California Academy of Sciences, Sneak Preview

Just got back from a sneak preview of the new California Academy of Sciences. Amazing. I was really looking forward to seeing the Living Roof:

I was wondering how long it would last, considering the roots would be digging in. The roof is actively managed to keep out weeds and plants with deep root systems (i.e. a pine tree sapling was found and removed).

The aquarium is awesome. Believe it or not, I've never been to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. After this, I need to go.

I can't ever remember going to a planetarium, so I can't make a comparison, but I could spend hours in there. The show I saw had the planet Earth, with us rotating around it, with the constellations marked out and the Sun . It is the largest, all-digital, planetarium in the United States (in the world?).

Bikes in Portland

Bikes everywhere. Fixed gear are very popular

Please excuse any typos or general terseness, as this mail was sent
from my phone.

Jace gace

Sweet/Savory. Art/Food/Beer. Strnge combinations but strangely good!

Road Rash - Haleakala Cycling Summary

View of Haleakala from the Hana Hwy, just before the turnoff to Haiku. Must have been an amazing sunrise that morning; no clouds on the mountain.

We got to the Maui Cyclery bike shop right about on time, at 8am. Donnie, the owner, was there to greet us. BTW, Donnie is a great guy; lots of advice, super friendly; totally hooked us up with some Litespeeds for the ride and set me, the novice, up with pedals and a helmet. Note to self: buy a new helmet -- that rental got awfully stinky once I started sweating (and the stink wasn't from me). I'd recommend renting through this shop again.

Back to the ride...

Elevation: 512 feet
Maui Cyclery sits in the town of Haiku, Maui, Hawaii. Katie was already waiting for us, albeit at a different bike shop. We told her the shop was next to the post office. Who knew the other shop is located next to a postal center. Anyway, that other shop was a tourist shop, for riding down the volcano. Katie eventually found us and we were on our way.

First part of the climb wasn't so bad. I almost fell at a stop sign, but unclipped in time (I got distracted talking and this was only my second time riding in cleats). The 11-12% grade section up Baldwin actually didn't feel as long as it did when we scouted the route the previous day. Thank goodness. We made it to the Haleakala Highway junction in about an hour. The weather was perfect. There was a cloud covering the sun most of the way, so we didn't get baked. Yet, the rest of the sky was blue, mostly. I'd eaten a granola bar and a banana at this point. Katie had separated herself from the pack, followed by Kei, Howie, and way in the back, me. Arriving at the stop, I fell after forgetting to unclip. Note to self: practice unclipping a few more times before the next stop. Note to others: I didn't make that mistake again.

Elevation: 2500 feet
Arrive at Sunrise Market at about 10:30 AM. Howie says we left the bike shop at about 8:30 AM, so 2000 feet in 2 hours. At this rate, there's no way we'll get back in time, so I'm obviously holding Howie back. No sign of Katie, so we send Kei to chase her. See previous post. The woman working here is super nice (notice a pattern forming here?). Asks me and Howie if we are training for the Cycle to the Sun race, but we are not. I down the rest of my second water bottle, and eat an energy bar. Howie buys more water and hooks me up with more cytomax. I take a leak, which thankfully was clear, meaning I'm not dehydrated. Kei still doesn't appear, so we assume he just kept heading up.
Elevation: 3200 feet
The Crater Road (Hwy 378) begins here. Not very encouraging to see that I have 22 more miles to go.

Elevation: ~5000 feet?
We are on the switchbacks now, Howie and I. He is about half a switchback ahead of me. I hear him talking to someone. Kei? Nope. A white car approaches, and it is Alice returning from the summit. I ask her where she's heading and she says the Grand Wailea Spa. I think she is joking. After the turn, when he's in sight, I yell that I need to rest. I think I'm around mile 5 or 6 at this point. Kei phones and says he's waiting for us ahead, about 4 switchbacks up. I ask him what the route is like (i.e. does it get any easier) and he says it's pretty much the same. So much for hope. After I round the corner and approach Howie, I hear Kei yell to us. He's a small red dot up near where the para- and hang-gliders' launching pad.

