I figured it out. For the past several days there has been a daytime curfew imposed on the city. So, after our 14 hour bikeride was over at 9PM, the city was open again. I guess we did good, then, by coming in late. Unfortunately, since the curfew's still going daily, this also means I'm stuck to the tourist part of town until the curfew lifts (between 6 and 9 PM), probably for as long as I'm still here.

I met an older guy last night who was stuck in Phnom Penh during the Khmer Rouge takeover, which made me feel like this is all a relatively slight inconvenience. He said he and the 13 other tourists in all of Cambodia had to wait 3 weeks for a military escort to the Thailand border. All day and night he had nothing to do but hang around the hotel all the press and diplomats were staying at, the one in the Killing Fields film.

I made it to the Indian embassy this morning before the curfew officially began. It was swamped with tourists (by that I mean Israelis) trying to get out of here, and after 3 hours of waiting I handed my passport to the counter and was told to come back Thursday. The embassy, entirely unexpectedly, decided to help us all out and process the visa forms in 3 days instead of 5 (5 meaning 7, since we'd have to wait the weekend). So, I get my visa out Thursday. I'm booking a flight to Dehli on Friday, so I get to actually do stuff this weekend. Granted, it's Dehli and people have told me it's one of the worst cities in the world, but at least I'll be moving again. I'll have spent just over 6 weeks in this country, a full 2 weeks longer than planned. Good thing I'm not on any schedule.

The way back from the embassy was creepy, to say the least. The curfew officially started at 9, and I didn't leave the embassy 'till after noon. I rode my bike to the embassy in the morning, dodging the foot traffic of the streets buzzing with tea shops and market stalls. In the afternoon, the roads were absolutely dead clear, except for the groups of military and the occasional massively armored army vehicle. Military dudes, for some reason, come in green or blue camo out here and only hang out by the dozen. There is, almost literally, one group of army guys on each corner surrounding the area I'm staying at. On the bikeride back, I was stopped every few street corners and asked to maintain my direction directly back to the tourist area, provided I'd finished whatever business it was that led me out of there in the first place. They are extremely apologetic, I have to give them credit for that, one guy told me it was "regrettable" that the curfew is imposed and "asked" that I return to my hotel and relax for the day. I guess that's what I'll be doing 'till friday anyway. Relaxing. At least I'm stuck outside the massive protests that have been leaving hundreds of people in the hospital every day. HP 5 is long gone, time to find another apple for this bookworm.