Romance Cambodia Stylee
Tuesday, 15 February 2005
Ahh valentines day in Cambodge the utter romance of it all.
Me and Dan decided to go to Bokor Hill station, an abandoned French colonial hill station on top of a mountain surrounded by primary jungle. After only two hours wedged into the back of an overcrowded pick up truck, we arrived at the old hotel, which had been through a variety of interesting periods in history. It started as a casino and hotel for rich French types, but the king closed it down because the combo of gambling and a really high steep hill had resulted in too many suicides . Next it became a great place for the Khmer rouge to hang out in, y' know and like chill with a bit of torture equipment and heavy armoury. Lately it is used for mad New years eve parties and has an extremely spooky air about it. The jungle was proper jungly, with loads of tropical plants and constant sweating and stuff - like in the big green house at Kew. I saw a pitcher plant which I was very impressed by. Dan didn't see this as he was in the middle of an unfortunate bowel related episode, and had elected to remain in the truck. This was only the beginning of the Romance...
After spending most of the day being shaken about in a cattle truck on a road that only qualified as a road because there were no actual trees growing in the middle of it, I was covered in a Cambodia tan (a thick layer of sweat and red dust). I also had something that only Geordies refer to as a tan on my face, people from other regions using the less kind label third degree burns. On return to our guest house we found that the water was off and our clothes were indefinately detained in the laundry. In place of the water there was a bucket full of mucky looking river water to flush the toilet with and breed flies and mosquitos in. Undetered, me and Dan proceeded with the Romance. We sat enjoying the sweet aromas of our own and each others armpits...Dan gazed longingly at my geordie on holidayTM face... we both wore our best sweat and mud stained clothing...Romance was had as the scabby one eyed dogs tried to bite each others faces off and the sun set to the sounds of gun shots (a common way to solve personal disputes in Cambodge) and the dulcet tones of Lady in Red wound their way out of the sound system.
Next day with the water sitution not improving, and the fly population having quadrupled over night, we enjoyed a romantic breakfast under a fly carpet and came up with a plan to leave. I washed my face in bottled water (it's what all the models are doing), and we left before we had the opportunity to nurse each other back to heath from the cholera that would surely follow.
Next week: Christenings in Iraq - the best way to introduce your child to the Christain community
On February 26, 2005, pat harris said:
laughed at your inspirational account of falling in love with each others mucky faces and glorious armpits.
Keep them coming..
Pat