Hello there, well its been an interesting couple of weeks, how do we start - like all good stories at the beginning.
Well I think I last spoke to you when I was in Phnom Pehn having skipped through the wonders of Angkor Wat and the fact that I managed to buy the last Harry Potter book!!! Within 1hr of purchase I had 4 offers made to me for when I finished it. After PP I travelled to Kampot. Kampot is a small town inbetween PP and the coast and the jouney there was interesting. The four of us agreed that it would be just as cheap to get a taxi to our destination that was a orphange near Kampot and the Taxi drivers friend assured us that he knew where he was going. This was not to be the case. Not only that he spoke no word of English and clearly had no clue to where he was going.
After about 20 mins of him asking people where this supposed place was things got a bit fruity. We decided to cut our losses and get out of the taxi. We managed to find some English speaking people who tried to explain to him that we were not prepared to pay the full amount as he had not taken us to our destination. In actual fact we had not clue where we were. He started to get angry. My negotiation skills worked at keeping John and Marie from full on unleashing English courage on him and we managed to organise another minivan to take us toKampot. In the end the taxi mans answer to all of this was that we could afford because we were from England, interesting point I thought, and valid, but you still left us in the middle of no where! He left with the full amount. Clearly principles do not exist in this part of the country.
We finally arrived in Kampot late afternoon and checked into a guest house which had clean sheets. A welcome surprise as in the last place I stayed I got eaten alive by bed bugs. At the end of this hot day I revelled in the fact that i had Harry Potter to turn too another blessing in dusguise (or maybe under an invisbility cloak??)
We stayed in Kampot for 4 days and here we chilled in the river, lived on a floating guesthouse and performed one of the best gigs ever. It was a 30min slot on a guitar I brought from PP for $15 and needless to say I only played one song. The gig was a secret one where they did not know I was coming. The reception I got was similar to that of Robbie Williams at Knebworth. My crowd - an orphange, my song - if your happy and you know it. Truely a great gig.
After sleeping a couple more nights under a mossie net next to a pond for $0.50 a night we headed to the coast. I had finished harry potter and was now back in the land of the living. However, I wished I stayed in my harry world a little a bit longer.
What happened next was probable the most devestating to happen since Delirious recorded Audio Lesson Over.
We entered Sinoukville which is a town on the beach. We met up with some friends and headed out onto the beach in the evening for a night out. After returning to my room at 4.45am I went to bed. I woke in the morning to John and Beth next door with the Tv on full blast and them talking over it - they clearly have no concept of volume - and headed to get some food. On my return I crashed out for a few more hours. To my shock when I woke, my camera, lens and phone had gone! The only way I could express how I felt at that utter moment is this - imagine its the end of the footballing season, last game and its Arsenal vs Spurs. Arsenal only need to draw to win the title and the ref is Graham Poll. For some reason he has booked berbatov 3 times and he is still on the pitch playing. Its then in the 95th min of the 1 allocated minute of extra time that he scores the winner and spurs win the title. That was how I felt!!!!
The staff at the hotel were crap, the manager was like a Cambodian Basil Fawlty. He was uninterested as a panda trying to make love and refused to do anything. The best bit was when the so called police turned up they wanted me to pay them $20 for a report. Needless to say I politely told him shove it up his cambodian arse. He said his boss would arrive first thing in the morning as it was now 5pm and the police have closed for the day. Thats right, don't commit any crimes between 9-5 but after that your ok. His boss turns up the next morning and gets my details and says he will come back with the report later. The same guy who asked for money turns up with the report and again asks for money. I asked him if I could look at the report and a soon as obtaining it I again told him to politely hit the road.
Now i know the difference between right and wrong - I grew up with a policeman as a father but over here its playground rules. It's sad state of affairs wen you lose something which holds more value than money and know one can be bothered to do anything about it. Over here its about surviving and if you can make a buck or two along the way its a bonus, I just hope that someone has made an awful lot out of my camera and using the money to do good rather than bad. Right from the start I have clearly stated that its only a camera and things could be worse. For example, when I was in the Chaing Rai in North Thailand I met a really nice american guy with a fixed smile. He was so cool and happy and when I asked him where he was going next so he could join me if we were going the same way he informed me that he was having to cut his journey short. He and his parents had been kinda travelling together meeting up every now and then but he was having to go back to the USA because his father was in a local hospital with a collapsed lung. He wasn't pissed off at all because he recognised there are more important things to be thinking about. So I look at my predicament and think it could be a lot worse.
Anyway, at the moment me and me knew friend Florien (he's french and trust me ladies, you would dig him and the accent) are trying to get back into thailand so we can seek medical attention on my ear. However the boat refuses to leave due to the weather. What they actually mean is the boat is not full enough yet so come back tomorrow. SHIT! (sorry - had to get it off my chest) Its very frustrating being a place that has cost you a lot of hassle when you don't want to be. As much as the last few days have sucked, Cambodia is an amazing place and I reccomend it to anyone who is in this neck of the woods as I have loved it. Its a shame that its resulted this way. At the end of the day it could all be worse and as Florien puts it - you can't take pictures with you when you die. Im still trying to work out what French philospher said that - maybe jean-jac goldman or gerard deperdure.
THis is Ed signing off from a corrupt Cambodia.
Whats next
Ed
p.s sad typo-critics can start the abuse now.
p.p.s I miss Harry Potter already.
