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A Drunken Holiday in Cambodia

You folks all know how much I love Cambodia, but last night was a testament to that. Our good friend, Sophath, who is like a brother to us, treated us to an action-packed evening.

First, a Khmer BBQ dinner at street stall (Yum!) with Sophath, his wife Dahlin and daughter Leak (pronounced "Leah"; you may recall that we named Leak, so she's a like a God-daughter to us). Also at the table were four of Sophath's employees, De Jay, Hong Kong, Horn and Cheuey (pronounced "chewy"). It was a fun bunch. Sophath brought a bottle of gin and the drinking commenced with many, many rounds of gin and tonics. A good time was had by all.

Then we were off to the bar with Sophath, De Jay and Cheuey. It was really a locals-only kinda place and was a big outdoor restaurant with a big stage at one end. There was what I thought to be a live band, but it was a karaoke bar with a live back-up band. It was more open-mike night than karaoke, with a band no lyrics to read. How cool is that?

We ordered some food, including one dish with pork and a raw egg yolk on top; I love me some Khmer food, but I skipped that one. We also ordered more booze, in the form of our own table-top draft beer dispenser. It's quite cool, with a column of ice in the middle to keep the beer cold, and a spigot to pour. It held about 6 liters and only cost $4! Cheap-cheap!

De Jay got up and played the guitar (electric and bass); he was really good! Sophath went up soon after, and after many drinks and cajoling, Tadashi went up and played a few songs, with the rest of us dancing.

By the time the night was over, the five of us had polished off two of those keg-thing and a bottle of gin; we were all quite drunk. Indeed, I daresay that I was still drunk this morning when I woke up.

Sadly, I have no pictures. Drat. Mental note: never go out with Sophath without a camera.

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