Pehn Palls

You'll all be glad to hear that I've arrived safe and sound in Phnom Pehn, the capital of Cambodia. The city is an interesting mix of Indian style anarchy and decaying parisian charm. Garbage, motorcycles and stray dogs jostle in the wide roads and people barter in dirty shops built under the decaying boulevards.

The first two days with Justin were a touch strained for both of us. Neither had had much sleep and we both lamented the loss of the freedom afforded to those traveling solo- I spent half the time doing my best Marvin the paranoid andriod impression and the other half on cloud nine. Justin found coping with my continuous mood swings almost as hard as I did! Last night, however, both of us had a good nine hours sleep and today was refreshingly jocular and chirpy.

There's so so so much I could say. However I have little time and have ingested a little too much dubious whisky so I'm afraid I'll have to keep things short and succinct.

-Phnom Pehn is a little shocking after Japan and I'm quite full of Japanese home sickness (assuming such a thing exists). Combodje is more expensive than I'd hoped and in the last few days I've had to spend almost eighty pounds on visas, bike helmets and other necessities. I'm hoping that things will cheapen up soon but it could be hard to stay on budget. My fingers are crossed.

-The people are very friendly although, like in India, very keep to strip me of as much money as possible. Luckily Khmers are less tenacious than the people in Hyderabad and get the message if you don't want to spend.

-The scenery is very pretty and our guest house is built on stilts above the river. The splashing of boats in the water and the waving on rice shoots is beautiful. Just don't look too hard and any of the objects floating in the water.

- The other tourists are tiresome and all their time getting stoned watching the TV. It makes me sad to be white.

-On the other hand the people I'm travelling with- Justin and Katie, his friend from the jungle- are great and, in intelligence and wit, more than make up for all the despicable pot heads.

-The food is alright, if you're lucky. Not as good as Thai food though!

- The coffee is really very good!

And I'm afraid that's all I have time for as we're about to head off to 'the heart of darkness', Pehn's deepest, darkest, most dubious night club. I've not had time to proof read this entry at all, so I'm sure it's full of grammar errors. Pick your favorite and post them in the comments box below.

I'll try to give you another update soon if I have time....

Now to the heart, where the shadows lie!