Carry on smiling

This is a cheerful, verging on mad, clock and watch seller in the Russian Market in Phnom Penh. The hilarity was because she jokily wanted an extra dollar for writing a receipt for a purchase we'd just made.

Berry was buying the tackiest clock he could find as a booby prize for someone in an upcoming frisbee tournament. We found one with utterly hideous bright blue trim and a picture of Prime Minister Hun Sen and his wife behind the hands. Anyone would be lucky to have it.

I am always intrigued by Cambodians who are old enough to have lived through the Khmer Rouge, and how it has affected their lives. She was such a lively old bean - would she have remained so as her country crumbled around her, or did it take people like her to get others through the trauma? I would love to hear people like her talk openly and honestly about their experiences.