LADY BOYS, NIGHT MARKETS AND MORE MADNESS!

Hello again, sorry about the delay in writing this but I have been out of sorts for a while and not feeling up to doing much. Anyway I am back in the fold now so here we go!!


Most Cambodian women are very short and of a slight build. By and large they have extremely long black hair and piercing dark brown or black eyes. Their finger nails are usually long and well manicured and most wear a moderate amount of jewelry; (No gold chains and sovereign rings here, thank Buddha!!) The smile you will already be aware of, and their overall disposition is one gentility. I have met many such people in the last five weeks and have found them most enchanting.


On the weekend evenings, just a block or two from my hotel, is the night market. Here families gather to eat at the many food stalls and browse the goods on sale. These range from Cambodian silks, clothes, watches, souvenirs and of course the ever present mobile phone booths! Last weekend I was there with a few friends and I noticed a couple of girls looking at me rather more intently than the normal inquisitive looks that most Europeans experience. There was a band playing in the middle of the market; it is a kind of open stage for up and coming acts and for once they sounded half decent. My friends; Atu, her sister and her friend seemed also to be smiling at me in a strange way and said they were going to look at some clothes. Meanwhile I continued to watch the band and couldn't help feeling that everyone was looking at me. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder and assumed it was Atu and simply put my hand on 'hers'. Well, 'her' hand did not feel quite right and I turned around to see a 5'10", short haired, short finger nailed 'lady', bedecked in jewelry and smelling like a cross between the cheapest of perfumes and harpic!! She/he smiled at me and said " You like lady boy? ".....all around me people were laughing and pointing at me and just across the way Atu and her friends were doing likewise. I explained that I did not like lady boy and moved away to seek sanctuary with my hysterical friends; I had become a sideshow to the events on the stage; well I suppose it was probably more entertaining than the cacophony of noise that was coming from the new act!!


We ate quite regularly at a late night stall near the night market and decided to go there after that incident and had my favourite dish of char grilled beef with chicken fried rice. Maybe it was because I had, for the first time worn after shave tonight, that I seemed to be attracting the wrong advances!! Bugger me if the guy running this place was not the campest person I have ever met. He took a shine to me and insisted on sitting with us while we ate. Well enough is enough and the joke was running a bit thin now so I told him in no uncertain terms that I was not interested and he duly minced off looking sorry for himself. I then thought it might be a good idea to sit between the terrible sisters and put an arm around each of them to dispel any confusion as to my sexual preferences!!! The food was great by the way!


I will have some pictures of the night market in due course and put on here. There will be NO pictures of the lady boys!!


That night an accident befell me and I ended up losing one of my front teeth! Now the thought of going to a Cambodian dentist brought me out in a massive sweat but I had to do something about it pretty quickly so the next morning I went in search of a surgery. Just down the road was a booth with a proper looking dentists chair in it and a guy in what looked like an operating gown. I went in and was told to sit in the chair until he went to get someone that spoke English; the translator was sitting at a bar opposite and I could see he and the 'dentist' were having an animated discussion about me; probably thinking how much they could make out of this. Anyway they came back and it was explained to me that a bridge was needed; it would take four weeks to complete and it would cost £390! At this point a young woman holding her baby appeared and looked into my mouth as well and started pointing and talking excitedly to the main man; who she was I have no idea and there then started a procession of people; kids; young and old. Now forgive me for my cynicism but I am convinced that these people were not dental nurses or trainees but once again the absurdity of the moment overtook my worry and I decided to get up and look elsewhere. I found what turned out to be a very good dentist and after two long sessions in the chair will have a crown fitted next Tuesday!! The madness continues!!

LED ZEPPELIN CAFE, MARKET SCENES AND THE MEKONG PICS

£5 an hour for the boat.
I thought the boat would depart when it was full but you actually get the whole thing to yourself! A cheap way to have a party afloat.
Washing the dishes.
Part of the Phnom Penh fishing fleet!
On a slow boat to China or up the Mekong!
More fruit than you can wave a stick at!
Spare ribs Cambodian style.
Monkey food!
Not sure what these fruits are called but they are delicious!
Local market produce
Zeppelin Cafe, Phnom Penh.
Zeppelin Cafe, Phnom Penh.
Mr. Jun spinning the discs at the Zeppelin Cafe.

