Leg 6 (Cambodia)- Non-Capp Thoughts

My overwhelming memories of the Cambodia leg are, I would imagine, the same as everybody else's: completely affected by the remnants and fallout of the Khmer Rouge era, and awestruck by the majesty of the Angkor Temples. That said, here's some trivia.

The Tuk Tuk's (apparently) more primitive in Cambodia than its Thai/Lao equivalent. It's basically a trailer on the back of a motorbike, done up with all the regality of a sedan chair. The Tuk Tuk drivers flock to you with some fervour when you look drivable, and in Siem Reap, we told a nice chap called Thomas that we would definitely use his service home. Three hours passed, and it got a bit dark. We told the guys offering a run that we'd promised 'Thomas' he'd get our dollars.... cue a Spartacus moment, with six or seven drivers insisting 'I am Thomas'. Still only 99% sure the real deal took us back.

Round Angkor way, you'll get sold all manner of trinkets by demanding, moody children. Flutes were particularly popular, but one is generally enough, so when approached by a particularly cute five-year-old, I offered a duet with her (careful) while we walked instead. Claire and Abi insisted the performance of 'You Are My Sunshine' as "quite sweet". When I tried some other tunes back at the hotel, I got told to "fuck off back to Hamlyn".

The kids are even pushier in Sihanoukville. Best lines on rebuttal: "sorry doesn't help ME!"; "you've got one already? You can lie to me, but you cannot lie to yourself". Who the f*ck runs the training course??

Did much better on the weird food in Cambodia- deep-fried cricket, and stuffed frogs in Siem Reap, which were made even harder to eat with the period drama on the telly in the cafe, which featured a very graphic beheading. Still don't know what the frog was stuffed with, though 'frog stuffed with dog' would be particularly disturbing.

First sighting of a flying cockroach coming at you full tilt is quite distressing. Seeing it then banjo itself on a striplight is humourous. I couldn't kill it though, so I spent five minutes with a bin lid trying to usher it out of the room, culminating with an impressive flick over the threshold. Quite pleased with myself, I went back into the room having noticed another form in the corner of my eye, and then realised I'd knocked it right into the arms of a waiting scorpion. "Ye're on yer own now pal", I thought, regretffully.

Phnom Penh's served me well on the ropy DVDs- really quite chuffed with my haul. Need to watch enough while we're away to get my money's worth, though, as I can just see Singapore customs telling me exactly where they're not going...