SERGIO, the limousine driver who picked up Prince Ranariddh, his wife and family

at the airport in Rio and drove them to their hotel, says he thought the Prince was

a very nice man. He wants to send his best regards to the Prince, and especially

pass on a fond hello to Princess Rattana whose youthful charm and beauty caught his

eye.

In other news from the Gecko's trip to continental America:

 

• The girl from Ipanema actually exists. And she is a real knockout.
• As expected, the guys in Rio play football on the beach night and day. And when

  someone gets fouled, the wannabe Ronaldos fake enormous pain just like the pros and

  then bounce back up to rejoin the action.

• In America, whose citizens regularly remind the rest of the planet that the USA

  is the greatest country on earth, a new superlative can be added to an already long

  list the country is Number One in: its population is now the fattest on earth.

• According to a recent study conducted by the Center for Disease Control, 54.6

  percent of all Americans are either overweight or obese. This compares with a figure

  of only 43.5 percent back in 1962.

In an effort to deal with this problem, good old-fashioned Yankee ingenuity has

come to the fore. Cinema owners, subway officials and sports stadium managers have

tackled the problem head on and are now putting in new seats three to five inches

wider.

• Back in Cambodia, it seems the old ways are best. An English teacher asked her

  class what traditional remedies there were for the recent bouts of colds and flu

  - à la lemon juice with ginger and honey. After some murmuring the consensus

  of the class was that the traditional antibiotics were the best. Trying to clarify

  things, she asked about remedies the class's grandparents may have used. More murmurings,

  before the answer was offered up: paracetamol.

Correction

• The Gecko's usually impeccable sources made a slipup last week.

The report of a UNESCO vehicle knocking down a moto with two people on it and

not bothering to stop was incorrect. In fact, the vehicle had the UNICEF logo on

the side. The Post apologizes to UNESCO. But the Gecko would love to hear from UNICEF.