When I last wrote I had just crashed my motorcycle in Ban Lung in Cambodia's wild Northeast and was about to head south to the temples of Angkor. There was a interesting twist before I left Ban Lung however involving my travelling partner Jason Cloud.

I nursed my wounds the day after my crash at the crater lake just outside of town. I have found that Angkor Beer (the Cambodian national brand) is probably the best medicine for such a calamity. When we got back to our hotel, Jason noticed that his phone and Ipod were missing, and he confronted the hotel's management. I can't remember if I mentioned that our home, the Ratanak Hotel, was actually a Karoake bar/Brothel. This was not brought to our attention when we arrived, but it quickly became apparent given the numerous shifty characters and over painted young girls who hung around in the main lobby.

After arguing with the hotel management we thought of giving up. You barely ever hear about tourists getting stolen things back, but Jason was adament, and used another cell to phone his and found that his phone was actually in one of the hotel employee's rooms. We now knew it was an inside job. We decided to get the Cambodian police involved, and soon the boys in blue arrived.  They weren't actually dressed in blue, but they did wear green military uniforms and were armed with AK-47s. Jason made it clear that he would not be leaving Ban Lung until his Ipod was returned and that he would have everyone arrested. The perpetrators soon realized that they had underestimated the 6 foot 4, 250 pound Californian, and they pretty much shit their pants.

The Ipod was returned, but to me when Jason was in our room. Southeast Asian males are terrified of losing face in any situation, even if they are completely in the wrong. The owner was ashamed however, and offered to repay us by letting us stay for free and inviting us to have a drink with him. It really wasn't one drink, it was more like 15 drinks, but I can't actually remember. All I can remember is vague drunken songs, blurry faces, and the brutal hangover when I came to the next morning. So we caught the bus and headed off over the road of the apocalypse bound for Siem Reap and Angkor.