Author: Charles Dittmeier

I actually left Phnom Penh on Wednesday. We boarded the plane Tuesday night but didn’t take off until after midnight. We flew six hours to the Inchon airport in Seoul.

Modern airports such as Inchon/Seoul are like theme parks and malls with runways. Architects vie with each other to include live trees and plants, playgrounds, food courts, museums, even a waterfall. The photo above is Inchon.

Inchon airport was really foggy when we landed. Even the buildings just across the tarmac were almost invisible.

From Seoul we flew 14 hours to Detroit, Michigan (above) where we had to reclaim our luggage and pass through passport control because it was our port of entry into the United States. More and more of the passport control functions are being handled electronically with scans and face photos. When I landed in Minneapolis the TSA agent never touched my passport.

From Detroit it was a 47-minute flight to Louisville where David and Emily picked me up and took me to Nazareth Home Clifton where I am staying.

Leaving Phnom Penh

I was going to the airport at 8:00 PM and traffic was heavy. Here a street food stall offers food for those who want to eat before arriving home.

I was surprised how heavy the traffic was at 8:00 PM. I wouldn’t want to be driving home like that every night.

Russian Blvd is the place where people sell durian fruits at night during the season. Here a family has set up their cart. The 15,000 figure is the amount of riel ($3.75) per kilogram of durian.

I’m in Louisville, Kentucky but have run out of time for today. Here is a picture of monks begging in Phnom Penh before I left for the U.S.A.

More to come tomorrow!

I’m at the Phnom Penh airport now, waiting for a 23-24 hour flight to Seoul/Detroit/Louisville. I had to go to a doctor twice today for treatment for my eye problem and that really messed up my schedule. I’ll be back tomorrow–from Kentucky–with more, but now it’s on to Gate 8 for boarding.

I spent the day from 7:50 AM to 3:40 PM at BNH Hospital today, going through all the tests and procedures for a medical check-up program. They are thorough!

In a taxi going to BNH Hospital early in the morning, I saw a familiar scene–the masses of overhead electrical wires on all the streets, just like Phnom Penh.

After a morning of tests, one after the other, I was in Dr. Irene’s office for the actual physical exam and she got called out for a consultation. That gave me a chance to look out her window at the surrounding buildings. They are fortunate to have a lot full of trees next door, on the grounds of an Anglican church.

Dr. Irene and Charlie. She is a fantastic doctor and a really good friend!

For almost 25 years I have been having an annual medical check-up at BNH Hospital in Bangkok and today I flew to that city for an appointment tomorrow. Immediately after passing through passport control, the new arrivals encounter this display set up to honor the King of Thailand.

I took a bus from the airport to the Victory Monument and then got a taxi to the Maryknoll house where I am staying. I was trying to keep track of the taxi meter but the driver had so many Buddhist amulets and medallions hanging in front of it that I could almost never see it.

Fr. John Barth is living and working from the Maryknoll office in Bangkok. He and I used to live together in Phnom Penh when he was assigned to Cambodia. Today we had a meal together and caught up on all that is going on in the Maryknoll world.