Tim Tam.
To most, merely a poor Australian conterfeit of the noble chocolate Penguin biscuit.
As of today it is a new alloy, fused in the white heat of Phnom Penh traffic madness.
Tam approached us outside the National Museum, in that charming and conversational style used by the best salesmen. Unassuming and with no hard sell, we chatted about home and Manchester United and the beauty of the Cambodian capital. Before long we were hooked and he reeled us in expertly, despite our polite protestations.
Out gunned and out manoeuvred by a slick operator, we were in his Tuk Tuk, not really knowing how we got there, and barrelling along the river road in a maelstrom of traffic. Dodging oncoming mopeds and swerving to avoid desperate pedestrians, we hurtled headlong through the rush hour, reaching speeds of over 8 miles per hour. When the white knuckle ride was over, we had bus tickets to Angkor Wat, his brother's contact details in Siem Reap and an annual subscription to Tuk Tuk Weekly. What a lovely young man.
For the rest of the day we first wandered around the Royal Palace and then the cool halls of the National Museum, gazing intently at enigmatic limestone faces from the 9th century Angkor period, when the Khmer civilisation revolved around a God King ruling a city of over one million people, devoted to Hindu deities.
Angkor doctrine teaches that Brahma created us from a lotus flower whilst standing on the back of a serpent in the cosmic sea of eternity. Vishnu sustains all existance and one day Shiva will destroy us.
That is unless Tam meets her first and charms her into his Tuk Tuk.
Then our destruction will be the last thing on her mind.
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