KAMPOT; DOGS AND EX-PATS.

I had met a few people who had been to Kampot and been told that at night there were packs of dogs that roamed the streets and stood guard outside their owners property. Given my slight fear of dogs this was a bit disconcerting but to be honest I didn't really give it too much thought and wondered if these stories were somewhat exaggerated.


The road on which I was staying ran alongside the Teuk Chhou River and played host to many bars and restaurants. As far as location goes it could not get any better; as you can see in the photos, the river is a stones throw away and the sunsets are pretty spectacular. I ate in a Dutch run bar/restaurant and had my favourite dish of beef rendang with sticky coconut rice and as usual it was delicious. Talking to the Dutch girl who was the co-owner it soon became apparent that there were many ex-pats. and other Europeans who had set up business here. Many of them were married to Khmer women and had been in Cambodia for many years.


It became apparent after talking to some of these bar owners that it was quite hard to make ends meet with just one income and consequently some of them undertook a second job. Christian, a guy from Manchester, married to a Khmer lady, returned home every year for four months to do building work. Nicholas, a French guy, worked in Phnom Penh from Monday to Friday and returned at weekends to help his Khmer girlfriend, Sarina, run their bar. She was obviously upset about the fact that he would be away during the week but they really had no option. I began to realise after talking to these people that the Khmers are an incredibly resilient people and I think the reason for this, is that they , for the first time, have a chance to shape their own destiny. Cambodia, after all, had been colonized by the French; Nixon did his utmost to destroy the country with indiscriminate bombing in his 'sideshow' to the Vietnam War and Pol Pot simply tried genocide.


It is no wonder, therefore, that despite the relative hardship of having to take on two jobs and the fact that ones partner may have to work away from home for some time, that the Khmer people grasp the opportunity to control their own future, by working incredibly long arduous hours for little reward.


The main road beside the river in Kampot is poorly lit at the best of times; the sidestreets are nigh on pitch black. Welshman , Steve, runs a bar on one of these sidestreets and I was talking to him until the early hours one morning. I asked him about the dog situation and as we were talking there started the most almighty din of barking, snarling dogs just down the road from where we were. He told me that if I walked in the middle of the road, (assuming I could find the middle) and carried some rocks or stones to pretend to throw at the dogs, then all would be ok. Well thats fine if you do not already have a fear of dogs and it would also be not so bad if you were familiar with your surroundings and if it was daylight. I unfortunately did not have the luxury of any of these.


The noise outside spurred on other gangs of dogs into a frenzy of barking and running around snapping at anything and everything. Some dogs were apparently kept on leashes and could guard their owners property adequately without being let loose. I considered having another Laobeer or indeed waiting until dawn to walk home when at least I would be able to see my adversaries.


Fortune favours the brave (or stupid) and I decided to set out for home which was only ten minutes walk away. It was pitch black and I was sweating a bit to say the least. I could hear the patter of feet quite close by but the barking had subsided for a minute. Everything seemed fine, then suddenly a dog on a leash leapt towards me only to be restrained by its leash, stopping about two foot from my right shoulder. When my heartbeat had returned to normal I carried on and was almost home when I tripped over a small metal dustbin and consequently fell over right in front of one of the guard dogs and was bitten on my lower back. This started a chorus of canine howls and snarling which I remember thinking at the time was more frightening than the bite itself which was not too bad but had drawn blood.


I got home in a minute or two and then it dawned on me that despite the seven jabs I had received before I left the UK I had'nt had the rabies innoculation! I sought some advice and was strongly reccomended to get a jab as soon as possible and that meant going back to Phnom Penh! Five hours on that bus again with the dreaded karaoke and the bus did'nt leave for another three hours. The alternative was a taxi which could get me there much quicker. I weighed up the options of rabies v. karaoke/bus/taxi and decided to get a taxi straight away.


Now then, I have already talked of the wonderful Cambodian smile; it's 4.30.a.m., I'm a bit shaken up and my taxi driver, who has just been woken up, appears and he is smiling like a Cheshire cat, making woof like noises and laughing uncontrollably! I am not sure if he realises exactly what has happened but I make it as clear as I can that I need to get to a hospital in Phnom Penh as soon as possible. He continues laughing and doing his dog impressions as we depart.


