Phnom Penh to Siem Riep

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11 October 2010

We now know something more of the Monsoon. It is indiscriminate and, if it feels like hanging around for longer than half an hour, it will thank you very much..

We left Phnom Penh this morning. It rained for much of last night but, by 8am it had stopped. By 9am, we were having breakfast and the rain had started again, by 10am it was coming down again in torrents. By 10:15am it had become impossible to distinguish between road and 15cm deep pavement. By 10:30am we were on a bus and on our way out of Phnom Penh and away from the rains. By 5pm we were in Siem Reap and by 8pm it was raining again.

The story of my temperature over the same time period followed similar peaks and troughs. Fortunately, all that was required of me today was sitting by the window on the bus.

It is difficult not to compare Cambodia with Vietnam. As we left the city behind, I began to see the Vietnam that I had expected. There were no expectations of Cambodia. Perhaps that is the way that it should have been with Vietnam. Cambodia is Cambodia and I will therefore leave all memories of Vietnam in Phnom Penh.

Today’s journey took a little over 6 hours and, for the most part, we travelled with, or just behind, the rain. Not heavy rain. From inside a crowded, air-conditioned bus, you could easily have mistaken the skies for those that hang over England on long grey October days. The heat, however, begged to tell a different tale.

The light rain may have driven some inside but, to the untrained eye, it does not seem that Cambodian life is played out in the spotlight of the entire neighbourhood. Houses stand apart with small doors that give away little of the lives that play out inside. Had the sun been shining, perhaps crops would have been drying outside the houses. Along the country roads here, the houses are set back from the road and all have outside space. Roads appear to primarily be the habitat of vehicles, which is refreshing. In six hours, there was very little hooting - there didn’t seem to be that much traffic on the road. We were however delayed by a heard of cows or two crossing.

Cows - predominantly white and very bony.

Every time the bus drew to a standstill, hawkers flooded to the door trying to sell food and drink. Very often the bags held fruit. Cambodia is a country in which snacking on fruit is still the norm. There are no motorway service stations (haven’t seen a motorway, come to that) stuffed with fast food joints, chocolate bars and crisps. Food stops might be disorganised with questionable hygiene practices but at least they aren’t asking a small fortune in return for a heart attack on a plate.

We plodded on through lush green landscapes, along roads caked in iron-rich mud and amongst laid back Cambodian life. Then, without much of an announcement Siem Reap arrived. The ‘stop’ was a long a dirt track swarming with tuk tuks with drivers all wearing bus company shirts. It later transpired that they don’t belong to the bus company at all - they just pay to wait at their office and wear one of their shirts.

Another thing that we have learnt about tuk tuk drivers is that they will say anything to get customers. Take this evening’s experience, for example:

Gregg: “My Hotel?”
Driver: “You mean My Home Hotel?”
Gregg: “Yes, you know it?”
Driver: “Yes”

It started to rain, it took the driver 15 minutes to bring down the sides of the tuk tuk to shelter us from the rain. We set off. We were sure we were going in the wrong direction. We told the driver. He turned the tuk tuk around. We kept telling him we were going in the wrong direction. He kept turning the tuk tuk around. He apologised. We arrived at Angkor Home Hotel. The rain lashed down. “This isn’t our hotel”. The tracks he was taking us down got darker and darker. We kept saying that we were going in the wrong direction. We were both getting scared. Eventually, the driver asked another driver where to go. Eventually we made it to My Home Hotel. A 5 minute tuk tuk journey had probably taken over 30 minutes and Scott and Sara (who we had left in town) were back before us.

Had we taken a hotel business card with us, this would not have happened - they all have maps on the back. Moral of the story: when in Cambodia, business cards are King.

12 October 2010

There is little to say about today, I mainly spent it in bed (although we did switch hotels) or nipping out briefly on a tuk tuk for food. From the little of Siem Reap we have seen thus far, we like it. Temperature now back to normal so, hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day.

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Photos

Road side stalls
on a grey day

Bursting its banks
The river - just incase you had forgotten what it looks like!

Taking a tuk tuk ride
Wearing a helmet IS a legal requirement...

Tuk Tuk?
It may not look like it but these guys are working hard.

Thank Goodness we left
It doesn't look like it has been a bundle of laughs in Phnom Penh

The ubiquitous moto
aka, our friend Honda.