Stepping Stone
Trip Start
Oct 01, 2005
1
61
158
Trip End
Jul 21, 2007
Kratie,
Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
After we had crossed the Mekong on a ferry and run the gauntlet of scattered assorted farm animals, some pigs tied to the back of scooters, we had made it to Stung Treng where we dined on noodles with questionable morsels of meat.
The onward journey was nothing short of horrific. Due in the most part to the sick joke of a minibus which had nothing by way of suspension or comfort and literally fell to pieces as we went along. Kerrys back had pretty much siezed up following a jarring incident on Don Det, so as we bounced along the potholed dirt tracks that Cambodia has for roads she suffered additional jarring all the way. By 7 o'clock we had reached the small town of Kratie and faced with another 3 hours of dust eating torture we decided to spend the night there and pay for another bus to take us the rest of the way the next day.
It's always the same with those oh so convenient and cheap looking offers which we have stupidly continued to fall fowl of. It all seems great when you book it. 'Yes sir you will be transferred smoothly from your hotel to a 'vip' air conditioned minibus which will take you to your destination with everything included, no problem!'. Of course by the time you realise that in reality the air con is the open windows, and that you are two of 25 people crammed into a 20 year old shed of a minibus that should seat 15, you are dripping with sweat and coated in a thick layer of dirt from the windows, and the twat that sold you the trip is 50km's back down the road sat in his cool office duping some other idiot and counting his ill earned stick em ups. Obviously the roughness of the trip worsens in direct proportion to the countries GDP which in the case of Cambodia is a pitiful $26 billion so you are not gonna have a nice trip.
