Final few days in Vietnam and a run in with the Cambodian Police !!

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Day 157 (Mon 11^thFeb)



My last morning in Saigon was one where I had to pack up and move on. I got sorted and headed to the tour shop who’d organised my taxi to the airport. Got out to the airport in way too much time giving me 2 odd hours sat around in the departure lounge. Watched a bit of tv then boarded my plane. I was flying to Phu Quoc island. Phu Quoc is Vietnamese although a lot closer to Cambodia and is sort of disputed. The island is also incredibly similar in specification as the Isle of Man, where I’m from. It is the same length, width, size per sq mile and population. Only difference is its nicer, cheaper and far hotter.

I got to my guesthouse to be told they were fully booked and I wasn’t on their list. After a phone call or 2 by the guesthouse owner a lad came by with his scooter to pick me up. We travelled for a few minutes and stopped at another guesthouse, I have a feeling they are the same people but I didn’t bother asking. This place seemed nicer than the other one and I was right on the beach so spot on. I got checked in, dumped all my gear and took a walk down the beach. 3km later I got to the dive shop I was after. I got my dives sorted for the next 2 days and headed back down the road this time. This was far quicker and easier. I was due to get picked up early so I resisted the urge to get drunk and spent the night watching tv and films in my room.



Days 158 – 159 (Tues 12^th – Wed 13^th Feb)



The last 2 days I have been diving with Rainbow Divers Vietnam. I would highly recommend them after good dives in both Nha Trang and here in Phu Quoc. As I was diving over 2 days, the first day was spent north of the island and the second the south, which was great as I got 4 different dive sites.

My instructor was Lisa, an English girl so it made communicating incredibly easy which always helps when you’re trying to learn. She was a spot on girl as well so it made making my 3 final dives in my course pretty straight forward. I had to do some reading and knowledge reviews both my evenings to make sure I was prepared for the dives but that was straight forward enough.

On all 3 dives you have to do specific tasks to make sure you’re improving and can actually do what you need to underwater in case of any incidents etc. The final dive was my deep dive, going to 30 metres. At 30m everything is different, colours look different but its a good gauge as to how far you can go. There is a thing called Nitrogen Narcosis which can affect people to the extent they are sort of drunk and doing odd things for no reason and not realising it. I didn’t have this problem and passed all the tests down there to prove it. I did however fail to recognise a tomato at 30m. I thought it was an orange, I blame my colour blindness on it. Apparently my answer was by no means the worst Lisa had ever heard.

After my 3 dives I was now a certified ‘Advanced Open Water’ diver, meaning I can now go to 30m whenever I like as long as I have someone of similar standard with me. The way the courses are run I’m actually half way to being able to work doing it if I wanted to.

The final dive was an extra I had paid for. These are classed as ‘fun dives.’ It was mentally hard work, normally you go down, have a look around, enjoy it all and head back. This site though had the worst current I’d seen by a long way. I back rolled into the water from the side of the boat and was swept nearly to the back before I surfaced. It was nuts and no easier underneath. It gave me good experience though which is always vital.

I spent both my evenings watching tv and doing some scuba reading. I had 7:15 and 7:45 starts and anyone who knows me will know I don’t like mornings and like to wake at lunch time.



Day 160 (Thurs 14^th Feb)



My Valentine’s day would not be spent with a loved one, more like on 3 buses and a ferry via a border crossing. We got picked up around 11am and headed for the pier on Phu Quoc. The trip was bumpy as anything and the driver obviously didn’t own the vehicle as he ragged the hell out of it. We made it to the pier just and boarded our ferry.

The trip took about 2 hours to get from Phu Quoc to Ha Tien. Ha Tien is basically a border town, there didn’t seem a lot there and I had no intention to find out if there was as my visa expired today so I had to leave the country or face penalties (only $10 a day but there was no need to pay that).

There was a tour group waiting at the pier for us. 14 people, the driver, a kitten and a live crab in the glove box headed to a little tour shop where we filled in our visa forms for Cambodia. We paid for our visa and handed in our passports. The little van was overloaded by at least 3 people but at one point we passed a minivan that could probably take 12-15 with at least double that, it was hilarious but not safe in the slightest.

We got to the border in one piece, this driver being equally as mental as the one on Phu Quoc. The border crossing itself was interesting. It seemed as if anyone could just walk through it without being stopped or anything really. A young Vietnamese girl was sorting our stuff out while we waited. On being let out of the Vietnamese side we headed to the Cambodian side. They made us do a medical questionnaire and pay $1. Now this was a problem as I had no money bar Lao Kip. I told the guy this and said that 10000 Lao Kip is more than a dollar, he briefly looked at the note and let me through. I doubt very much he had an idea of the exchange rate but I was being honest but I could have told him anything really. The border is incredibly dirty and dusty, basically a couple of gates on a country road. What is weird is that it is surrounded by no fewer than 6 casino’s and a large hotel. God knows who uses these as they are in the middle of nowhere and tourists can’t use them whilst waiting as they are on Cambodian ground. It was very strange.

