Last chance

Anyone want anything from the wild East? Valium for a few cents, illegal DVDs, statutes of Buddha, or just some silk?

Today is your last chance to request!

Trivia

Well we didn't exactly defend out title as trivia champions at the lazy gecko. Oh well We came second. Our glorious night of triumph was not for this week - getting bored with it anyway. The antibiotics that the doc has me on prohibit taking advantage of the vodka for 50 cents at the lazy gecko but none of us were exactly on form last night anyway! Oh well girls night in tonight - chocolate, margeritas, and movies. It should be fun fun fun

Health facts

Did you know that malnutrition is the biggest killer in Cambodia and diabetes is in second place? Kinda ironic don'cha think?

It also rains

The good, bad, and ugly

Well I've not posted in a while because I've been on the road. I've been to Battambang, Bunteay Meanchey, Siem Reap, Poipet and Battambang again. It was of course all for work. The GIPA (Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS) project is over and I interviewed the national UN volunteers in three provinces.

The Poipet and Battambang trip was to follow up on my child trafficking articles. So I've been busy. I've seen the good (Angkor Wat and other temples). I've seen the bad (colonies of ants in my hotel rooms) and I've seen some of the ugliest things you can imagine (a young child kowtowing for money, a six year old boy in rehab for glue sniffing, children trafficked for the sex trade in Thailand).

Da Vinci Code

Seen it yet? Well I suppose you should see it as its the movie that everyone will talk about I suppose but the Da Vinci Code is a poor movie. I refer not to the adaptation book to film because of course the book is better. The film stands alone as boring, poorly executed, and lacking in chemistry. I had to force myself to sit through it.

Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou were acting by numbers. Never been a fan of Hanks but Tautou is better than that. Reno is off but still watched and McKellan is great, natch.

I wouldn't waste the money to go and see it, if you can bear to be left our of film conversations for the next couple of months.

Ciao

Virus

I caught a Khmer virus. I don't know how it is possible. I know viruses - I worked for an antivirus company. I don't open attachments or surf too many dodgy sites and I don't surf Khmer sites at all. I'm demoted to the crappy computer while mine is getting purged. It's a brand new virus so Norton didn't recognise or catch it. I deleted and uninstalled and renamed and did all the stuff I'm supposed to but to no avail. The first techie has given up after a day and her boss is now working on it. I miss my computer. It has music and funny videos and things to pass the time including my favourite song at the moment - "No hiding place".

Bank trippin'

I went to the bank this morning. It was sweltering at 8am. The phrase "rainy season" implies rain but so far we have seen precious little of it. Anyway the bank - again I went to Foreign Exchange to get the legal currency of Cambodia after the bank gave me dollars. When finished I waited in the car for the other girl and saw a weapons exchange in front of the bank. Two security guards had a few guns between them and exchanged two of them. Then an older man slipped a large bribe into hand of the bank guard. It was quite discrete but I had a vantage point. So I witness one former devastating issue - gun sales - and the current largest issue halting the development of Cambodia - corruption. All early in the morning.

Saving face

It's back to being hot with a touch of monsoon here today. It is pleasant basking in the cool air con. Life is better here when you're coming back from the gym at 7.10 am on the back of a motorbike with the wind drying your hair. I have just enought time to go home and have breakfast before heading to work.

I walk to work which is normal as I live two blocks from the office. In Cambodia no one walks because it would imply that they cannot afford a bicycle or motorbike. Saving face is a big deal here which is why you cannot ever lose your temper no matter how provoked you are by extremely ... rude ... people. In fact I was having a chat about global politics with people in the office and one of the girls said that Tony Blair would now resign. When I asked why, she merely said that he was losing face because he was so unpopular. I explained that most politicians will hold onto power with their fingernails despite their rating in the polls. It explains why defamation is such a serious issue here. May you all save face today!

Smells

It's a strange place to live when your neighbour's cooking tempts you into the kitchen and five minutes later you run for the bathroom retching because of the nauseating smell of the second dish. You light anti mosquito coils with lavender and try to breathe through your mouth but even your mouth can smell the odour.

I think it is impossible not to feel uplifted and sickened by the various odours that alternatively caress and assault your senses. In the city there is no fresh air. There is no escape from the smells.