Elevation: ~6000 feet
Join up with Kei. I eat some of my dried fruit, down the rest of my cytomax, and Kei refills my bottles. Kei says he talked to Alice (on the phone, she apparently didn't see him b/c she was watching the gliders launching) and she really was going to the spa. Her landlady insisted she go and take it off the rent. Why don't I have a landlady like that? ;-)

Somewhere around here, Kei gives me a few pushes up the hill. Amazing. Shortly thereafter, I tell them to leave me or else they won't summit in time. We're not quite at the park entrance, so this might be around 6800 feet elevation. I eventually catch them at the ranger kiosk. Perfect timing actually, as they just finished paying for me and all I had to do was ride by and grab my receipt from the ranger. Haha, I actually passed some cars on the ascent. Granted, they were waiting in line to pay.

Elevation: ~7000 feet
Stop at the Visitor Center. Go to the bathroom, refill the water bottles. Contemplate waiting for the guys, but decide to push on.

Elevation: ~7200-7500 feet
Mile Marker 14. It's about 2:27pm and about time to turn around, but I decide I'm going to ride until my original turnaround point, 2:30pm. Make it a little past the mile marker, then call Kei to say I'm heading down.


The Descent
Now the reward.
Elevation: ~7000 feet
Reach the Visitor Center in 9 minutes. Go to the bathroom again, top off the water. Hang out a bit at the Visitor Center, then decide I should just head down to warmer weather and find Katie.
Reach the Hwy 377/Hwy 378 junction in 25 minutes from the Visitor Center. I wonder how fast I was going. I got lucky and didn't have any cars in front or behind me the whole way down. I was even luckier I didn't crash. At one point, the wind and flapping of my jacket were so loud that I was convinced there was a car behind me. I looked, but no car. Headed into the left, outside turn faster than comfortable. Rear wheel locked up and washed out a bit, but I recovered.

Met Katie at the store a little ways below the Sunrise Market. Got some chocolate and a sports drink with her, used the restroom, then waited for the guys. After they arrived, we headed down together, Howie in the lead. Not far after the Kula lodge, I crashed. Rewind: we see a car at the intersection. We pass and the car pulls onto the road behind us. We keep to the right and then on a left, outside turn, it happens again. I go in faster than comfortable, brake, and the rear wheel locks up. I guess I hold the brake longer this time because Howie is in front of me, and I have traffic behind me (Kei, Katie, then the car). Next thing I know, I'm off the bike, land on my left butt cheek, and slide 10-20 feet. See water bottle roll down the hill. I feel fine. Kei comes to check on me and I start to stand. I feel my ass and realize I'm touching my skin, or what's left of it. My shorts have torn right through and my cheek is hanging out. The car stops and the driver comes out to check on us. She offers me a ride. At first, I'm thinking I can ride back to the shop myself, but a few seconds later I come to my senses and take her up on the offer. I don't think I want to ride with my ass hanging out of my shorts, and who knows how bad it really is. I learn the driver's name is Kachina and she's on her way to the Katchafire concert. I'm going to make her late to pick up her friend. She's had a strange day, and this tops it off. I tell her it will improve, as her good deed will be rewarded with good karma. She drops me at the shop, gives me some supplies from her first aid kit as well as the towel I'm sitting on, and I send her on her way. Surprisingly, Katie, Kei, and Howie ride up within 5 minutes. They must have been hauling ass down the hill. Once they arrive, I go to clean myself up.

Donnie was totally cool about the crash. Luckily, I didn't scratch up the frame or derailleur. Just scratched up the grip tape, pedals, and rear quick release.

WARNING: what you are about to see may be graphic and inappropriate (not). But, if you don't want to see my road rash ass, look away now.











So, now it's Tuesday, and I'm still trying to heal. I've applied some of the Johnson and Johnson Advanced Healing pads. Cool stuff. My ass actually doesn't hurt too much. My leg hurts more. I guess that's why kids get spanked on the butt, fewer nerve endings.

Oh, the most surprising thing about the ride is that I wasn't sore the next day. I thought I wouldn't be able to walk, but I was fine. I think because I drank so much fluids and ate a lot. I think I had 2 granola bars, 1 banana, 1 protein bar, 8 ounces of dried fruit, 2 clementines, at probably 6 liters of fluids, at least. Not exactly light and fast, and maybe I could have summitted without all the extra weight (I doubt it), but I'm glad I did it this way. Much less pain during and afterwards, which makes it more likely that I'll attempt something like this again.

