Pailin

The incredilbe ambience of my noodle joint in Battambang.  This place will wow a date, let me tell you!

Home-made noodle and dumplings.  Food to keep a traveler on his feet.

Brekkie is the most important meal of the day, especially on a travel day.

It is, indeed, a Holiday in Cambodia.  My Pailin guest house has a tree, so fear not.  I have all the neccesaries for a Holly Jolly Christmas.

It is pronounced "Pie-lin", not Pay-lin. It is a province and town in the very Western portion of Cambodia, abutting Thailand. This is my last stop in Cambodia, my christmas hide-out. It will be the scene of my Jello Biafra-Dead Kennedys Holiday in Cambodia. And really, what better place. These hills were the stronghold of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot's hideout long after the Vietnamese invasion put and end to their murderous stranglehold on this beautiful and troubled country. That's what the boys in the Dead Kennedys were basing their song on. And here I am.

The day after Christmas, I will cross the border into Thailand. The border checkpoint lies very close to where that murderous madman Pol Pot was cremated on a pyre of tires. Pailin isn't on the tourist trail. Its the retirement province for the Khmer Rouge. The son of Brother Number Three is the governor of this province. Pailin was rich in tropical hardwoods and gems, but the Khmer Rouge logged it and mined it and sold the booty to Thai generals across the border. In this way they funded their war coffers so that they could continue attacks against the Cambodian government in Phnom Penh and get rich in the process. Life was hard here for the remaining Khemr Rouge cadre, but not for the honchos.

Buses don't run here anymore. The taxi lobby probably got the route squelched. This happens here. In Siem Reap, the Tuk-tuk boys got together and convinced the local government that scooter rentals to foreigners should be banned. In most of Cambodia, renting a scooter is easy and cheap. But if the tourists can rent scooters for the day to tour the Angkor temples, then they don't need to fork over dollars to the Tuk-tuk pilots. So no scooters. And in Pailin, no buses.

After a formidable breakfast of fruit and pancakes, I grabbed my bag and headed for the taxi stand. To get to Pailin, a traveler needs his or her own wheels, or else one needs to get a shared taxi. When I arrived at the taxi stand, the drivers descended on me like I was the last Thin Mint at a weight-watchers meeting. In short order, the price dropped to ten dollars for a front seat to ease the eighty kilometer ride. I had not yet ridden in a car in Cambodia, and the luxury of a front seat in a comfortable car was a novelty. Ten dollars is about two and a hlaf times what a bus ticket would cost, but try getting a western cabbie to schlep you 48 miles for $10.

It is Christmas Eve here in Asia. I am celebrating by doing nothing. My guest house is very comfortable, with a big shady garden area and a nice veranda. The extent of my efforts today have revolved around reading my book and thinking about walking into town for some Khmer food. I feel quiet today, and very reflective. My time in Cambodia has been joyful, heart breaking, challenging and rewarding. I will spend Christmas Day wandering around the local area, seeing a few things, and relaxing. Seems like a good plan.

Since I am a day ahead of most of my blog readers, I would like to wish all of you a wonderful holiday time over the next few days. May you enjoy it with family and friends and be well.