next stop: home

I’ve had a fine couple of days in Phenom Penh, zooming around on the back of motorcycles driven almost too fast and almost too close to the oncoming traffic - where the ‘oncoming’ traffic comes at you from at least four different directions. It’s good fun, and I discovered that my travelling hat stays in place at 80kph! Being driven around this city should probably be classed as an adrenaline sport. But my time here is almost over, and I can hear the Deuchars 80 Shilling calling my name…

Yesterday I did the main touristy things I wanted to do. I saw the Grand Palace (not totally dissimilar to Bangkok’s), and the Killing Fields and the S.21 interrogation centre, both concerning the rule of the Khmer Rouge. These last two were rather disturbing, with thousands of skulls, the mass graves, and the photographs of those who had been left to die by their interrogators. Having said that, it was very interesting and well worth seeing.

Today is somewhat quieter, as I’m down to my last few dollars, and am busy enough just preparing to go home. I’ve enjoyed my (admittedly rather mixed) experiences in Southeast Asia, but I am very excited about going home and catching up with everyone again. I’m even looking forward to going back to that delightful 60’s monolith, the James Clerk Maxwell Building. Kinda. ;)

And there’s the beer and the whiskey to consider.

So, I fly outta here tomorrow afternoon, and hit London early on Monday morning. After washing some clothes and having the longest bath ever, I’m hoping to pop into the village and have a quiet beer or two, catching up with those quaint London folks. Then on Tuesday, Dad is going to pick me up from London from where we’ll head over to Penzance to catch up with my cousin Denise and family for a night. Then back to Derbyshire for a few days of currently unspecified familial activity (and hopefully a visit to The Boo), before heading up to Edinburgh on the Sunday the 18th, ‘ready’ for work on the Monday.

So, hopefully, I’ll see many of you very soon.

Anjx