Phnom Penh

Arriving Phnom Penh by bus from Siem Reap, I find it to be a rather lovely city. I'm stayin on the lake side, and--like all other places--photos will not upload on the internet cafes here... Sorry about that! So far I have seen the Royal Palace and its Silver Pagode, I have enjoyed a meal on the lake side, eaten local food at tiny food stalls with the locals, tested the night life with Mervyn and Simon, two nice huys I ran ito as randomly as one always runs into people when travelling; I have located the post office and bought tremendous amounts of stamps, walked through tiny streets with a local flavour of rubbish and food mixed together; seen the S-21 (Tuol Sleng) museum and tried to digest the genocide Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime forced on their people ... I really enjoy it here, but the impressions are many, and some of them indesidedly strong. I reckon I'll need a day or two to consolidate most of S-21, despite having had my nerves tested by years of WW2 history. Tomorrow is the start of the Bon Om Tuk, or Water festival--an event celebrated by boat races and plenty of joy! I will watch it tomorrow before I catch a pick-up to Sen Monorom in the more remote Mondulkiri province of Cambodia--known for its elephant herding hilltribes! Supposedly the road there is some 10 hours during the rainy season, but "don't worry, they'll get you there!" so it should be an experience :)