...We are the sum of our experiences...

Today I experienced my first ever case of urgency in Cambodia. Keep in mind I've been living here two months now...

Today started slow and ended in an adventure. I found a cafe which serves a big ol' bacon and eggs breakfast (with baguette and rosemary hash browns) and set up shop there for the morning. Three hours, two coffees and three newspapers later I was very chilled. So chilled in fact, that I didn't pay any attention to which university I was supposed to go to in the afternoon for my Australia presentation. I made it there, went for coffee and was set for a leisurely trip home.

As Konrad and I left the cafe, we noticed thunder in the distance and the thickness of the air. It looked like it would rain in the next hour, and decided to head straight home. Of course, Konrad's bike wouldn't start. He waited patiently trying to coerce his bike, while I took his bag and my laptop home to avoid the rain. Two decisions then made my evening dramatic – kind of like a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' book.

I decided that rather than paying $2 to get home in a sheltered tuk-tuk, I'd risk it and take a bike for $1. Secondly, after a wrong turn, I decided to stop and pick up some items I'd had put aside in a store, adding an extra few minutes to the trip.

When I got back to the bike and made an agreement with my driver. 'Fast, fast. 2 dollar'. He pointed at the sky, then nodded. He absolutely gunned it. We went through every red light and I nearly fell off once. The whole trip took less than 10 minutes. During that time, the weather went from ominous to monsoonal. As we turned into Mao Tse Tung, the rain started. Less than a kilometre later, as we turned into Street 151 it became torrential. By the time I was getting off the bike and running to the door it had reached a point I'd never seen rain.

In the end I gave him $3.

Should have taken a tuk-tuk.