When you arrive at the main bus drop-off zone in Sihanoukville you realize quickly that your about to get fleeced. It's just a fifteen minute ride from Sihanoukville to Otres, but you'll not find anyone willing to take you there for less than $5. Five bucks may seem fair - if you've arrived by turnip truck - but it's not. In a moment I'll put these rates into perspective.
 
Elenka and I are in Battambang now (see photo with its accompanying little story about our 14 hour journey on the toilet-less hotel bus). The tuk-tuk driver who took-took us to our Battambang hotel wanted to be our driver/tour guide. We wanted to take a ride on Battambang's bamboo train; climb to the top of Phnom Sampeau Mountain for a Buddhist temples visit; and see the hundreds of thousands, maybe a million, wrinkle lipped bats swoop down from their cave dwelling at dusk (see bat photos).   

After the driver proposed his fee Elenka and I looked at one another; fee negotiation would not be an issue. In fact, before the trip even began we'd decided that a generous tip would be in order. The tour lasted just under five hours and the cost was $15. Compare that with $5 for fifteen minutes of tuk-tuk riding at the beach and it's not hard to see how there might be room for a United Brotherhood of Tuk-Tuk drivers somewhere on the horizon.   


More on money:
Last night on the way home from dinner we popped into a convenience store. Since we have a refrigerator at our new Battambang digs we bought five cans of beer; a super-sized chocolate bar; a bag of laundry detergent; and a tube of toothpaste. The bill came to $5.37.  
 
Scuba diving tip of the journey:

 
Breaking into a sneezing fit while on the sea bottom can feel as uncomfortable as sensing the onset of diarrhea while in a swimming pool. Each rapid-fire blast can blow your mask a full 5mm from your face. The pressure from these explosions however, creates a vacuum effect which causes your mask to slam back on your face with little to no water leakage. Once the sneezing has stopped - the inside of your mask will look as though it's been spray-painted - simply remove your mask, give it a good scrubbing with your fingers, and put it back on. Then place the palm of your hand tightly against the top of your mask, look toward the sky, and blow hard through your nose. This action will displace the sea water from your mask and you'll be able to continue your dive with perhaps a cleaner mask than when you started. 
 
My camera was set on the wrong mode and all of my underwater shots turned out to be a little too blue. Our dive-guide said he'd send me his, but that hasn't happened.