We left Bangkok early at 6.30am, collected from our guest house. It was a small minivan that quickly filled with 11 people collected from other nearby accommodation. We managed to get on the bus at the right time and secure the best seats. An unfortunate guy from Georgia, (ex-Russia) had the really bad front middle seat with no head reat. We were glad we did not get that seat!
The trip across eastern Thailand was quick, with good roads and a typically aggressive bus driver.
5 hours later we were dumped at a roadside eatery, where our visa applications and photos/passports were gathered up and processed. We had a bite to eat, and waited for about 2hours. Eventually a truck arrived, where we all clambered on to the back and trundled the 5km to the border.
There we had to walk through the various exit point for Thailand, through the no mans land and into the Cambodian entry point. In the no-mans land it was full of big casinos, where the Thais would slip across for a quick gamble. It looked super seedy. We were entering Poipet, Cambodia, and I had read that Poipet rhymes with Toilet for a reason, it was very dirty, absolute choas, and we felt we couldnt trust anyone. And the smell....
3 of us were pushed on to a motorbike sidecar thing for a ride 1km to another wait for a bus. We were aware of the money changing scams, so did not fall for the bad rates that were on offer. The bus company was trying to extort as much as they could while they had us!!
At 3pm we finally were able to board a small bus where we were very cramped and started our trip to Siem Reap.We had been extensively warned about the terrible road conditions, and sure enough, the warnings came true! The road started with a little seal in places, and red dirt everywhere else. There was rain also, and huge potholes.(truck swallowing size) Our driver however, saw it as a challenge and attacked the road, and all traffic in his path. He should come to NZ and try rallying!! The rain was a welcome relief for us though, it meant that the temperatures were not too hot.
The road slowly got worse as we travelled, with more and more potholes, until they were continuous. There were lots of one lane bridges, but fortunately they were all standing as we got to them. Apparently this is not always the case.
We stopped for dinner in the middle of nowhere, amongst Cambodian shacks. Debbie was not felling like eating at that point, so one meal of fried rice was ordered. Once the food arrived, someone changed their mind, found a fork, and I only got half a meal. Debbie has now decided that Cambodian food is not so bad.
After about 6 hours to cover 158km, we arrived on the outskirts of Siem Reap. We first drove past the International Airport, then enormous five star hotels. They were completely unexpected. All lit up like christmas trees, with prices from as little as $300USD through to $3000USD. It was actually quite cruel to drive past all that luxury.
Dropped off at guest house, where we fell for their scam. That was, to bring us into Siem Reap so late and so tired, that the first place we were offered a bed, we took. We thought for a few moments about walking down the road to find somewhere else, but the place has turned out alright. Cheap and clean(ish), our own cold shower and western toilet.
It was a very good sleep.
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