Dirtiest, Roughest Road in the world for 10 HOURS
Trip Start
Sep 09, 2005
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Trip End
Dec 23, 2005
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Unreal. I don't know how to begin to describe this mini 'adventure'. The rough road (literally) of our journey has begun. 5 of us boarded a mini bus, at 6am, and headed to the border of Thailand and Cambodia. A few hours later, we had our bags on (in the 95 degree heat) and started the walk across the border. We cued in line for nearly an hour before making it through passport control and crossed into Cambodia. That was the easy part. With our bags, FOUR of us climbed into the side car of a moped for a short journey down a dirt road to our connection point with the rest of the group. And yes, there were chickens, cows, pigs, rice patty's and shanty towns littering the polluted, dirty crossing area as the dust flew around us on the way. After connecting with the rest of the group, we boarded our slightly bigger mini bus and start our trip down the "bumpy" "rough" "dancing" (it has many names) Road. Completely unpaved, dirt road with the largest pot holes - not even - more like sink holes - you have ever seen. One after another. Regardless of the physical aspect - the views were amazing. Villages working together in the rice fields, children playing in gardens and riding bikes, farmers carrying produce, rice drying in the sun on the side of the road, blue sky and green mountains in the distance, boys fishing in the rivers, woman washing clothes in the lakes. It was beautiful. There was even some fascinating entertainment. It is unbelievable what kind of items can fit onto a motorbike. We had seen a mattress, an entire bedroom dresser set (2 large pieces), 3 full grown pigs tied on (on top of the seat with the driver), chicken coups - you name it! Definitely added a laugh to the long drive. At the end of the 10 hours, our butts were literally sore, the sensation of moving (bouncing) wouldn't stop and our heads had felt better! But we survived "the roughest road in the world" and finally reached Siem Reap.
