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Published: September 4th 2006
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The bus to the border
A quality local bus. It did make it however. We spent an interesting, sleepless night at the "New Hotel", Surin, who despite the name was obviously built some time in the 70s. The maze like corridors were lined with green lino, and flickering fluro tubes that only added to the feeling of being an ex hospital or psych ward. But hey, the beds were comfortable, relatively clean, and we had a TV. Lucky us, all 40 channels except for Fashion TV were dubbed in Thai. I never realised Bruce Willis was so fluent in the language.
It wasn't until 3 or 4 in the morning that we were awoken by a screaming maniac that was either trying to get into a room a couple of doors down, or get someone out of the room that only added to the feeling of being in a crazy house.
Fuck I need a decent nights sleep.
Surin is a weird transport stop that accomodates buses and trains running from Bangkok out to the East and Ubon Ratchatarri. It's not really a place you deliberately go to apart from the annual "Elephant Round UP" that occurs in November each year. I think it's Thailand's answer to the Calgary Stampede. Except with elephants of course.
Heading out of here, we catch the public bus down to the border town of Chong Chom. The 3 hour public bus there wasn't too bad (apart from the fact that we've finished ALL our reading material between us) but then after crossing over which was remarkably easy after hearing other travellers tales of woe we were encountered by the problem of needing to catch a taxi (the only way from the border).
Monopolies are wonderful things if you are the only taxi driver on Cambodia's side of the border crossing. With no competition or comparison, we had to accept a ridiculously high price to get us to Siem Reap. This price mind you was going to be the same whether we went all the way to Siem Reap, or just to the first local town that we could
possibly
arrange public transport from. So naturally, you go the whole way. Once we hit the road mind you, we realised why it cost so much.
Let me put it this way, a 4wd would have had troubles on the trip, and yet this man was attempting it in a Toyata Camry sedan. Far out. It would have been the perfect Toyota ad as this sedan rocked and bumped it's way over massive red earth pot holes, passing "Warning, MINES!!"signs on either side of the road, and all I could think of was "Ï wish I thought to wear my sports bra" The other down side to taking this road was that because he couldn't ever go any faster than about 20km an hour, the 300km trip was going to take a very very very long time.
We stopped at a village just briefly enough for our bodies and brains to stop rocking about and for us to became freak shows for all the inhabitants before pushing onwards. The scenery is an interesting mix of deforestation up near the border where it obviously once was rainforest; rice paddies with the occasional Sugar palm climbing skywards amongst the flat horizon; massive brown puddles of water that the local people seem to try and fish in, swim in and bathe in; then as you get closer to Siem Reap the red red dust that chokes the air from the road and covers everything up to 5m back from the transport route.
As you travel the road you'll notice signs for different policital parties that are mounted in front of 80%!o(MISSING)f the houses, be them literally wooden shacks to semi-brick abodes. Politics is so tangible here.
As I sit here writing this a truck with a loadspeaker has gone passed spruiking its message in Khmer, while along the outside written in both Khmer and english is "Black Box Program" where you can report any cases of corruption anonimously and place it in the "black box" I don't know if anyone would ever use this.
The other thing you notice on the way in was the numerous Land Mine warnings and land mine clearance programs sponsored and funded by nearly every country in the world. Not too much from America I might add.
We finally reach Siem Reap and our guesthouse where we had Christopher waiting there for us, and Monty joining us Tuesday. Had a great Khmer dinner - one of the tastiest meals to date - in the crazy backpacker hub full of westerners eating at restaurants housed in colonial buildings, while tuk tuk drivers pounce on you once you leave in order to get your fare. On the way to the tuk tuk you are approached by at least 10 children, some carrying baby sisters or brothers asking for money. I told one girl no and she then pointed to the bottle of water and asked for that intstead.
Christ, this place is going to kill me.
ps. sorry for the lack of pics, you'll just have to rely on my descriptions!
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