On the ride, I got a phone call from United Airlines saying my upgrade request was approved. I was getting upgraded to first-class, using my miles. I was glad to hear, as I was expecting to be super sore on the way home. More on this later....

Stuck in Maui

I suppose there are worse places to be stranded, but it's like being
imprisoned at San Quentin or Alcatraz: you are surrounded by a
beautiful location, yet you can't enjoy, except the view from your
cell. At least I'm drinking a mai tai and it's Raining outside. Would
be worse if the weather was beautiful, but then again I wouldn't be
doing much besies nursing the road rash on my ass. Maybe this means an
extra night in paradise. Battery getting low so will write more later.

--
Kenneth Wan
Dream League
http://www.dreamleague.org

Fwd: Haleakala, descent part 1

Mile marker 14. Eight to go. I made it maybe a hundred yards beyond
this sign. With no realistic chance of summiting (would probably take
me at least 2 hours from this point), and the fact that
I'm just plain tired, I'm deciding to call it a day and descend. A

couple miles back I actually had delusions that I would make it, with
Kei, Howie, and Katie cheering me on as I entered the lot. Obviously
delusional as Katie already descended.

At least I reached my secondary goal of making it 2/3 of the way to the top. I estimate at this point the elevation is about 7200' or 7500'.

Haleakala ascent, part 2

Just inside the park entrance.

Self-portrait as Kei and Howie had to leave me if they want any hope of summiting before time expires (we have to return the bikes by 4pm).

It's pretty cold now and I'm going to don some arm warmers. Weather at the beginning of the ride was perfect. You could see the summit from sea level (first time I've been able to; the rest of the days the lower mtn has been covered by clouds).

The climbing is getting (has been) pretty brutal and Kei pushed me up a couple of steep sections. I don't realistically think I'll make the summit at this point, but will push on as far as I can. Now, it's one mile, one milestone, at a time. Just want to reach the visitors center right now, which isn't too far. After that, who knows.

Haleakala ascent, part 1

Here's Howie at the Sunrise Market, about 1.5 hours into the ride.

So far, not too tired. Haven't drank as much fluid as planned, but just downed the rest of a bottle of cytomax. Katie took off on the climb, completely missing the market. We sent Kei to chase after her, but don't know if he'll catch her. Will bring him some water.

Next up, Maui

So, I just got back from South Lake Tahoe for the annual Bill Okano Memorial "Jackpot" Tournament. I didn't get as much of a workout as I had hoped; only played limited time and missed one game entirely. I did end up going for two bike rides, though shorter than planned. The only real hill climbing I did was on Saturday, up Kingsbury Grade, a little bit past the turnoff for the Chart House restaurant. Sunday, I had planned to [attempt to] ride from S. Lake Tahoe to Tahoe City, but my bball game ended up being at 12pm, which only gave me 3 hours before I had to go meet my friend Leo, his wife Claire, and their newborn (well 6-mth) baby Ryan. And, of course, I dilly-dallied by getting a sandwich for lunch, a wrench to change out my pedals, looking for a spot to start riding, etc. And, Highway 89 seemed pretty narrow in spots and didn't appeal to me to ride alone (I was probably looking for any excuse not to get my ass kicked). I stopped by the visitor center and got a biking map, which the ranger pointed out had a bike route from Meeks Bay all the way to Squaw Valley (or you can turn east toward Tahoe City and beyond). She also did not recommend riding Hwy 89 at Emerald Bay (though she didn't look to be a cyclist herself). I could see why she said what she said, though, as the ridge above Emerald Bay was very narrow. So, after driving to Meeks Bay, I ended up only having 1 hour to ride. But, at least I got to try out my new pedals and shoes; this was my first time riding with cleats, so I figured something easy might be better anyway, rather than tipping over on my bike on Hwy 89.

Oh, so why all of this training and the title of this post? Well, I'm heading to Maui tomorrow for Riza's wedding. Kei and Howie want to cycle up Haleakala volcano. Yes, UP the volcano. This course is 36 miles, EACH way, with an elevation gain of approximately 10,000 feet. Needless to say, I'm going to get my ass kicked. Good thing is, I can always just turn around and head downhill. My goal is to go at least half way. OK, the real goal of course is to go all the way, but I'd be content with half.