As we leave Kampot I try to explain about the bus trip here, but as so often happens it is lost in translation and he seems to think that (i)I like dogs and perhaps more worrying for my sanity, (ii) That I like Cambodian karaoke. Whilst this bizarre conversation of sorts is going on, I am starting to feel pretty rough, my back is aching and it is damn hot! He is driving in a manner not disimilar to a Finnish rally driver, swerving around huge potholes, still grinning and doing his canine caricatures. I'm assuming a possible crash position because I can foresee us ending up in a paddy field at best when he tries to get a picture out of his wallet; I expect you have all done this when driving; that is, try and get your wallet out of your back pocket; it's not easy is it and especially when you are driving at speed, on little better than a dirt track!!! He gets the picture out and lo and behold it's a photo of his dog!


I know he thinks he is doing me proud and at this point I am glad he does'nt speak a English because I let out a torrent of expletives trying to get him to slow down. Unfortunately the act of me pointing at the speedo is misunderstood and he thinks that I am pointing at the CD player, and yes, you've got it the ubiquitous Cambodian karaoke comes on at a deafening volume. By now I have all but forgotten about the dog bite and simply crack up laughing with him at the hilarity of the moment. This spurs him on to greater heights and he adds his own take on an already bloody awful song! If you can imagine very bad Indian restaurant music, add a bit of wailing similar to that of an Islamic Imam calling the faithful to prayer and then as background music throw in an Eastern European national anthem and you have just about got what Cambodian karaoke is like!


We got to Phnom Penh in two hours twenty minutes instead of five hours, thankfully in one piece, and I gave the driver a generous tip, for he quite unwittingly contributed outstandingly to an experince that I shall certainly never forget.


P.S. That night I sought my revenge and had dog curry!!!

KAMPOT; THE LITTLE GARDEN BAR AND RESTAURANT

The restaurant.

Dusk from the restaurant.


So after that adventure I got a tuk tuk to the Little Garden and was looking forward to a relaxing afternoon and a chance to look around Kampot. I arrived amidst some confusion as to who I was, which given that I had been in regular email contact with Norm and Barbara, the owners, was surprising. The Khmers at the reception did not have a booking for me and at first I thought I might actually be in the wrong place! However Barbara then arrived to shed some light on the situation.


She was obviously upset about something and suggested we sit down, have a drink and she would explain what was going on. She explained to me that the Khmer owners had, as of yesterday, increased the rental of the guest house and restaurant by a ludicrous ammount which meant that they could no longer afford to rent the guest house part of the business; they would however continue to run the bar and restaurant side of things. Both her and Norm were understandably very upset about this as they had put their hearts and soul into this place for the last five years. The garden here may be small but their hearts are big supporting and launching community based projects including a drop in centre for orphans; their staff do more than just serve up international dishes.


I was'nt really sure what to do now; whether to stay here or find somewhere else to stay. I met Norm who is originally from Manchester but knew Plymouth very well and also knew many of the surfing fraternity from Cornwall; most of whom I knew from my t-shirt printing days. He was obviously pleased to talk to someone with common interests and we chatted for a few hours about all sorts; I decided to stay and had a much needed rest before going out to explore Kampot.

KAMPOT; THE BUS, CRABS AND SUNSETS TO WAX LYRICAL ABOUT.

Somebody said I would get sunset fatigue in Kampot but I don't think so.
Storm clouds gather over the Bokor mountains, Kampot.
The wonderful view from my room in Kampot.
So the farewells have been said for now and I am on the bus to Kampot, about 130kms south west from Phnom Penh. I have obviously drawn the short straw here and am sat on the wheel arch with my left leg in a position that is not disimilar to one I assumed last night! Next to me is a smiling Cambodian boy who obviously has just finished work in a crab factory, going by the smell of the black bin liner that he is holding. I say holding but to be honest it is sort of moving around on the floor by my right leg which is wedged under the seat in front of me! These buses were not made for the more portly Westerner, that's for sure!


I had read about the wonder of travelling by bus in Cambodia but given that there is virtually no rail system this was the best and cheapest option. I did think after about twenty minutes about how I was going to manage the five hour trip without getting serious cramp. Anyway to take my mind off the extreme discomfort, I had the crabs to contend with who were doing their utmost to escape the bin bag and once or twice I would have to gently push the bag away hoping I wouldn't tear a hole in it!


