An Irish electoral logistics coordinator wins the "Rudest Customer Award"

among all the foreigners who came to town for the elections, according to FCCC chief

Tony Alderson. With a few too many cocktails under his belt, the lubricated lad took

it upon himself to start groping the club's female staff. A few of his colleagues

had to be called in to restore order.

** The bit of cross border tension in Romeas Haek District, Svay Rieng seems to have

been solved through a dose of timely negotiation, according to one observer who checked

the situation out.

Toward the end of the campaign period some Vietnamese soldiers got a bit fed up with

all the anti-Vietnamese rhetoric in Rainsy's and Ranariddh's campaign stumping and

the minor exodus of ethnic Viets trickling in from Cambodia fearing violence. They

crossed the border into Romeas Haek, verbally harassed some villagers and took five

or six registration cards before heading back home. The cardless villagers complained

to the district chief who then went and had a chat with the Vietnamese soldiers.

Cooler heads prevailed. The cards were returned. End of story.

** Free market forces are at work in Svay Rieng town. One of the cameras used for

the registration process was on sale in town before the elections.

** Some voters took a rather creative approach during the elections. Instead of

ticking off one particular party, they decided to invalidate their vote by writing

"all crooks" across the entire ballot.

** Question: how many laminating machines, cameras, photographic paper and cans of

film went missing from the offices of the relevant authorities before the elections?

Inquiring minds want to know.

** New scam alert: an unsuspecting foreigner still half asleep in the early morning

answered a knock on the door of his fourth floor apartment only to find two well-dressed

Khmer women with a child. They said they wanted a piece of paper and a pen to leave

a note for someone. The guy was happy to oblige and went to get a notepad, but when

he came back the threesome had already fled, nicking his phone in the process.

** Some folks in Siem Reap are ticked off. They say they paid $60 a person to get

a job with an observer group on the promise that they would later be hired "by

UNTAC" for full-time jobs at $300 per month.

** Has anyone tried the Guts Soup at the Pekig Canteen near the Phsar Thmei? The

owner says its delicious.