How do you say exhaust fumes and claustrophobia in Khmer??

---

One thing I knew for sure when I came back to Cambodia, was that I would have to tuck my “safety first” mentality firmly behind my blinkers and accept that “this is the way it’s done in Cambodia”. Today’s bus trip home from Sihanoukville is a classic example of why this attitude is necessary in order to maintain an ever so slight grasp on sanity....

I’ve established in recent weeks that I’m not a fan of the Sorya bus company, and that I prefer to travel with Paramount....I came home with Paramount from Sihanoukville the first time and the trip was relaxed, friendly, and the buses clean – which was in direct contrast to the trip on Sorya on the way there. It was therefore a straightforward decision for Melanie and I to book our return to PP this weekend, with Paramount. All seemed to be going very well – the transfer mini bus turned up at the time indicated and dropped us to the main depot on time etc..the staff seemed helpful, the seats were comfy, the bus was relatively clean, and it was surprisingly empty when we left for Phnom Penh. As they say in the classics......from there it went downhill. We stopped at the main bus terminal and collected additional passengers......sadly the aisle seat beside me was allocated to one of the largest Cambodians I’ve seen, and my claustrophobia cage was rattled – I felt really hemmed in..... I got straight into some reassuring self-talk in order to ease the panic that began to appear under the surface. I SO wish I wasn’t afflicted by this syndrome, but I am and it hits me when I least expect it, and at some pretty basic moments when I should be fine. Anyway, I was almost ok, but that was only until people continued to crowd onto the bus, and upturned paint tins and the small, coloured, plastic stools that are used here for everything, were brought out and the aisle was filled by people sitting on the aforementioned items. Suddenly the bus was overcrowded – ILLEGALLY in safety-conscious countries – and my ability to remain calm was heading out the door.....if only I could reach the bloody door !!! I tried desperately to keep reading my book, breath, and tell myself that I was safe.....but no....my mind had to keep telling me that if we had an accident I couldn’t get out of the bus due the overcrowding. That was it. I felt incredibly panicked and asked my large travelling companion if he spoke English as I needed someone to explain to the staff that I needed to move – urgently. He shrugged his shoulders and proceeded to ignore the woman frothing at the mouth beside him – ok, no froth, but I probably had a look of terror in my eyes which may have just created a panic attack in him!!

So I did what any rationale, sane, intelligent person would do, and buried my head in my hands and tried not to panic, despite everything going through my mind....and the tears that just wouldn’t stop. I was struggling to breathe, I felt so trapped. Again, I say, I hate this affliction.

Then, as boof-head beside me proceeded to fall asleep and start snoring...I could hear two English guys on the other side of the aisle, talking about the overcrowding and the fact that you couldn’t reach the door etc....THANKS guys....but then I also realised that they were talking about the fact that they could smell exhaust fumes coming up from the floor under their feet. It seems the faster the bus drove, the stronger the fumes were. They dragged out their caps etc and tried to cover their faces, to protect themselves from the fumes. I got their attention and loaned them some Tiger Balm – it couldn’t stop the fumes, but with their faces covered and the balm, I thought it might just alleviate the odour. We all got into a conversation and laid out our concerns and started to talk about trying to get off the blasted bus and get a taxi back to PP – it would have cost us $50 - $60 but we didn’t care. I sent Melanie a text message, as she’d somehow scored a seat at the front of the bus and was blissfully unaware of the situation down the back of the bus, and I asked her to speak to the staff and get them to stop the bus to let us off, and to let them know of the fumes flooding into the bus. When she got the guy’s attention, he ignored her because he didn’t speak English. We were stuck (insert swear words). The two English guys (Will and Anthony) and I talked more about the pros & cons of travel in foreign countries, and managed to keep ourselves somewhat sane until we reached the pit-stop 2 hours later. By which time, Anthony was standing up with his nose directly under the air vent in order to try to get some fresh air (not easy when you’re over 6’); Will was becoming really red in the face;, boof-head between us was really peeved because we’d disturbed his sleep and spent the time leaning forward to block our view of each other, while also busily picking at a huge scab on his arm (ughh); and various other people sitting on the floor between us were giving us dirty looks because we just didn’t stop talking. At the pit-stop we tried to speak to the bus staff, but none were interested in what we had to say and simply walked off – I’ve seen this happen too many times when they don’t understand English and so they pretend they can’t see you. So I rang one of the guys from Projects Abroad and got him to explain to one of the guys that we would sit on the floor at the front of the bus.......they appeared to show signs that they understood, but very obviously that their care-factor was low, very low. Time came to get back on the bus, and many of the Cambodians wouldn’t get on, because they were waiting for us to........I motioned to the guy that had spoken to Sophan, and he just shrugged his shoulders and looked dumb. So the boys and I decided we’d get on the bus, and simply stay at the front until everyone had boarded and we’d then sit on the floor. It kinda worked – people got on and shuffled past us, and three of them scored comfy seats....or so they thought!!.........and we grabbed a stool each and sat on the floor in the aisle. I joked with Will that if we had an accident, that he was going to be my protection, and that Anthony in front of him would be his air-bag etc, but we felt very sorry for the poor Cambodian girl and guy in front of us, as they were rather small and they had no chance on the planet of surviving the force of us three had we come crashing into them.

The positioning of our new “seats” was way up high on the scale of unsafe...but at least we were close to Melanie and could include her in on our conversations, and “best of all” was the fact that we were now close to the television and entertained ourselves incredibly by watching the soppy music videos and laughing our heads off – they are so poorly acted and so dramatic - they should make you cry but they don’t. One of the songs was a Khmer rendition of J-Lo’s latest song, and I think poor Will is scarred for life after hearing it and seeing the video. Thankfully we had a friendly bunch of Cambodians comfortably seated in the seats either side of us, and they were happy that these “insane Westerners sitting on the floor like locals” were making the most of a really shitty situation.

I cannot for a minute, understand how they can get away with overcrowding the buses like this – it’s insane. I expect that the Cambodians pay a fraction of the cost of what we pay for tickets, so they probably accept being squished in like sardines........but is no one concerned for their safety? Is life really that cheap over here?

Oh, well, we made the most of a crappy situation, and I loved meeting Will and Anthony – they are really great guys and so much fun. Ant’s just here on holidays and catching up with Will, but Will has been over this way for two months and is now looking for a teaching job in PP, as he wants to stay. I hope he finds something as I think the Khmer kids would love him.

I’ve since been told that Mekong buses are the best to travel with.......though I think my bus travel in Cambodia is done for the moment, as I will be flying to Siem Reap next weekend....but will keep Mekong in mind, and tell people that suffer from claustrophobia or have an aversion to breathing exhaust fumes, that they should think twice before travelling with Paramount.

......and now for my final week in PP.....”No cry teacher”....

---

Comments

[Sylvi]

How horrible
That crowded bus story sounds totally horrid and you did well to hold it together. Lucky those boys distracted you. Pity one of them wasn't called Richard :) Gary contacted me the other day wanting to know when I was returning to Brisbane. He's taking some time away from BCL so I read into that he wanted me back to help run things in his absence. I've told him I won't be returning in the near future (if ever, though I didn't say that) as things will be hectic for awhile when we get home. I'm quite happy to stay in touch with the lovely ladies (and Rob) I've met from the group but have no desire to return to being a social director to people who may or may not turn up to events. He basically admitted that was why he was taking a break. Have a great week and stay strong emotionally (if you can). Sylvi xo