Busy doing nothing

Wednesday, 18/10/2012 – 126 A.D.

Chill out time #1 today, big time. No more running around crossing borders and suffering overcrowded buses, it would be second gear all of the way. We lazed our way down to breakfast at about 9.30 and were greeted by the young lad dressed in full waiter gear. “Good morning, Sir, how did you sleep?” he asked, with a small bow. “Fine, thank you,” I replied and took my seat. And then he insisted on pouring the coffee and showing us the swanky spread that was on display. It was a world away from Reef Backpackers Hostel in Cairns! As I waited for my toast to turn a shade of light brown, I asked him if the hotel was full, but he didn’t understand a word of it. I guess the staff are pre-programmed with certain phrases, such as “How was your day?” and “How did you sleep?” and if you deviate from the beaten track you get into trouble. Kinda like rural Cambodia then.

The exterior of our hotel...

...and the road immediately in front of it...

After dropping off our laundry (it don’t half get dirty quick!), Tim had a look at the laminated massage sheet that’s been sitting on the desk in the room since we arrived. He’s fancied having a massage ever since we’ve been in Thailand, but never got around to it. Seems massaging is B-I-G business here in south east Asia and every time we walk through the streets we get at least five offers for a massage every minute. Tim was hoping for one of those ones when they walk on your back, but from what we can gather they don’t do those anymore because they’re a bit dangerous. And I had to do a double take when I saw there was a “Four Hand Massage” listed on the laminated sheet. No, it’s not a spelling mistake, it just involves two therapists massaging you at once.

We have another casualty amongst the platoon – my sunglasses never really survived being dropped in Fort Worth Texas, then having a lens popped out while in storage in Townsville, Queensland. Ever since then I’ve been routinely popping the lens back in (or getting Tim to do it for me) and scratching the lens, frames, etc. more and more. Today I’m fed-up of it and going to bite the bullet and get some genuine “ray ban” shades from a market stall. Farewell then, Kenneth Cole shades from TK-Max in Southport…

Our only real venture of note outside the hotel room during the hot and dusty day was down to the old market. Tim got his usual big stash of hard-bargained trinkets, and I bought my moody shades, knocked down to $4 from $5. And I’m not sure if they actually suit me that well – aviator style again – but the woman seemed so friendly that I felt I really should get them. I know, I know, for $4 I should just shut the hell up, so I will. I read that Cambodians will “apply discount” for goods, but they’re not as hard bargainers as in Thailand. The theory is that you’re supposed to agree on the best price between you and the stall owner, not act like a hard-nosed git who doesn’t care if they get to feed their family that evening. Besides, with Thai baht you can go 140, 130, 120 without too much difference to the total amount, but here you can only deal in dollars and half dollars, nothing else. It’s interesting that there are no coins whatsoever in Cambodia, which means you end up holding loads of notes in your wallet and feeling like Rockefeller. It’s also strange that Cambodians use two currencies simultaneously (three with baht in some regions), but it could be argued that they’re making up for lost time – during the reign of the Khmer Rouge there was no currency at all. And Pol Pot blew up the national bank. 

Did y`all know that the former king of Cambodia died on Monday? His story is constantly being shown on the news over here, so I imagine it must have at least been mentioned over there. Although he hadn’t held any ceremonial power for many decades, the king was revered because he was a constant figure throughout all of the changes the country has been through. And even though society has not ground to a halt, everyone is wearing black bands about their clothing and there are recently-constructed portraits-cum-shrines to him all around. From what I can gather, his body will lie in state for three months before a huge state funeral takes place. Something to do while we’re in Phnom Penh, I guess! And weird to think that when the funeral takes place we’ll be back in Blighty.

After leaving the market, we walked by the river, then strolled through the park. It’s what we normally do, isn’t it? And do you ever get that feeling when you really want to know what a sign means, but can’t work out the translation…

Upon returning to the hotel, I got caught in the following conversation with the ever-polite lady behind the desk:

RECEPTIONIST: Hello, Sir, have you had a good day?

JAMES: Yes, thank you. And have you?

RECEPTIONIST: Sorry...

JAMES: Have you had a good day?

RECEPTIONIST: I don't underst...

JAMES: It's okay. Thank you.

Another pre-programmed question for guests with no follow-up answers prepared. I suppose I should at least make the effort to learn some basic Khmer. After having a shower, shave and sh...oe shine, we headed downtown to a road known as 'Pub Street'. Sounds ominous, doesn't it? Nah, it was actually pretty tame. In fact, it reminded me of Bourbon Street back in New Orleans, but without the debauchery. Maybe that came later? I've already been offered various illegal things (which I won't list in any detail) from tuk-tuk drivers all over town. Siem Reap does have a wild west east feel about it, not quite as bad a Poipet on the border, but still pretty much that anything goes. 

And that was pretty much the end of the excitement. Way to make a dull day's blog post last, eh? Tune in next time when we collect our laundry and check that all of the socks have been returned...or else the staff get it! If they can understand it, that is.