One of the Kingdom's most eligible bachelors is about to take the plunge and hundreds

of well-wishers are gearing up for the big event on Aug 18. The Post conveys its

heartiest congratulations to Sok Chenda Sophea and Toan Srey Aun Sophie on the occasion

of their upcoming marriage.

** Said one diplomat about Hun Sen's trip to China, "The Chinese know how to

call a spade a spade. We all dither around and try to be polite about supporting

the coalition, while the Chinese in one deft stroke point out who's in charge."

Said another envoy, "The Chinese are just telling it like it is."

** Nate Thayer reports that he is well ensconced in his new office at Johns Hopkins'

SAIS in Washington, DC, has finished one book and is working on another. He says

that there are lots of people with coats and ties. When he introduced himself to

one of his academic colleagues, the man looked at him very pleasantly and sincerely

and said "Oh, are you here to install the new carpets?" Nate can now be

pestered by e-mail at: [email protected].

** The question that is baffling hundreds of trivia buffs, according to one Brit:

"I know how many islands there are in the Philippines and Indonesia but I don't

know how many there are in the British Isles?" Its time for the British Embassy

to intervene and settle the issue once and for all.

** Palace watchers are becoming increasingly worried about His Majesty's health.

Some who've visited with the King recently say that His Majesty is extremely tired,

still suffering from dizzy spells and that it is affecting his handwriting to the

point that His signature has changed dramatically.

** The Manhattan Club, sources say, has become somewhat of an ecstasy mini-mart.

The high-tech mind-bender is readily available until the wee hours. Some of the Vietnamese

gals working the club have been encouraged to dabble in the stuff and, according

to one observer, the results were not very pretty.

** As the Internet slowly works its way into the Kingdom, some observers are becoming

alarmed. "The Internet is the third anti-Christ", says soothsayer, Ant

Studies graduate, Irish wanna-be, Nostradamusian scholar, Catholic look-alike, and

1/4096th part-Chinese hack Matthew Lee, who hails from that pre-eminent font of wisdom

and learning - Buffalo, New York.