So, picture the scene; I have had about two hours broken sleep; it's about 32 degrees in the shade with 90% humidity; I am assuming a position the authors of the Kama Sutra would be proud of; the crabs are getting restless and the boy next to me exudes a not too pleasant smell!! Then things get worse......


I had noticed a tv screen at the front of the bus and this suddenly came on at a deafening volume playing the ubiquitous Cambodian karaoke! Just what I needed right now! Not only was the singing on the tv bloody awful but half the bus started to join in. Fish boy beside me was smiling broadly, nodding his head and saying " You like, you like ". Well obviously me no like, but what could I do other than smile and just laugh at the absurdity of it all. Meanwhile the bus driver was beeping his horn literally every thirty seconds or so at any traffic that he was approaching; this is common in Cambodia but the volume of the horn was slightly louder than the combined efforts of the tv singer and the rest of the passengers on the bus!!


Well things continued in this vain for the next two hours or so when much to my relief we stopped for twenty minutes. As we left the bus we were all surrounded by a mass of kids selling various fruits for virtually nothing. I had some mango and pineapple and tried to get my legs to function properly.


Back on the bus and three more hours to endure. Thank God the tv was turned off and I actually managed to fall asleep for a short time before being awoken by a searing pain in my right big toe...yes you have probably guessed it, I had a crab firmly attached to it much to the amusement of fish boy who just fell about laughing. After getting the bloody thing off my toe without too much damage I realised that the bag was now open and there did not appear to be any crabs in it!! They were all over the bus and there then ensued one of the funniest comedic moments I have ever seen. The crabs move quite quickly and fish boy and a few other kids were trying to round them up and put them in a sort of cold box that was supposed to be carrying refreshments for the journey. After half an hour or more most of them seemed to be in captivity again, albeit if you wanted a cold drink you had to put your hand into their new lair and risk a nip or two!!


Well this made the time go a bit quicker and we arrived in Kampot at half twelve in the afternoon. What a trip!


To be continued...........

JUST A THOUGHT AFTER TOO MANY ANGKOR BEERS!

One for you Bloss; Atu's sister is looking for a husband!!!!!!!!!
Its all in the smile; Atu and her sister; there's a story there!!
The Cambodian smile distinguishes them from all other groups of people. This has been noted by many authors, such as Henry Kamm;
" The insouciant Khmer smile continued to beam when there was nothing to smile about. The Khmer habit of smiling innocently even at casual passersby whose eyes have met theirs has beguiled Western visitors and writers since France's colonization in the nineteenth century "


When a Cambodian flashes that winning smile, your heart melts. That trait alone makes them the loveliest people in the world. Along with that smile goes the Cambodian politeness. This is a very non confrontational culture. How then, does this smiling, polite, considerate, peaceful Khmer personality square up to the horrors of the Khmer Rouge? Maybe the answer lies in the Cambodian tendency to accept insults, frustrations and humiliation by burying it deep within their psyche. They go on smiling and accepting, but they can only stand so much before something snaps and they go ballistic.


It's amazing how Cambodians do not seem to be affected by what they went through with the Khmer Rouge. On many occasions something will remind them of their family, and they will nonchalently and matter-of-factly mention that they watched six members of their family being clubbed to death. It is so matter of fact that they seem not to care.


But these incidents must remain deep within their subconscious, so that one day a small event will provoke the most outrageous behaviour, indicating that deep down there is something very wrong.


" Still waters run deep "


Just a thought.

PHNOM PENH PHOTOS;THE TRAFFIC, S-21 PRISON AND THE KILLING FIELDS

INDEPENDENCE DAY, TWINKLING EYES.

I thought this was going to my last night in Phnom Penh but due to the canine catastrophe it was'nt! Dinner by the Mekong with Atu.
My friend Atu.
On a good night the view from my balcony is stunning!!!
This will be the last entry from Phnom Penh because tomorrow I travel to Kampot, on the Gulf of Thailand, for some much needed rest and to help out at the Chumkriel Language School. I will have very mixed feelings leaving here but I will be back in a couple of weeks for three or four nights before the next leg of my journey. Due to complications with travel arrangements I have changed my route rather drastically and will be going back to Malaysia for a while from 3rd-20th December, at which point I am flying to Saigon for the start of a months tour of Vietnam.

