Wed 11 August

I noticed for the first time today that my tuktuk driver wears a helmet (to comply with the law), but it’s just a thin plastic helmet of the type that office fire wardens might have. It has no padding or anything protective about it. It looks like a toy helmet.

Sat 14 August.

I went out with the Hash House Harriers, a running / walking club. They meet near the railway station in the north of the town centre. the staion looks deserted and i’m not sure if it is actually in use. We went to the country side, I think north of Phnom Penh. Afterwards we went to a restaurant, as they usually do. Nice food, nice conversation. The next run is in Siem Reap.

16 August.

I moved into a new hotel: Spring guest house. Even though I inspected the room first I failed to notice it doesn’t have a fridge. That means I can’t store fresh milk for the mornings. I got adventurous and bought myself a bicycle. One of the hash people helped me. I feel a bit unsafe riding around the streets here since the traffic is chaotic and a lot of people don’t seem to give hand signals. I ‘m not sure what the road rules are about giving way and no one else seems sure either, or at least not able to explain them to me. One of the tuktuk drivers from the school says he can take me home for two dollars a day, so that saves me the trouble of haggling out on the main street with a new driver every day.

17 November

I discovered I can buy small cartons of long life milk –without added sugar- at the Lucky Supermarket (a big one near the intersections of Sihanouk Blvd. and Monivong Blvd., two of the biggest streets in town.) Negotiating them on a bicycle was a bit difficult, but I got there and back without killing myself.