TED, and mentioned in another post a while ago.

So I guess I'm in my groove here...at Corner 33. So glad I found it. Oh, and since I walked in, there haven't been more than less than a handful of men. So it's a cool chica hangout. Nice and quiet for the most part (though for some reason some people think that even though they're sitting less than a meter away from each other, they have to speak really loudly), great music, great food, and super comfy chairs with tables at type-height.

Yes. I am grateful for being drawn here...very happy indeed. Hey, it's drizzling outside!