Here's more info if you are interested:
http://www.gocyclingmaui.com/faq.html
http://www.chainreactionbicycles.com/haleakala.htm

Apparently, there is an annual ride up Haleakala, so we aren't entirely crazy. I can't believe the times those top finishers do it in. I'll definitely be on the bottom end of the time scale, with the 60-year-old set.

RC Car race pic

RC Cars

Had a nice blast from the past this afternoon with my nephew, Zig.
Watched some radio controlled car races put on by the local hobby shop
in Petaluma, CA. They hold races every 2nd and 4th Saturday in the
parking lot near Trader Joe's ( the hobby shop is there too, but since
I don't know its name or location Trader Joes is the next best
landmark). Anyway, most of the racers were adults, probably a little
older than me, so it really was a blast from the past. Guess they
never gave it like I did after middle school. Most of these cars were
gas powered, much faster and sturdy than the plastic Yamiya (?) cars I
used to build/race. They did have some smaller scale cars like mine
though. The coolest thing was they had transponders in each car so
they could auto count laps. These races were about how many laps one
can complete in a given time.

Some travel tips for Cambodia and Thailand

Keep in mind, I only went to Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Bangkok, and Railay Beach (Krabi). Oh, and when I mention the Lonely Planet guide book, I'm referring to "Southeast Asia on a Shoestring", 2008 edition. Their Thailand specific book probably has more detailed info, at least it better have more detail.

That said, here are some things I learned along the way, in no particular order:

1. Bus stop restrooms. Lesson: Pay the kid. Explanation: The kids trying to get money for the bathrooms at bus stops on the way to Siem Reap are not begging. Our tuk tuk driver in Siem Reap, Nat, says it is common to charge people 500 Riel (~US$0.12) to use the bathrooms. He says even he will get charged.
2. Negotiating prices. Lesson: Do it. Explanation: Sometimes it works if you let the seller offer a price first, then counter. Don't worry about getting "ripped off" the first couple of times: it allows you a chance to gauge what prices should be. Without any prior knowledge (i.e. guide books) of what a reasonable price should be, sometimes the only way to find out is through trial and error. Once, when looking at sunglasses, I didn't say a word (not intentionally) and the vendor kept lowering his prices. He even told me, "you know, you can negotiate prices". Haha, I know. It was great, because he got down to pretty close to where I was willing to pay. Oh, and it often helps to give a final offer with a smile. That worked 2 of 2 times for me to get my final price. I held firm and then finally smiled with the same offer and they gave it to me. And, it really is true what the books say, it's not about getting the lowest possible price, it is getting the most agreeable price to you and the vendor. If the price is what you are willing to pay and believe to be reasonable, and the vendor agrees, then there you go.
3. Railay Beach.
   
1. Getting there/back. Lesson:book a return trip to the airport through your hotel/guesthouse/or tour operator. Explanation: This was especially true for us in the low season, when it is hard to get a boat. It was cheaper for us to do so than to hire a boat for just the 2 of us. Or, wait an indefinite amount of time for the boat to fill up. In the high season, you may be better off going directly to the boat operators. Getting to Railay, we took a shuttle from the airport, so I can't comment on whether to book transportation through the hotel.
   
2. Food. Lesson: Explore. Explanation: Railay Beach is tiny. You can cross from East to West in less than 15 minutes' walk, probably less than 10. The cheap, local food is on the east side, just north of Yaya Resort. We spent a day or two with sticker shock, until Jessica brought me to a local food stand. Thank you Jessica!
3. Rock climbing. Lesson: Do it. Explanation: Railay is the place to climb. There are at least 3 outfitters here. We went through King Climbers and had a great experience. I'd never climbed before, my roommate had been climbing for 1.5 years. Aibe runs the joint, located between the Railay Princess Resort and Yaya Resort. Tiq, our guide, was fantastic. Super nice, mellow, all around good guy. I think this is the correct link to King Climbers, but I'm not sure.
   
