2 very strange nights.

I was only in KL for less than 24 hours, fly in go to anonymous airport hotel and go back to the airport in the morning and fly out. First i had my bag totally searched by customs which i have to say was humiliating for reasons i won't go into here. Then I couldn't find a working ATM to get any stupid Malaysian Ringits, hand to change some Thai Baht I found in my bag. Then i got yelled at by a taxi driver and stopped by security again. Eventually i got into a taxi, the guy was blaring hardcore techno music at me. And yelling over it. I asked him to turn it down, he just ignored me. I got to my hotel, they couldn't find my reservation, I had to get my email, then they couldn't print it, and then after kicking up a fit at reception, I realised it was because i had spelt my name wrong on the reservation form. Crap. Then it started to rain, I had to carry my bag across this tiled concourse and slipped and fell flat on my ass, have big bruise. And I was soaked. Ordered room service, watched some CNN and fell asleep. Knock knock knock, WHAT I yelled. What time was it, 4,30, I opened the door, with the safety chain on. It was some guy in a suit, drunk, what you do in my room lady. This isn't your fucking room, 624 my room, get out of my room, this is 724 now fuck off. And he did. But of course i couldn't get back to sleep. So i watched, My name is Earl, the Simpsons, the Ellen show and some CNN.

My hotel in Phenom Pehn is a building site, i went out for dinner the other night and when i came back my room was flooded, they were full i asked them to just flip the mattress, they did, then it started to rain again. Chinese Water torture, on my forehead, they came back and moved the bed. I fell asleep. Didn't sleep too well and spent much this morning just laying on my new bed in the suite staring at the ceiling listening to my ipod.
The main reason I came here was so that i could go some charity work, but the Irish police won't give me a reference of good character, they say that it's not something that they do. Well actually what they said was "Please refer to the FAQ section of our website." So I am here and i don't know what to do. Maybe i will go to Siem Reap, maybe I will go to Bangkok or maybe I will stay here. I don't know.

Okay now i do. I am flying back to Bangkok on the 12th and am going to get some clothes made for the wedding in Denver, then i am going to go to the ancient capital of Thailand for a couple of days, before catching my train to Singapore on the 19th. I like to have some kind of plan that I can abide by otherwise my days just rush into each other unnecessarily.

I went out for a walk and bumped into this girl.

Her name is Gia, and she was selling postcards, that what the kids here do, I didn't have any small dollars but she did kindly offer to exchange 1000 thai baht for 20 dollars for me. The real exchange rate would be at least $33. But she sighed and explained that the dollar wasn't doing too well at the moment and times were tough in the US economy.
Phenom Pehn is not a safe city but it isn't as scary as the locals would like you to think it is. I wouldn't go walking around at night by myself and I wouldn't like to mess with the ruling clans. But the people are just fantastic and that's what makes me want to come back here over and over and over again.