The road to Siem Reap

Today we travelled from Bangkok to Siem Reap in Cambodia. The first few hundred kms to the boarder was on nice tarmaced road so we sailed along and it only took us a few hours. Once we got to the boarder it was a different story.

The boarder crossing in itself was an experience and a half! It was very hot and dusty and there were loads of people milling around. When we got there we had to have all our bags loaded onto a cart which some little guy got to pull around for us. It must have a weighed a ton. We were told not to let the bags out of our site, to watch our days packs, keep an eye out for pick pockets whilst passing through immigration in over 100 degree heat. It was all a little frantic! Once we had walked out of Thailand and into Cambodia we got into these little motorbike tuk tuks which transferred us to our cars. The tuk tuk trip was a bit dicey but at least it was only a few minutes.

We had to travel along the road in a convoy Toyota Camrys as it was too rough for the bus! It was only 150km but it took hours. I think the whole trip from Bangkok to Siem Reap took 12 hours! It was a fantastic journey though once we were in Cambodia as there was so much to see out of the window. We stopped a couple of times along the way where we got to meet loads of children. They are so cute! They can all speak really good English. They seem really happy to talk to you and ask you your name and where you are from. They also love having there photo taken.

I only thought I was going to die a couple of times along the journey! Firstly was at the petrol station (lots of coke and whiskey bottles filled with petrol sitting in the baking sun!) They fill the car whilst the car engine is still running and they tend to smoke whilst they are doing it. This strikes me as a little dangerous!

Then we had to cross a bridge that had collapsed so the driver had to guide the car across to bits of wood the same width as the tyres!

Then there was driving in the dark! As the road is so pot-holey they don't really stick to the right side of the road which is fine in the day as they can see the oncoming trucks and cyclists (of which there are loads) but in the dark it was another matter. Especially as bike lights are non existent!

We made it though and that is the main thing. Now we have the temples of Angkor to explore....

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