4. Taxis.
   
1. Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) to Bangkok. Lesson:Pay the tolls and surcharge. Explanation: Like the guide book says, go to the taxi stand just outside the terminal. The driver will use the meter. What the book doesn't tell you is that you are responsible for the tolls. The taxi stand gives you a piece of paper describing when you are responsible for tolls and a surcharge, and when you are not. Unfortunately, it is a little confusing about the definition of "Greater Bangkok". I argued with the driver when we reached our destination, but eventually paid him, figuring it wasn't worth the fight. Thanks to my friend Abbie who later confirmed the driver was not ripping me off.
2. Meters. Lesson: Insist on them. Explanation: Speaking of taxi drivers and rip-offs...Lonely Planet is right: insist on using the meter when taking a taxi (unless you absolutely know where you are going, how far it is, and how much it should cost). I was about 5 minutes walking distance to Wat Pho (which I didn't know at the time), it was raining, and I was late to meet my friend, so I decided to hop in a cab (going the wrong direction, of course). He wanted to charge me like 200 baht (~US$5) but I insisted he use the meter. Even taking the long way around the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, it only cost like 30 baht.
3. Bangkok to Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK). Lessons: Don't exit the freeway and insist on the meter. Explanation: Again, thanks to Abbie for the heads up. If your driver exits the freeway just before getting to the airport (watch the signs), then he's taking the long way. The freeway goes directly into the airport, so make him get right back on. And, again, it was cheaper for us to use the meter from the Banglamphu district of Bangkok to BKK, even with horrendous morning traffic in town.
5. Damnoen Saduak floating market. Lesson: Shop around. Explanation: The only time we did a flat rate was for a taxi to the floating market. I think we paid a bit more than we would have if we took a taxi to the bus terminal, then a bus to the market, but we figured it was worth the time savings. So, if going to Damnoen Saduak floating market by taxi, be sure not to head into the first several parking lots: they are more expensive. I think the first guy tried to charge us 1000 baht, while LP suggests 150B to 200B per person. I don't know where the main pier is exactly, but we drove quite a ways in before turning ( left) into some area, which seemed much more active than the first lot. Lonely Planet says to take the bus to the pier, but we didn't see any buses, so maybe we weren't at the main pier yet. In any case we were able to negotiate a boat that was similar in price to Lonely Planet's suggested price. Actually, now I forget if we paid 300B total, or 300B each. Anyway, pretty close regardless. The market wasn't like those I've seen in posters but the posters might be old, as Lonely Planet does say the market is geared more towards tourists now than being an actual marketplace where locals may shop for everyday goods.
6. Air con. Lesson: Get a remote. Explanation: Look for rooms that have a remote controlled A/C. You can fine tune the temperature and make other adjustments. Everyone seems to be carrying Lonely Planet books in Cambodia and Thailand, so guesthouses LP recommends fill up faster. Mostly, the reviews were accurate. It's just some of the tiny details that might be left out. For example, we first checked into the Rambuttri Village Inn (our first choice Lamphu House was difficult to find [you have to look hard as it is towards the back of a tiny alley], and when we did it didn't have the room combinations we were looking for). RVI was pretty much a concrete dorm room, see pic. LP wasn't kidding when they said "there's not much atmoshpere to speak of". Stark white walls, but hey, it was clean, there was tv and air con! Speaking of air con. Here's why you want a remote. RVI's a/c unit was basically on/off, unless you are 6'2" like me. I even had to stand on a chair to turn the stick (they pulled off the knob) to try and adjust the fan speed and temp. It must have been even harder for Tracy. Anyway, didn't help. Woke up too cold, turned off a/c. Woke up too hot, turned on a/c. Repeat. The next day, we went exploring for a new place to stay. Settled on Happy House Guesthouse. Nice staff, better "atmosphere" in the room, and remote controlled a/c! You can set the temperature, control the fan speed, etc. Much better sleep, and same price as RVI. There was construction next door, but the front desk clerk was accurate in saying when it started (~8am?). I didn't notice it at all at night. The picture on the left is almost exactly the room I had, sans flowers on bed and candle.

Sigh

My last post from SE Asia. I'm trying to burn up some baht, so decided to log on and post. The internet rates here in Railay are ridiculous, relatively speaking: 3 Baht per minute, which is roughly US$4 per hour. I think rates in Bangkok, in the tourist areas, were half to a third the cost.

So, that was a nice segue to the sticker shock I experienced when we arrived on Railay Beach. That, and the weather, were making me very unimpressed. But, after settling in for a day, things got better. First the weather, which makes the west beach much better looking. And, when the tide is high, the east beach is decent. It's amazing the difference between high and low tides.