The Independence Day(week) celebrations are well under way and Phnom Penh is teeming with people from the surrounding provinces. I believe almost half the population of Cambodia are here and indeed it seems like it. Every evening there is a firework display and down by the Mekong there are thousands of people wandering around watching the various live entertainment shows. The city centre is virtually gridlocked at night so I have stayed close to my hotel for the last few evenings. Thankfully I have had a lovely guide to show me around whilst it has been so busy; her name is Atu, a Vietnamese lady, and last night we went to a traditional Cambodian restaurant just near here.

The food was exceptional and of course pretty cheap; at the start of the meal we were served with what I suppose would equate to crudites; raw vegetables with an interesting mix of dips. There was black pepper(from Kampot which is famous for its pepper)soaked in lime juice; fish sauce with chilli, lemongrass and peanuts; sweet chilli sauce and something else resembling soy sauce. All very delicious. We then had a chicken and ginger dish, shrimp and squid and the most mouth watering beef and pepper stew served in a clay pot. This with a jug of Anchor beer came to $11!

Atu does not speak much English but I could tell that she was really pleased how much I enjoyed the meal. Afterwards we hired a tuk tuk for a while and just drove around the centre of Phnom Penh taking in the madness and went down to the banks of the Mekong where it was pleasantly cool for a change. Then back here for a nightcap and a really funny attempt at a conversation using sign language in the main; sometimes there is no need for words to convey feelings or emotions and last night the eyes said it all! Tomorrow morning at 7a.m. I take the bus to Kampot; Atu has arranged a tuk tuk for me to get to the station and is coming along to say her farewells. I am back in two weeks for more of the twinkling eyes!!!

See you all in a few days.

CAMBODIA: FOOD, NIGHTLIFE, LOST!

Phnom Penh nightlife is pretty good!!
Brothers in arms; my favourite picture. The kids go to the market too;child care for parents is non existent.
The smiling boy is one of the kids who found it so amusing mopping my brow with tissues!
Slitting the chicken's throat; the blood is kept but for what I am not sure!
Spicy stuff.
Colourful stuff.
The fishmonger!
The butcher!
6.a.m. at the market;stallholder prepares her stuff.
The market stall where I eat often;its bloody hot here but the food is wonderful!
Hello again. I've got a stinking cold and can only assume it must be down to the air conditioning! Never mind its party time in Phnom Penh from tomorrow which is Independence Day and then a three day 'water festival'; not too sure what happens during this, but I am going to stay a few days longer here to witness it.

Food in Phnom Penh has been mainly very good. Not quite up to Malaysian standards but still good. I have eaten in the roadside stalls most of the time and have not been too sure exactly what I have been eating but its cheap and delicious. Just around the corner from where I am staying is a sort of market and here, from early in the morning the stallholders set up their cooking equipment. They use what I suppose are giant wok like things and it is quite common for them to have ten or more, all on the go at once. Pork is common, fish, vegetables, beef, chicken, soups and a huge pot of rice. Basically you can choose two dishes and rice for $1!! The normal practice in most of them is to take your food away but I asked if I could eat mine there and the owner then cleared a space, more or less in the middle of ten boiling cauldrons!!! Well, as you can imagine the heat was just incredible and before I even started eating I was soaked in sweat, much to the amusement of the gallery of kids who had stopped to watch this crazy foreigner eat his dinner in the middle of a furnace! I really should have just got the take away but the owner had been so thoughtful in clearing the space and wiping the table that I did'nt have the heart to just get up and leave. Anyway I had some sort of fish dish and a beef and ginger stir fry with the rice and it was extremely good. The kids kept getting me paper tissues and mopping my brow but the tissues stuck to my forehead; what a laugh I had with them and I will be back there tonight for more.

The healthy alternative to a Union Street kebab here is chicken skewers; satay in effect but without the peanut sauce. Late into the night there are many stalls selling these and many other snack like things. The one food that I was very surprised to see, was oysters at a ludicrously low price; they are everywhere and I askd Mr.Phannak the cost and he told me they are $1 a kilo!! It seems so strange that a supposed luxury in the Western world could be so cheap here.(I've had oysters once at home and they are undoubtedly over-rated). However put a bit of fish sauce, salt, pepper, chilli oil, ginger and peppers with them, and charge less than 50p and wow! Yummy.

