Land mines, malaria and other things to avoid here

pretty unlikely that theres many buried in the cement jungle that is pnom penh, but up north, chinese mines were planted by Vietnam along the 700 km of the Thailand–Cambodian border. More russian made mines were laid by the Cambodians when the Vietnamese withdrew, and then a bunch more as recent as the mid nineties to fight the Khmer Rouge near Pol-Pots home town, the threat of coming home in a wheel chair takes it right off of my to do list.

is the house Hitler or other world class murderers were born in tourist destinations of sorts?

So today im checking out the remains of an old station that does not seem like its seen a train since the seventies. at that time, all life stopped dead when cities were emptied and millions were moved into the rice fields in an ill formed plan to switch to an agriculture based economy. I explore around the abandoned over grown tracks, and the empty rail houses and the little alleys between them make up a sad little inner city slum. Generally speaking, roads this well traveled are safe, since they see constant traffic, but then it occurs to me that while these guys may not set off a 20 year old mine, since theyre ever so little and weigh less than my shoulder-bag, im beginning to regret having that extra helping for breakfast. “you could have stopped with a bowl of muesli-but NOOOOOOOOO, you had to pile on the fruit, and baguette and...” john belushis voice berates me.

In general, I avoid unpaved roads, and when not possible, trying like someone with that brand of autism to keep my feet constantly on the tire tread cut by the last moto that covered this route. If they didn’t set off explosion underfoot, I should make it out with my nuts intact.

The rule of what to do if you find yourself in a minefield, is NOTHING! Call for help, they say. Well tell me this: who the fuck do you suppose is gonna come in after you? so unless you can retrace your steps, the only sure places you know that wont set off a charge, is where your nervous feet are currently planted. Realistically, youd start to cramp up in 15 minutes or so.

so while i can make an effort to avoid mine fields, getting bit by mosquito’s is impossible to avoid. you sleep under a mosquito net, but its not like they make a suit of the material, and if they did, you wouldnt look particularly stylish, which is what really matters. malaria dengue fever are no party, but the worst is Japanese encephalitis, which affects you like mad cow. Come to think of it, my head does hurt, but its mainly in the sore spot where Ive repeatedly clocked it on something low. small people these Cambodians.