I got here last night, my Thai Airways flight from BKK uneventful. I had the whole exit row to myself; Star Alliance Gold is good for something, at least. The meal was fried fish and steamed rice. Good, too.

I arrived after dark. A $7 taxi took me to my hotel. I chose the Dara Reang Sey, after reading some positive reports on the Thorntree.

My room has most mod cons, though it could use a coat of paint. The A/C works, the TV is cable and there is a Khmer restaurant downstairs. I am happy here, though I am usually happy when a hotel room is only $12.00 The local currency is the "riel" (US$1 = 3900 kr), but mainly "dollar" is spoken here. (I had to get Thai baht changed back into US dollars back in Bangkok)

Outside, very dark. Like "street-lighting-not-in-the-budget" dark. Lanterns, battery-operated lamps and the dim beam from the flocks of 100cc motorcycles here. Not so many cars, not so much light, that was my first impression. Now, I really feel like I am in Indochina.

Much poorer than Thailand, not as prosperous at all.

There are no cabs floating around town, cabs only go to and from the airport. Your choices for transport include the "Cyclo" and motorcycle taxis. I cannot see riding in a cyclo cab, too Sidney Greenstreet for my taste.

Clearly, motorcycle taxis are the logical choice in the land of potholed, dirt streets and no helmet. So that's what just I did. I rode on the back of some Chinese-made 90cc bike to the "Russian Market" for some retail therapy and photo ops. My driver hopes to be my personal driver during my stay, and he is being helpful. At the market, I picked up some books and some CDs (Lord knows I don't have enough). Also, t-shirts ("Caution: Minefield") and the obligatory backpack flag.

He already has me pegged; he has offered a selection of "guy stuff" that he thinks I want to see, The "Killing Fields" (see THAT on my holiday?), a machine gun range (they also have bazooka rentals, just so you know) and a selection of special bars (where I will not be going to).

Cambodia has an odd assortment of tourist attractions, but they sure as hell market them in earnest.

I think that two days is enough.

A market in Phnom Penh

I will be leaving Phnom Penh tomorrow. Seen all that I care to see. I have been to the Russian market to buy books and CDs. I have been to the Central market to look at live lobsters and dried squid. I have seen all of the fake "Tin Tin" t-shirts that I will ever need to see. I bought a fake Rolex. My driver found me some nugs for me, even. But, I have lost all enthusiasm for staying in this town for another day after visiting Tuol Sleng.

Tuol Sleng is the former Khmer Rouge S-21 Prison. The building is a former school, and it looks a lot like any Junior High School anywhere. Except, that is, for the barbed wire, tiny cells, torture chambers and photographs of the now deceased. On one wall, a huge map of Cambodia is constructed entirely of skulls. Cheerful after that tour? No sir, I am most certainly not. But...

Cambodia is what it is. It is a place with a very dismal past and present. The future doesn't look so swell either. It doesn't have that much to promote, so it promotes what it has. Why did I do this? Why did I voluntarily visit a prison? I wasn't going to, but if I don't venture out and see something out of the ordinary now and then, I might never see anything except for my pillow and CNN, so I went. Inside, I took photos and walked around. I was only there for 20 minutes, the whole time knowing that I might start sobbing at any moment. That was more than enough.

Let's not go back, OK?

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