Having said that I have yet to finish one of these snacks because the street kids congregate around you and put their hands out asking for food. Call me a sucker but its difficult not to share food with these youngsters when they look at you with cow eyes and I am sure most of them are genuinely hungry. Even if they are trying to con you, it does'nt matter; their need is far greater than mine. The only problem of course is that most Westerners in Phnom Penh are viewed as a walking ATM machines and even at such cheap prices there is a limit to how much and how often you can be generous. I still buy a few of them something to eat most nights though.

Now then, we come to the nightlife!! My first night here I headed to Street 51 which is one of the bar/club areas of Phnom Penh. I had read of the infamous Heart of Darkness club, Walkabout and others which are known to be hostess bars. Let me explain what seems to be the score here. Not all bars are the same but most in this area will have a bevy of young ladies waiting for you to walk in; some have terraces or gardens I suppose and often the girls will be near the door all shouting 'hello, hello' as you walk by. If you go in, sometimes there is a bit of a scrum amoungst the girls to be the one to serve you. They will sit with you and sometimes offer you a massage, which is just a shoulder and back one (calm down Bloss!) After that it is up to you whether you buy them a drink and/or want any further services. It is quite easy to make it perfectly clear that you just want to sit and have a drink and it is also ok just to buy them a drink if you wish with no strings attached; I have done both.

The girls in one bar that i go to are not at all pushy and are infact really nice to talk to and have a game of pool with. I've been told by Ross, an Australian guy who lives here, that the girls get paid a dollar for every drink that is bought for them; I'm not sure what else they are paid but I believe it is in the region of $50 a month!! So not alot. One of the girls called Gia is the one that told me about her grandparents being murdered by the Khmer Rouge; she speaks quite good English and is always eager to chat to learn more. None of the girls here are hostesses and it is a sort of refuge amoungst the full on assault of other bars. The actual bar service areas in most of the places is very high and in general most Cambodians are very small(Hey I' a giant here! lol), so when you walk in all you can see is about eight or nine heads peering over the top of the bar, all smiling and saying " Hello Mr. Peter ", they actually pronounce my name 'pitta' as in the bread. There is always a scramble to see who can serve me first and then between one and five or six of them will surround me and keep asking if I want a game of pool or a dice game that seems very popular. Not quite Witherspoons but I know what I prefer!

Then we come to the other bars. Some of you will have received emails from me about my general feeling of the chaotic, hedonistic splendour that is PP nightlife so forgive me if I repeat myself here.

Imagine a Wild West frontier town but with crazy traffic; throw in the soundtrack from Apocalyse Now; add a dozen girls after your $'s and all smiling sweetly; hot and humid weather with the occasional spectacular thunder and lightning storm, the like of which you have never seen before; street kids begging for a dollar to eat; nightstalls cooking up meat skewers and things I still can't make out; temptation beyond belief; hot, hot sticky nights; sweaty brow and a slight feeling of unease coupled with a massive adrenalin rush; massage in the bar; smiles; stolen glances; eye contact; crazy crazy nights; hot; sticky; fear; euphoria; how do I get home?; anchor draught; peanuts on the bar; nine to ten girls fussing over me; the Doors blasting out some classics; power cuts; floods in the street; trapped in a bar; "You handsome man darling", Paradise Lost or Paradise Found?; Sodom and Gommorrah; Heaven or Hell; hot, hot sticky chaos abounds; love it or hate it; go with it; stay; go; stay;more beer; All Along the Watchtower; surreal; soaked in sweat; "you want moto sir, girl, massage" "you want boom boom sir", "you hairy monkey sir"; girls everywhere; vision blurred; screaming guitar solos; hot ,hot, and hotter; go; stay; go ;stay; love it long time. Madness, thrills, chaos, fear, uncertainty, amazing attack on the senses. "Ther ain't no devil just God when he's drunk"- Tom Waits.
Welcome to Phnom Penh nightlife; do I like it? What do you think!

