Bus trip to Cambodia
Trip Start
Apr 08, 2005
1
268
270
Trip End
Apr 09, 2006
Phonom Penh,
Cambodia
Friday, April 7, 2006
Well thankfully Ad has stashed away some Vietnamese Dong, Fergus has some USD and between us we're only short a couple of dollars! Great. Except we are then informed that there is an additional 30% charge for paying in non USD!
Well, we queue for almost one hour to get the departure stamp for Vietnam before queuing at the Cambodia immigration authorities. Some friendly Monaghan/Meath girls cough up a couple of dollars to help us out. Would you believe Ad pays her fee plus 30% and Fergus hands over his cash, but forgot to hand in the coins element, the officer doesn't check it so we've actually underpaid him! What a tight spot!
We don't get up to much else for the remainder of the day. A different bus takes us to Phonom Penh. Much smaller and less comfortable. Its packed with tourists but makes many stops to pick up locals and their fruit and veg produce. The roads here are nothing more than tracks through a bog. Its torrential rain yet the people are still out and about in t-shirts. Many are working in the fields, while others are driving cows and carts. Cambodia has had a very tempestuous history, in fact it is only recently that tourist are welcomed and safe to travel. For decades areas were unsafe because of Khmer Rouge guerrillas and bandit groups. The war has ended, but the killing continues. Years of guerrilla conflict have lef Cambodia the most densely mined country in the world. The statistics are horrendous - up to eight million landmines in the country; 50,000 amputees; a further 2000 mine victims every year. The threat to tourists is minimal although still very real for those working in the fields. The main danger occurs when striking off into fields or forests.
When we arrive in Phonom Penh, our bus stops directly outside the drivers hotel. I can not emphaises enough what directly outside means. We are within 1 meter of the doorway, the staff have made a human wall to the left of the bus exit and to the right is a flower garden, so in effect we have no alternative but to walk into the hotel. Its down right bullying!
We manage to scramble our way out onto the street where we are harassed by tuc-tuc drivers. God sometimes you'd need the patience of a saint. As its our last night we opt for a 5 star hotel, it costs less than €20 each (including breakfast). And its gorgeous. We take a swim in the outdoor heated pool, that is until the thunderstorm is precariously close and we decide not to tempt faith. Back in our room we've a fantastic view of the Mekong River.
We have dinner in a small restaurant where the waiter is very chatty. We order garlic bread for starters (which comes as a baguette with two cloves of garlic, diced and placed onto of the bread, to say its strong!!). Ad can barely keep from vomiting. That is until our steaks arrive and we find yet more garlic diced and placed on top! No thank you, Ad can't eat anymore. It's a pity, Fergus has a great feed, and the staff were very kind. They offered us many drinks at two for one - all in all 50c!
