Made it! Mildly hectic afternoon but I’m really starting to enjoy this travelling game. Ended up in a place called the New Siam Guesthouse, in a room which has a fan, is clean, is reasonably secure, and is in a great location. I decided air-con would be overdoing it, as it’s not so hot here (just nicely hot - high twenties, and the rain has not appeared thus far). Paying something ridiculous like 2.50 GBP per night, and beer is around, ooh, 60 pence… :) I loiks it…
Crossing roads is a bit more exciting than at home, more because of the general driving style than the tuk-tuks. In case you’re not familar with these beasties, I’ve stuck someone’s picture of a tuk-tuk over on the top-left there. If you remember the Jaws-chasing-007-in-a-high-powered-milkfloat scene from whichever Bond movie it was, then you now what a tuk-tuk is. However, the ones I’ve seen have no heat-seeking missiles (or whatever) built in. Some do seem to be fitted with explosive exhaust pipes though.
There’s generally a few more people trying to scam tourists around these parts, but they’re not all that hard to spot so it’s not a real problem - just a matter of “using a bit of common”, as Pater would say. Some of the architecture (particularly the Buddist temples) is fantastic, and I’m really looking forward to exploring the Grand Palace properly tomorrow. After that I guess I’ll have to come up with some sort of plan for what I’m actually going to do between now and Phenom Penh!
I’ll let you know…
Ax