We're back!

It only took 28 hours of sitting in airports/on planes. No legroom. No upgrades. No real air.

And my sinuses kind of hurt from the stuff they sprayed the whole plane with in case we upset DEFRA by bringing in any foreign pests or plants. Maybe it's the 36 hours with half an hours sleep.

It is so blissfully nice to be COLD!

Wrapping up

The last team has gone.
The houses are all finished.
The fence is up.
Gifts are bought.
Packing is happening.
Good-byes are being said.

Soon, it will be time to depart.

Gecko

"Brrrrrrrrrrr brrrrrrrrrrrr
Gecko
Gecko
Gecko
geckoo
geckooo"

That's what a gecko sounds like. All night.

Knyom Rob

Nath, our translator (and another all-round good egg) has kindly rendered our names into Khmer for us...

Hot Fizz

You know the pleasant sensation of channel-hopping and suddenly recognising an early scene from a film you love and welcome the unexpected chance to watch again? Imagine our joy at stumbling across Hot Fuzz on an asian channel last night.

Now imagine our joy multiplied when we realised that Hot Fuzz was being made even more hysterically funny by being played in English, but with the addition of subtitles, which were also in English, that is, English as drafted by someone totally unfamiliar with this language of which we are so rightly proud. I don't quibble with odd grammar, or blatant errors, such as I can come back! subtitled as I can't come back!.

No, I'm talking about the large chunks which had apparently been copied down phonetically and then run through Microsoft spell checker, so that "I'll see he gets his just desserts" was subtitled " I gets say just the service"

I therefore issue a challenge to Simon Pegg fans with too much time on their hands. (I mention no names, you know who you are) Prizes will be awarded to those who can work out what the original sparkling dialogue was behind the following spectacular mis translations:

1. He did have a great big pussy beer

2. They're late again and I'll have sex

3. I have to work to pay Sally

4. It's quicksand of the San Francisco

5. And the neighbour of the Law!

6. Call Nasa

7. Mercy!

8. Don't you had to know

9. You've been play was truly

10. Two broke and f*!k off all cop!

First prize or tie breaker will be a copy of the film referred to by Edgar Wright's character as "Dumb on Dude," according to the subtitles. Please note that the first one's easy, and they are all posted in the order they appear in the film.

Have fun....

Naming names.

Nov Sarath is our driver. He is brilliant. If you come to Phnom Penh and need to hire a air-conditioned minibus, then let us know and we can give you his email or phone number. As well as being an excellent driver in a mad city, Sarath has amazingly good English (he is self-taught from guidebooks), is entertaining, and has never failed to put in a full days work on the construction sites on top of driving us around.
He deserves a mention.

Bikes.

I am told that only a very few years ago, the streets of Phnom Penh had but very few cars on them. Most people cycled, and a few might own mopeds: only senior government and military personnel (and NGOs, of course) could afford cars. These days, that has all changed and the city streets are beginning to lock up with congestion. However, there are still many brave souls who cycle. The interesting thing is that about half the bicycles I have seen are of folding variety.

As some of you will know, I use a Brompton folding bike on a more-or-less daily basis. Or rather, I do when back in the UK. It's a neat design, hat folds up quite small, and weighs in at about 11kg. These machines are for the most part a little more weighty. They tend to have one big bolted hinge in the middle of the crossbar, making them not particularly worth folding.

Maybe some well-meaning benefactor or ambitious entrepeneur saw an opening in the market some years ago and sent out a shipload.

What's in a name?

Phnom Penh has a thriving restaurant scene, with a plentiful supply of good Khmer restaurants, and many international restaurants. Among these, are two Korean eateries, calles Seoul and PyongYang.
This has made me wonder how the two of them compare: does the Seoul serve plentiful portions, while the PyongYang offer a meagre plate with a handful of rice? Is there patriotic music and do the waiters insist that the food has never been better? What happens to customers who complain? I do know that the Seoul is a very plush looking and expensive place in comparison to its counterpart.
Oddly enough, Seoul is in the North of the city, and PyongYang is in the south.