Random Stuff

Today's been a quiet day, and promises to remain that way. It has poured rain all morning, flooding the courtyard of our hotel, and forcing us to remain on our porches reading, journaling and napping. It's stopped raining now (now that I've said that, it's started pouring down again), but the rainy-day inertia is proving difficult to overcome. There's talk of heading over to the beach for a swim, but movement in that direction is decidedly slow.

Meg and the sodden courtyard.

So today I'll recount a couple of the little stories I've missed along the way. You might also notice I've added Meg as a contributor. She has a couple of stories to tell, beginning with the one below about or trip to the Phnom Penh post office.

Anyway, here's some random stuff we've encountered along the way:

Fish Amok
Now this does not refer to rioting seafood, but one of the staple dishes of Khmer cuisine. It's a curried stew of Cambodian veggies and whatever the local fish of choice happens to be. Up in Siem Reap, it's a fish from the Tonle Sap who's name I can neither spell nor pronounce. Down in Sihanoukville, it's barracuda. Sometimes it's served in the shell of a young coconut, others in a banana-leaf boat.

However it's done, it's always tasty. There's some debate over which version is the the best, but everyone, Phil in particular, has become a fan.

Traffic
Cambodian traffic is sort of a miracle to watch, particularly as someone in the position of passive participant. Vehicles move like schools of fish. There's an odd ebb and flow to their movements as they mesh and merge to avoid obstacles, accept new members. There don't seem to be any traffic laws per se (at least none that are obeyed), but there do seem to be a couple rules:

1) Mass always wins. For the most part larger vehicles. Smaller vehicles just sort of keep out of the way.

2) Just go. If you need to shift lanes, make a turn, or perform some more complicated maneuver, just go ahead and do it. People will get out your way. This rule applies to pedestrians crossing traffic too.

Other than that, it's semi-controlled chaos. Heck, it even makes Philly traffic look civilized.

The Lamborghini
Speaking of traffic, Brad, Meg and and I were riding in a tuk-tuk through Phnom Penh on the way to Choeung Ek. The rest of the group was in another tuk-tuk.

Brad, riding in the backward-facing seat, says, "You guys might not want to look back." Of course Meg and I both turn around immediately. Knifing through traffic on a direct course for our tuk-tuk is a jet-black Lamorghini -- a Murciélago, I believe, but I'm not an expert. It's moving extremely fast until, mere feet behind our little tuk-tuk, the driver jams on his brakes to avoid rear-ending us.

At the next gap in oncoming traffic, he veers left guns the engine and speeds by us, only to jam on his brakes about 100 yards on to avoiding plowing into a pack of motorbikes. He repeats this same set of actions until he's out of sight.

Poor guy, Cambodian traffic must be so frustrating for him.

The Escaping Bag
We were getting onto the bus in Phnom Penh ready to make our way down to the coast. The transportation stop was crowded and confused, so like the dutiful travellers we are, we kept a close eye on our bags. We each handed off our big bags to the bus line worker and watched as they were shoved into the compartment under the bus before boarding. We took our seats and I, not feeling overly well at the time, started to nod off against the window.

Suddenly, Meg shouted, "There goes your bag!" I open my eyes in time to see a man with my bag disappear around the front of the bus. Meg and Phil immediately jump up and run off the bus, followed by several agitated Cambodians. Still feeling a bit groggy, I wade through the crowd of excited locals now crowding the aisle to the door of the bus. As it turns out, the guy with my bag was one of the other bus company workers, moving my bag from one compartment to another. Oops.

The Mekong Bucket
At right, Brad with a Mekong Bucket.

All of the bars along the beach here offer a variation on a drink called The Mekong Bucket. As the name implies, this tasty concoction is served in a large container -- either one of those children's sand buckets or a small pitcher -- with a handful of straws to facilitate sharing.

The most common recipe includes a generous portion of whiskey, some Coca-Cola, a dose of Red Bull and a splash of fresh lime juice. Judging by taste, the proportions seems to vary from place to place, but all have been surprisingly good so far. We might have to have a Mekong Bucket party when we get back home.

The Snake House
I'll save that one for a later date.

It sounds like people have finally motivated themselves to move toward the beach, time for a swim -- the last before we head back to Phnom Penh tomorrow.

Enjoy.