Tracy has pretty much been rock climbing the entire time. She signed up for a 2-day lesson, which turned into 4 days of climbing. I watched her climb the first day (Thursday) and then explored the peninsula a bit, but apparently I missed out on most of the good stuff. Though the peninsula looks small (you can walk from the west to east sides in about 10-15 minutes), there is a lot more to find north-south. And, what looks like a jungle ending, reveals paths to climbing sites if you just venture in a bit. And, some of those sites have accessible views for non-climbers. Especially good is a cave you climb to (via ladders) on the Thai Wand (sp?) wall off of Phrah Nang beach. I never did make it up the rope to the lagoon and lookout. Next time I suppose.

I tried climbing for the first time on Friday. Did ok. Learned how to belay and lead belay right from the start. Crazy. Made it up 2.5 climbs before pooping out. Scraped up my fingers on that last climb, and arms just got too tired. Pool time after that!

On Saturday, I tried a "Discovery" scuba dive. That was fun. So much more to see when you can stay underwater. And it is so cool to be able to use air as a ballast like the dolphins do (I think they do).

Today, Sunday, I tried another half day of climbing. Made it through 3 full climbs this time without too much incident. Climbed a 6a(?) level wall, whatever that means. All I know is it was the hardest one I did and I got stuck in one spot, but the two Andreas' and Bao (my belayer) helped me get unstuck.

Oh, before I forget, we met Jess(ica) and Tik (Tracy's climbing guide), who were awesome. Jess showed us some local haunts which was really great, b/c it got rid of my sticker shock, and the food was local and some of the best we had on the island. Tik let us climb with him and showed Tracy a ton of stuff. He's just so chill and generous. Actually, all the locals here are super nice and I think once you are around for a while, they just accept you into their community.

OK, have probably burned enough baht. Will post more later (yeah, you've heard that line before).

Greetings from Bangkok

Finally have some time to sit and write. So much has happened since my last post. We made our way from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. Along the way, I was able to sample some truly local delicacies: tarantula and grasshopper (or cricket).

When we arrived at the siem Reap bus station, we were swarmed by tranportation vendors peddling their services (mostly or all tuk tuks). Around here, it's all about who asked you first. You'll hear this a lot: "remember me, I asked you first." So, yeah I went with the first guy to approach me, though I do remember hearing someone yell out earlier, " you with the glasses..." The people here are quite proficient with their English. Our "sales rep" sounded like he'd returned to Cambodia from the States. Turns out he wasn't the driver but instead just the guy rounding up customers. He also tried to sell us accommodations and a tour package. Upon arrival at the Golden Banana Guesthouse (yes, it is run by a couple of gay guys and is lgbt friendly), our driver offered his services to be our tour guide the next several days. When I declined our cheap fare suddenly tripled from 1000riel to 3000 Riel ($0.75). No worries, we kind of expected this anyway, seeing as the original fare was ridiculously low (side note: this is one of the few instances where my general impression that most people here are honest and helpful and have two sides: business and personal. Business-wise they will try to negotiate as much as they can get up front, not that they are trying to rip you off. But after a price is negotiated thats final. Personally, they are quite nice and helpful.) So back to the fare...I gave him $1 for his trouble.

Greetigs from Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Happy Mother's Day! Arrived in PNH yesterday morning. Flight was ok. Tracy got a window seat, but that stuck me in the middle. Would have preferred and aisle of course. Kei was at the airport to meet us with his friend, Nancy, who has a local hookup here. Checked in to a guesthouse and did a little bit of sightseeing: went to the Central Market where I decided to dive into the local food scene with both feet. Ordered some interesting drink from a vendor who spoke no English, so I just had her make something for me. A coconut milk base with cellophane noodles, some unidentified fruit, and ice. The ice worried me, but as I write this email, I have not had any digestive problems yet. Also ate a bowl of noodles with pork blood, and just about any other chicken part. I think I identified some chicken liver (maybe it was kidney as it didn't taste like liver) and maybe a heart. It was a curry base. Also tried a pan fried rice cake stuffed with chives.

Dinner was less interesting. We went to a Khmer restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet. It was ok, not amazing. Had some ice cream at a local shop later. I actually wanted shave ice, but orderd the wrong thing: "mixed fruit ice", which I assume would be ice, not ice cream.

I'll leave out the sightseeing of the former Khmer Rouge detention center, as it is rather depressing.