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The largest city in Cambodia is Pnomh Pehn, the capitol, with over a million folks sprawled out (literally, in many cases) over a huge area by the Mekong River. But considering just how large the place is, it's surprisingly easy to navigate. The streets are all numbered rather than named, for the most part, making it really simple to figure out not just where you are, but in which direction you need to go (provided you can count past 30 - something I don't completely trust about myself anymore.) But they don't have the potholes identified in any way, and that's a damn shame because some of them are big enough to have their own zip code, not to mention indigenous populations living in the depths of 'em.

We've entered the early rainy season here and its been pretty interesting. At the moment we have sweltering days, with the high summer temps magnified by the humidity of the brief afternoon downpours. Ironically enough, when the rains really hit their peak during the next 2 months, its supposed to be a much more comfortable time as they provide somewhat of a cooling effect. For the meantime though, it remains hot as hell. Glad I'm not riding at the moment. I break into a sweat with just the effort of breathing. At least the showers keep the street dust down in the afternoon. But do they also wash most of that dust off the asphalt? You'd think so, wouldn't you. But every afternoon is as dusty as the next, despite the torrents that wash everything ELSE away. Just not the dust. Must be magnets. It's all done with magnets these days.

Speaking of magnets, for the first time in my life I was recently willing to try using them medically, just to soothe the pinched nerve in my neck. It wasn't really a big deal - just kept me from being able to breath without pain or sleep. Now it seems to be fading finally, after 2 nights of trying to snooze in the most comfortable position possible (sitting bolt upright). Since the treatment I prescribed for myself (3 beers, to be taken through a funnel at bedtime) seems to have done the trick, I think I might keep it up for a while.

I've also taken a really positive step (as seen through my eyes, anyway) and decided to stop riding, as mentioned earlier. Now that I'm traveling by bus and truck, dragging the bike along with me rather than sitting (and suffering) on it, I'm enjoying the days much more. Not to mention the evenings, where I don't have to spend 30 minutes massaging my butt just so I can tell when I'm sitting down. This new method of travel gives me the energy to engage in my now favorite evening activity: watching tv. Found a hotel here with satellite tv, and have been catching up on all the culture and news (and every bad movie ever made) that I've been missing. If they had Fox and the Simpsons, I'd never leave the room. This new activity has been mostly prompted by an unreal level of fatigue and a distinct lack of motivation that I've been feeling for a few weeks and am just now starting to get over. It's taken many hours of laying in bed to do it, but as everyone always says, the truly worthwhile things are never easy. I'm prepared to pay the price.

During the late 70's, after the US had retreated from Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge descended and changed the face of the country forever. Pol Pot had a vision for the country, but in order to realize it he had to rid Cambodia of the cancer he felt existed in it's current system. To achieve this he decided that the entire ruling and educated classes would have to be eliminated and he did so, detaining millions of politicians, local officials, educators, doctors, even monks. Most were then systematically tortured and killed or sentenced to die in labor camps, becoming the legendary killing fields. It's said that it can be hard find anyone in Cambodia over 30 who didn't lose at least one close family member, and my conversations with random people seem to bear this out.

I went to see the famous S-21 high school in Pnomh Penh, the Cambodian equivalent of Dachau, except this one was operated by the Khmer Rouge almost exclusively for the benefit of its own citizens from 1975-79. Impressive. VERY impressive. And so recent! Of course I'm not saying that in an admiring manner at all. It's just amazing the imagination some people can have when it comes to physically and mentally destroying others. The cells, the instruments of torture and execution, the gravesites, all contained in an enclosure designed originally for the education and betterment of people, not their elimination. And, like the Nazi's in WWII, the Cambodians documented their accomplishments in an incredibly detailed fashion, numbering the arrivals, taking photographs (mug shot style), recording interviews, etc. Hundreds of these pictures cover the walls of the exhibition rooms - most of them are young adults, though old men and women and even children are pictured. Most look almost resigned, though many are actually smiling, as though anticipating a quick interrogation and then release. One of these rooms, the last in a series, contains a "map" of Cambodia covering most of the back wall composed entirely of human skulls. Like I said, impressive.

Cambodia is definitely rougher around the edges than any place yet. Though the rest of the country was fine, Pnomh Penh has me nervous about crime and I'm not exactly sure why. It's not as though muggers are lurking around every corner or in the alleyways. Crime is definitely present here, and if you hang around long enough, you're eventually gonna experience it firsthand. But it tends to be pretty nonviolent (if you consider handing over your money at gunpoint nonviolent, that is), with death or even injury during such an encounter being almost nonexistent. However, nonviolent or not, I don't want to be an active participant in it and I find myself limiting my activities significantly in the late evenings. It's a shame - there's a big expat community here and many opportunities for fun, but I don't feel like risking my ass (or my bike) for a few beers and laughs. I'm looking forward to safer haunts. Like downtown Houston.

There's so much French influence here, left over from the colonial days of not so long ago, and it differentiates Cambodia significantly from the countries that surround it. The architecture, the city layouts, and especially the food can all have quite a French tinge to them. Especially the food. Potatoes figure pretty big in the local diet, which is extremely unusual for this part of the world. And, of course, baguettes are everywhere. The only country in southeast Asia with more (and better) bread is Vietnam, and that's mostly because they tend to be better at imitating than anyone else. One of Cambodia's specialties is Luc-Lak, which can vary wildly depending on who's serving it, but usually consists of grilled beef strips over fries, covered with gravy, and topped with a fried egg. Sounds funky, but tastes like heaven (especially when the thought of one more bowl of noodle meatball soup can erase your appetite even faster than finding out what's actually IN those meatballs). And it actually leaves you feeling full for longer than 30 minutes after you finish.

But I was getting tired and decided to move on sooner than planned, heading into Vietnam to see my friend Rich. Cambodia wasn't my favorite place. Rough to the point of potentially being dangerous (albeit rarely), physically hard to deal with (the roads! God, the roads... I could write for a year on them), and pretty monotonous views if you stick to the flat main highway. The only way to really see this country, I think, would be to spend the minimum time necessary in the big cities and then head straight for the sticks. It would be harder to get around, find accomodation/food/etc, but infinitely more rewarding. Next time I'll know better.

So I'm in Saigon now (oops, Ho Chi Minh City) having a ball with Rich and anticipating (with no small amount of trepication) my return to "civilization".

Typical big town market chaos and the main road through it (red dirt). Getting a truck-taxi ride is the only reason to ever be here. Man, this particular market was a sewer, and it was the 2nd biggest city in the country (Siem Riep).

Removing the trees from the roadside in an expansion project. Slated for 2005 completion. If the foreign aid money holds up, that is.

Afternoon rainstorm. It's unbelievable the volume of water that can drop from the sky in 1/2 an hour!

John Belushi is alive and well and performing random traffic stops and searches in Cambodia's capitol city.

This is the main highway running through Cambodia, at a point 50km from Pnomh Penh. The car is swerving to avoid a typical pothole.

The courtyard of Tuol Sleng, the death camp high school in Pnomh Penh.Cells are to the right.

Individual cells thrown up inside the high school. Inside each are shackles and a bar to which the feet are bolted, preventing you from moving them in any direction. You can stand, sit, or lie down, but always with the feet planted.

Map of Cambodia in Tuol Sleng composed entirely of human skulls and bones, Cambodian victims of the Khmer Rouge's re-education campaign.

Documentation of the newcomers to Tuol Sleng.

Pictures of some who died there, still shackled to their beds or the floor.