In Phnom Penh yearning for the beach

This is what you get for not booking ahead.  After a six hour bus journey where we stopped not once but numerous times I arrived in Phnom Penh.  I was the only foreigner on the bus and one of the stops involved the bus getting washed.  I also got to reaquaint myself with squat toilets (oh, the joys of travel!).  So I land in the busiest bit of a sprawling, bustling metropolis, tired, hungry and in need of a bex and a good lie down.  After a mad attempt to find a hotel on foot and after seeing rooms with no windows or windows that overlooked the foyer I sat in a cafe and let my fingers do the walking.  I ended up at The Bodhi Tree, a

small oasis in the middle of the madness even though its over the road from the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum.  I realised I couldn't handle Phnom Penh just then - I'd been going full tilt since I arrived in Cambodia so I spent the next day organsing to move to the beach.  I booked into a place in Kep where I planned to sit in a hammock for a few days and read.  I did get a bit of a look at the city. I wandered through the old market, tracked down a copy of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for my book club reading, and looked to solve my clothing crisis.  I'd not stayed anywhere long enough to get laundry done so it was off to the Russian Market, a rabbit warren of a place and a chance to sharpen my barganing skills.  I left with a very nice sarong and a sundress (yes, a dress) in a lurid purple pattern that doubles as a skirt - travel demands flexible clothing!  I will come back to Phnom Penh and now I have a bit of a feel for the place it won't be so hard next time around.  So hang out the gone fishin' sign, I'm off to the beach!