S o much for increased purchasing power for riel holders when the currency

appreciated last week. A quick survey of several shops along Monivong -

including several photo outlets, a supermarket, and a restaurant - found a

unanamous response. If you tried to pay in riels for items priced in dollars,

everyone responded that 2500 to 1 was the only acceptable rate. When asked why

the response was "No, no, no. The riel goes up and down. If we take 2300 for a

dollar we lose tomorrow."

The MAS inflight magazine "Wings of Gold" will

hopefully print a correction in its next issue. The February 95 edition had this

to say about the recent RAC/MHS link-up: "The present lease arrangement is on a

wet lease basis, which means the lease includes all the support staff such as

pilots and cabin crew, making RAC a totally Malaysian operation."

The

National Musuem of Cambodia, along with is contents, got a lick of new paint

recently. After delivering a coat of strawberry red paint on the outside of the

building, the decorators splashed a more subtle pastal around the inside.

Visitors to the museum were amazed by the sight of painters precariously perched

on ladders above the ancient treasures of Cambodia below. The odd spot of

sandpaper and paint dropped onto the cultural gems, but staff expressed no

concern - they said they would scrub the exhibits down later. Not how they do it

in the Louvre, one presumes.

There's an interesting sign outside a

restaurant on the other side of the Chroy Changvar bridge. It reads: "Fosters -

Halal".

The KR have been digging in their bag of baloney again. Their

latest description on radio of government advisor Sue Downie is that she is a

"bitch" who is the "boss of the two-headed government's propagandist Ministry of

Information."

Last Saturday night's New Year firework display consisted

of thousands of AK-47 tracer rounds being fired at the lunar eclipse. One

Westerner, worried where the bullets might eventually land, moved under the

awning of a restaurant, not believing a probable tall story that tracers tend to

"flutter" down to earth.

Rumor has it that Ann Moran won big at the

casino last week and has been buying drinks for friends all over town. Give her

a shout if you're thirsty.