Blogs from Phnom Penh, South, Cambodia, Asia - page 226

5 - 6.12.2005 Vientanne Na to ze je Vientanne hlavne mesto krajiny sa nam zdalo vcelku v pohodicke, cele centrum sme obehli za 15 minut a nasli kopec peknych miest. Ubytovani sme boli v decentnom guesthouse hned pri rieke Mekong a hned dole sme mali slusnu Indicku restiku. Objavili sme tiez skvelu francuzsku kaviarnicku a jednu bageteriu s nefalsovanymi francuzskymi croissantami. Z Vientanne sme odchadzali na druhy den z Juznej Autobusovej Stanice nachadzajucej sa na severnom konci mesta (pochopit tento fakt nam zabral asi dve hodiny bicyklovania). Tentokrat sme sli velmi slusnym autobusom celu noc az na juh do mesta Pakse. Cesta prebehla bez problemov, trochu sme mali obavy z toho busu, lebo naposledy cestou z Luang Prabang sme mali v buse chlapika, ktoremu spoza bundy vytrcal samopal (ked presiel cez ulicku a bolo mu ten ... read more

Dear All, I know its only been a couple of days since my last update but after today I have to write some of it down as this has been one of my best (and worst) days & its my last full day in Cambodia. It started whilst eating breakfast watching the world go by. I now know what 'people watching' really means, I could sit all day here and just watch. There is everything imaginable on the roads. One bike had 6 large sacks on the back (about the size of cement bags) and on top was his passenger - about 6ft up! Where there is a will, there is a way. There are many monks in their orange robes just walking along the river. There are women walking along carrying huge trays of food ... read more

Llegamos a Cambodia el dia 19 de Noviembre, el viaje fue agotador. Desde Saigon cogimos un minibus, a las 10 de la noche, por supuesto no habia maletero, es decir, que las maletas las teniamos a los pies. El senyor conductor era un idiota de primera, como mi mochila pesa mucho y es grande el caballero decidio pegarle una patada. Hay que decir que en estas regiones no se debe levantar la voz, gesticular mucho o en general mostrar emociones en publico ya que se quedan en un estado de shock y les hace sentir mal. Sabes que? que me dio igual le mire y le solte un EH!! y dejo a mi mochilita en paz. El autobus estaba petadisimo, lo mas gracioso de todo esque eramos la atraccion, no habia ningun otro viajero, pero eso ... read more

Lindsay - Same Same, but Different is a phrase we met in Vietnam, which seems to have travelled to Cambodia with us. We got the obvious meaning, but haven't quite understood exactly what is means. "Same Same, but Different" was the moto of the tour company that took us through the Mekong Delta, across the Cambodian border and to the capital city Phnom Penh. And although I really enjoyed the Mekong Delta tour, unfortunately our experiences once we met the border weren't so enyoyable! Our guide accompanied us as far as the border, and sorted out the initial fee (with an extra $1 "processing fee"!) gave us directions about where to pick up the next boat at the other side of the border, but then we had to fend for ourselves! We disembarked from our boat ... read more

The border crossing into Cambodia went surprisingly well. We had our doubts about this visa issue and fully expected to be travelling back to the hammocks later that day, but all went well - and only $3 'tax' a piece to the officials! The journey down to Phnom Penh took about 9 hours, down reasonable roads considering, during which we acquired our long overdue puncture. We arrived in the city at around 10pm and found a nice guesthouse on the lake - 'Happy', and paid $3 (US) a night for a room. Overall it was a nice place to stay. We won't give a 'blow by blow' description of our time in Phnom Penh, we feel more impressions and experiences are required for this recovering, up and coming city. We spent one day taking in the ... read more