We then travelled around an hour, just 5 of us in a mini van to get to Kampot where we switched into a full minivan which had no space and we were rammed for 2 hours going down some terrible road. Potholes everywhere, bridges over water non existent with dust tracks round them instead and a driver that had his finger firmly on the horn the entire way even when we were the only people on the road. It was an experience to say the least.

We got to Sihanoukville, named after the recently deceased King of Cambodia around 7pm. My hostel was 50m away, I was quoted $2 to get there, said no, found a map and walked it instead. $2 for 50m, who is that guy trying to kid. There was a slight mix up at the hostel regarding my room but it got sorted. I settled in and had some food in the bar, drinking some Angkor beer on draft, which is a nice change from drinking out of bottles like the rest of Asia. There was a guy playing acoustic guitar and singing away, quite good as well considering how poor music generally is out here. Had a few beers and retired to bed just before a major storm kicked in. It pelted rain, loud thunder and lightning was apparently ‘green’ if viewed from the beach. Luckily I wear ear plugs so it wasn’t too bad although I was eaten alive during the night, which is rare for me. Let the Cambodian adventure begin



Day 161 (Fri 15^th Feb)



My first day I did nothing, bar drop in some washing and have a look about. Sihanoukville which has been praised by everyone I’ve met does not excite me in the slightest. It seems like the Costa del Sol and if I wanted that I would have gone there. I am in Cambodia and this was not quite expected. Its safe to say I haven’t enjoyed the first couple days here. It’s not Cambodia in the slightest. I have however enjoyed sitting in my hostel bar watching a random Cambodian on acoustic guitar who has probably been the best live entertainment I’ve seen in 5 months, class voice and good songs.



Day 162 (Sat 16^th Feb)



Today I hired a scooter from a random Russian who owns a hostel. I filled it up with petrol as they always leave it empty, whether they siphon off the excess and put it in theirs I don’t know but I would not be surprised. I’ve hired 3 scooters and they’ve always been empty or pushing it. I had an issue earlier on, the steering was woeful and I noticed the tyre was flat. I took it back and the guys changed it for me.

I did all the sights I wanted to see, got some lunch and on return mid afternoon the police were flashing lights, I quickly turned around to go the other way, they were doing the same here. I was pulled in. The conversation went as close to this as I can recall:

Police Officer (PO): Have you got an international license

Me: No, my bike license is as home though

PO: Where are you from?

Me: England (lie but oops, also no license, never even driven a car J)

PO: I would need an international license to drive there

Me: I doubt it, no one cares.

PO: So we can take this to the ‘big man’ and get a fine and settle in court or ...

Me: Or what ...

PO: You can pay now and I will let you ride here today

Me: But surely if I get stopped again the same would happen?

PO: I will tell the officers to let you through

Me: How would that work, they will stop me further up the road. So how much?

PO: I can tell them to let you through.

Me: So really, how much will this cost?

PO: I can’t give you a price

Me: You have just told me to pay a bribe yet there is no price, I don’t understand?

PO: Only the boss man can tell you a price

Me: So am I supposed to open my wallet or something (Lowest I had was $10 and I was told $1 would solve any police issue)

PO: I can’t tell you a price but we can see big boss man.

Me: So I have to pay you a bribe but you won’t say how much?

Pause ...........................

PO: Are you thinking?

Me: Yes, I am thinking I will leave now.

PO: You can pay to sort this out.

Me: I think I am going to just get on the bike and ride it back

PO: Ok, you can take it back and that is it

Me: That is what I will do then

PO: Take the bike back to the guesthouse.

Me: Ok I will do.

Then I burn off full throttle the complete opposite direction to the town. What a ridiculous situation to be in. Later on I hear they are terrible for bribing people. OK I have no international license, I have no license at all, but they are simply after money and nothing else. There were 4 police on either side just stopping white folk. Never got anything out of me though. I went up the coast and came back in the coastal path, which was lush.

I met up with Tammy and Jo in the evening at Otres Beach which was tricky to find, was worth it though. We had a lovely meat sat on the beach watching the waves crash while having a good meal, a couple drinks and a good chat. After this I headed back to my hostel. Early morning bus to Phnom Penh to see the ‘Real Cambodia’



Next – Phnom Penh

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Comments

[Lee]

Fcuk the police
Or sumat - love there crap attempt at scamming

[Zico1878]

They werent the best scam artists ive ever encountered haha

[Sravya]

Nice blog . I think you enjoyed the most while travelling to Cambodia. But I've got the knowledge of the people and their lifestyle through your blog.

[Zico1878]

Cambodia has started well, the place and the people are very nice indeed :)