Wow, I'm exhausted just writing that! Well thats the closest I can come to summing up a night I had here just a few days ago; I hope you get the picture. Now getting home after all that was a real nightmare and I ended up on the back of a moto, clinging on for dear life criss crossing the streets of Phnom Penh trying to find my hotel. Every night so far no moto driver has been able to find the Fancy Guest House and it should only take about five minutes. The night I have just recounted to you was a bit scary because we ended up in many dark side streets and I knew we were no way near home. We stopped at one point to ask a group of guys the way but that was a bad move because they wanted money from me and were offering heroin and cocaine. Luckily my driver just pulled away sharpish and after 30 minutes he found the hotel.
The next morning I thought about what had happened and to be honest I never really felt frightened just a little bit apprehensive maybe. There is still more to come from Phom Penh and you never know you might get some pics soon!!

CAMBODIA: PHNOM PENH, TRAFFIC, RAIN AND GENOCIDE.

The flight from KL to Phnom Penh was fine and getting a visa proved to be quite easy. I was met by Mr.Phannaks brother who true to his word was holding up the "welcome Mr.Peter..." sign. We then had a unforgettable hours journey through the biggest traffic jam I've ever seen. I will try and describe it but it really does beggar belief.


Ok, try and imagine the M25 at peak rush hour time but moving much faster. Add to that a selection of vehicles, trucks, tuk tuks, mopeds, bikes and people pulling carts all of whom seem to be having their first driving lesson! There does not seem to be a highway code and during the ride to my hotel, I must have seen at least two dozen or more near misses. The mopeds weave in and out of the other traffic and often drive on the wrong side of the road! Use of the horn seems to be obligatory but amazingly there is no 'road rage'.


Street lighting in central Phnom Penh is not common and the road system resembles a grid so there are many crossroads to negotiate. Lots of moped drivers dont use their headlights which seems totally mad as there are numerous craters to avoid. Anyway I arrived safely at the Fancy guest house, had a shower and went off to explore. Nothing could really prepare you for the shock to the system that is Phnom Penh. Crossing the road is an adventure in itself and the secret seems to be that you DO NOT stop or change direction; keep walking at a moderate pace and the traffic will avoid you; if you hesitate or falter you will probably get hit by something!!!!! Well thats all very well but the first time is scary to say the least; an Aussie guy told me " its simple mate, just tuck your balls away, pick a line, keep walking, untuck your balls and have a beer ".... great advice and now I'm fairly confident and don't worry about it too much.

The rainy season in theory should be over; wrong! We have had some deluges that are quite spectacular and basically trap you wherever you happen to be (so far that has been two bars!} The roads are then awash with rubbish and quite often right outside the Fancy GH the water has been almost two foot deep. Apparently in Hanoi at the moment they are having the worst floods for forty years and Bangkok too has had terrible flooding. The thunder and lightning that accompany this rain is a sight to behold and because there is virtually no street lighting in central Phnom Penh, the effect the lightning has is really spooky; otherwise dark and dingy roads are lit up for a second or two and then plunged back into darkness.

When I decided to come to Cambodia, two of the things I wanted to do were to visit the infamous 'killing fields' and the Toul Sleng museum. This is how the Lonely Planet guide describes Toul Sleng. 'The latter formerly the Tuol Svay Prey High school, was taken over by Pol Pot's security forces and was transformed into a prison and zone of unimaginable torment. Renamed Security Prison 21(S-21), the classrooms were turned into torture chambers and equipped with various instruments to inflict pain, suffering and death. These instruments are still here along with graphic photograghs of the victims as they lay dying. The long corridor is a hallway of ghosts containing photographs of the victims put to death, their faces staring back eerily from the past'.

I went there yesterday and did not realise what a profound effect it would have on me. In one room were the stories of eight people that had relatives murdered by Pol Pot's regime. The sense of horror was palpable and I could'nt really stay there too long. The people of Phnom Penh and indeed any other sizeable towns or cities were forced to evacuate to the countryside in 1976 when Pol Pot came to power with the Khmer Rouge. Religion was banned and then started one of the most barbaric acts of genocide the world has ever seen. The beginning of this reign of terror was known as Year Zero. I have talked to many Cambodians and there are few that did'nt have at least one relation who was murdered and tortured by the Khmer Rouge. One girl told me the story of her grandparents forced march out of Phnom Penh and the subsequent ordeal and eventual death that became them; I could tell how affected she was whilst she talked to me and don't mind admitting it moved me to tears.

