The random number generator has spoken and a winner has been chosen. Congratulations to Christine Patterson, the proud new owner of this lovely turquoise and silver necklace!

A few people inquired about what my final cost was on this item. The vendor asked for 3,000 rupees originally, but quickly dropped it to 2,500 and then 2,000. I only became interested when she hit 1,000 and finally haggled it down to 600 rupees ($8.50 US). 3,000 rupees was quite a mark-up.

Thanks to everyone who entered and who helped spread the word about the contest. I’ll keep my eyes open for something cool to share again soon. Congrats again to Christine.

The lucky winner of this delightful bottle of wine is Laura von Eichorn! Keep in mind that Cambodians don’t really distinguish between wine and spirits, so it’s probably a lot stronger than you think. I’m sure you’ll love it — it’s guaranteed to put hair on your chest.

I’d like to thank everyone who entered and wish I had about 50 more bottles to send out. Stay tuned for the next contest — there’s no telling what I’ll find next to share. Congratulations to Laura and thanks again!

The rules are simple: leave a comment here and on May 2, I will randomly pick the lucky winner and ship you this prize direct from Cambodia. If you’re a fan of my Facebook page, you can leave a comment there as well and double your odds. Makes a great gift!

[Please note that all of your information is confidential and that I am far too lazy to spam you. ]

I’ve rolled the dice and the lucky winner of a free t-shirt from hosteldog.com is… Karen Wiss Clark! She’s receiving a $25 gift certificate and gets to choose the t-shirt design of her choice.

I’d like to thank everyone who’s joined my Facebook Fan Page — if you haven’t, please give it a look. I post photos and anecdotes there that never make it to this site and will be featuring future contests for cool loot I find on the road. Congratulations to Karen and thanks to everyone for playing along. Not that you really had to do anything, slackers ;)

With great dread and deep-rooted fear, I crammed everything into my pack and maneuvered it onto my poor bathroom scale. I’d hoped to come in under 50 pounds, but the last minute “oh, I just have to take this” syndrome bit hard and the final weight was 57.5 pounds. I’m crying as I type this.

I’ll have to do some serious weeding over the next few weeks and I think I can shave a few pounds off that total, but it’s still a ridiculous amount of weight to lug around.

The only person to guess within one pound was my cousin, Donna, who guessed 58.5 pounds. She didn’t ask for a specific amulet, but knowing her well I’ll try to find one that will grant her peace from her crazy family.

Since she is a relative, and to avoid any cries of nepotism, I’m also declaring the second-closest guess a winner as well. That is Scott from Idaho, who nearly nailed it at 59.2 pounds. After learning he’d won, he replied back that he’d recently met a new special lady-friend, so I’ll try to find one to keep stoking the fires of love.

Congrats to the winners (I plan on visiting the amulet market in the next few days) and a big thanks to everyone who played along!