In pursuit of an ATM that wouldn’t charge me any fees, and emboldened by Krud beer, I once again braved the journey towards pub street, and discovered that while I could choose to hold my liquor, doing so made me realize that it might not be my vibe.

I still needed a SIM card, and to get over my issues with trust, so I took my host’s advice, and paid $2 for a lift to the Smart Shop. What I got was not what expected, not under my control, and not bad. It was an adventure.

I learned a lesson about trust, today. It’s the sort of lesson you’re really forced into learning, by virtue of making sense of the traumatic experience of simply existing in a society where it’s common for everyone you meet to try to take advantage of you.

Aboard the Giant Ibis from Bangkok, I cross into the border into Cambodia, and experience a culture quite unlike any that I have ever known.