From there I went to the 'killing fields' and saw some of the mass graves where those executed at Toul Sleng were taken. I know that I'm quite an emotional person but the sense that something awful happened there was definately in the air. There was a huge tree next to one of the graves where babies and very young children were literally beaten to death by hitting them against the trunk of the tree. A speaker was attached to one of the branches to disguise the screams of the little ones. I studied all this in 1978 and remember reading about it in the press but no ammount of study or research could match the feeling of absolute horror, shock and compassion for so many, that I felt yesterday. I'll leave it at that because words can never really do justice to this.

There will be more about Phnom Penh later

KUALA LUMPUR:HEAT, MUTTON, GIRLS AND MONKS!

Eventually made it to the Travellers Palm guest house after an eventful thirty six hour journey.There were delays at Gatwick of course, problems with my ticket,further delays to take off,a four hour delay at Dubai and a worrying two hours at Malaysian immigration (where was Judge when I needed him!)

Anyway the flight itself with Emirate Airlines was superb but that is to be expected I suppose, given the calibre of the football team they choose to sponsor...! The service and the food was very good and it was definately worth paying a bit extra to fly with them.

I made a big mistake when I eventually left KL airport and ended up paying about three times the going rate for a taxi to the city; never mind I was hot and tired and was just glad to get here.

The temperature in KL was about 34 and very humid as is the norm but nothing really prepares you for shock to the system. At this time of year there is never much of a breeze either so it makes for a fairly uncomfortable time until you get used to it.

My room at the guest house is basic with just a mattress on the floor and two fans that are on full blast constantly. However the simplicity of the room is more than made up for by the wonderful host, Suzy, and the other travellers that are staying here. Suzy worked for Malaysian Airlines for 16 years and is a constant source of help to all her guests. In the late evening most of us meet up in the courtyard garden and have a drink or six!! There are a couple from Hong Kong, four Germans, two Swedes, an Aussie girl(dinner with her tonight) and myself. The advice I have already gained from these people has been extremely helpful; most of them have been to Cambodia and/or Vietnam and Laos and suggested a few things that I otherwise would not have known about. So the evenings have been great apart from the mozzys who have attacked my ankles relentlessly.

Ten yards across the road is a food stall run by a father and son from India.The father must be about 80 years old and he does all the cooking! The mutton curry with coconut rice and okra is the best I have ever tasted and all for the princely sum of 75p. Not only is the food outstanding but the hospitality almost embarassing. I've eaten there most lunchtimes and am now considered a local. Around the corner from Jalan Rembia is a street full of food stalls and the smells in the evening, walking along the street are wonderful. Every imaginable taste is catered for but you would need a few months to try them all. I knew before I came here that the street food would be good but I honestly cannot believe the quality and value of it all. Mutton seems to be the favoured meat to use in many of the Indian and Malay stalls and I've tried a few. The other really popular breakfast dish is nasi lemak, which is sticky coconut rice with an anchovy relish normally served with beef or chicken rendang!!! It beats cornflakes anyday and again the flavours, aromass and tastes are sublime. Needless to say I have not been disappointed by the food in KL.


After my arrival here I took a stroll around the area and found myself in a streetside bar having the first Tiger beer of many and was approached almost immediately by a lady (I think!)asking me if I was looking for company; before I could gracefully decline her kind offer she was moved on by the bar owner only to be replaced by another stunner. Anyway this carried on for about half an hour until they got the message that I was not for hire!! There are a few other 'ladies' just around the corner from I am staying but they are harmless enough and now after my third night here they even say hello Mr. Peter as I walk by. Apparently this area has become the new target area for the 'ladies' because of the vast ammount of travel hostels and backpackers dorms.

Anyone who has ever been to KL will probably have been appoached by a robed 'monk' offering a small good luck type charm, whilst continually bowing and saying 'peace, peace, peace'. They then ask you for a massive 'donation' to help their well being and karma in this and later life!! It is of course a scam and one that the authorities have been trying to crack down on for a long time. It can be a bit intimidating but a very firm 'No thank you' seems to do the trick. My general feeling about KL is that like any major city in the world it has its problems in various areas but in reality it is a fun, crazy, friendly, cheap and incredibly vibrant place to visit; a real assault on the senses!!