No laying Angkor

Needless to say, Marie didn't show up. I wandered up and down Bar Street (what is the world coming to when the gateway to one of the world's most iconic temple complexes, Angkor Wat, has a street by such a name?) half a dozen times, but she was nowhere to be seen. She had assured me that she would be sitting outside one of the dozen drinking establishments. But she wasn't. I walked back and forth so many times that the touts offering 'personal services' must have thought that I was just trying to pluck up the courage to strike a deal.

I did, however, bump into Zoe, with whom I had spent the previous evening (I said 'evening'  not 'night'). I don't know what came over me, but I was walking back to my hotel, when I saw this beautiful woman sitting alone outside a bar. So I went in, ordered a beer and, after a couple of minutes of shilly-shallying, asked if I could join her. I was so pleased with myself for getting that far, that I forgot to say anything. Eventually, she broke the ice. Zoe was an Australian in her mid-twenties who was at the start of her first trip into the less developed world. And I know this is going to sound corny, after saying that Stella was the sexiest woman I have ever met, but I would have to say that Zoe was the most attractive. She had an understated beauty (unlike most backpackers, she wasn't wearing as little clothing as is just about considered socially acceptable) that I found mesmerising, as well as a very attractive air of confidence.

We had a couple of drinks, then she suggested going to another bar. So we did. After a third beer, I was contemplating my next move. A fourth beer may have given me the Dutch courage to make a move on her. After all, she hadn't mentioned a boyfriend. And as a first-timer, she did need showing the ropes. Suddenly, she asked whether I wanted to come to the night market. I couldn't think of anything I wanted to do less. So I racked my brains for potential hidden meanings in her suggestion. Did she want to 'do the business'? Was I being offered the chance to 'sample her wares'? But an 04.15 alarm call, so that I could make it to Angkor Wat for sunrise, was never far from my thoughts and, against my better judgement, I declined her invitation.

So I went over to Zoe and asked how she had enjoyed the night market. She said she had met a local who had offered to take her to a Cambodian nightclub. After making it clear that she wasn't interested in him, she went to the techno club, where she had been the only Westerner. Then at 03.30, he had driven her 10 miles to Angkor Wat, where he had given Zoe her first-ever motorbike lesson - in the pitch black. She had got back to her hotel at 05.00. Now Zoe was waiting for him to pick her up and take her back to the club. I bade her goodnight. That girl is going to have a lot of fun. But she could find herself in a lot of trouble, too.

I had a final look for Marie's Croydon facelift before heading back to the hotel. Another country, another notchless bed-post.