As it's Monday it's admin day so I am up early to get to the Vietnamese consulate and beat any queues to get my visa. I wasn't sure exactly how far it was so hail a $2 tuk tuk and am dropped off at the door. It's all very low key and easy, takes five minutes and they are all exceedingly polite. Mind you, I think I would be too with a parade of people coming in and handing over $60.... But the main thing is I have it. I decide to walk the two miles or so back to the hotel. I'm sure this place is dirtier than it was last time I was here, there is rubbish everywhere. It looks all rather Indian.
But I stop half way at the Aussie guest house, G'day Mate for a quick breakfast. What an odd place, quite small, dark and jammed full of things, flags, kangaroos, a picture of Bob Marley with the Aussie owner, with his long greasy ponytail sitting up at the bar watching the Oscars on his big flat screen. It just proves how quick the Cambodians are when they want to make a quick buck. The best picture hadn't been announced when I left G'Day Mate, but twenty minutes later as I get near the hotel and pass Rogue, the place where they download music and movies, a laminated colour poster was already there with pictures of the front of the DVD's for the winner's of each category - quick work!
But as mad as the place is, it's still a good place to wander around and to sit and watch the world go by. The beach, whilst crowded has some odd sights, including this one of a surfing dog! OK Dyl, I want to see you doing that next time at Ferryside...
But all along the beach you are invited to buy things, manicures, pedicures, massage, bracelets and all manner of food balanced in baskets on the womens' (and it is always women, the men are sitting playing cards further down the beach) heads. My favourite is the girl who calls "Madaaam, you won crabs?" - I feel something here may be confused in translation... My language skills are coming along too, although I have only two words of Khmer. I employ the same Thainglish tactics and by missing the ends off the English words I can make myself understood. But an additional twist in Khmer grammar means I have to reverse the order of the words. So for example at breakfast I ask for "milk hot" or "toast more" or "egg scramble". Or a passing comment as everyone fans themselves to get cool in the heat and humidity here, "today hot f*****g".... But of course the good news is that however you reverse "why why" it always comes out the same, so no problem!
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