from Phu Quoc to Phnom Penh

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"Two roads diverged in the wood and I, I took the one less travelled by and that has made all the difference." Robert Frost

Well, that was a bit of an adventure. We took a mini bus from our hotel in Phu Quoc to the ferry terminal at the other end of the island. That little 15km trip took nearly and hour. The roads are so poor, dirt, not paved, and because of the increase in tourism and traffic on the road, the ruts have become small canyons, and the pot holes little lakes that fill whenever there is rainfall.(usually every night) Infrastucture is not a priority here(or anywhere in Vietnam for that matter) The ferry ride was pleasant and uneventful. After arriving in Rach Gia we arranged for a bus to take us to Chau Doc, where we would spend the night then take a boat to Phnom Penh. But things are not always as they seem. When the bus arrived, I thought this cannot be right, it is a 4 hour trip and we are to ride in this ! It was a 12 passanger van with bench seats, and we were passangers number 13 and 14, so our bags were crammed into the small space behind the last seat, and we were crammed into the back seat over the axel in a vehicle with no shocks. As we made our way through small towns and country side, we picked up more passengers. At one point, there were 19 of us and a box of baby chicks in that van. (apparently they don't have ICBC !) Anyway, surprisingly enough, we arrived safe and sound (although filthy dirty) and on time.After we unfolded ourselves from the van, we spent the night in Chau Doc. Our transportation arrived at 7am to take us to the boat. To our surprise, it was two cyclos,(half a pedal bike with a flat bed cart attatched). That was fun, thank heavens it was only a ten minute ride. The speed boat ride up the Mekong was uneventful in itself,although very interesting to observe daily life along the river.We crossed the border at two check points right on the river. The boat crew did all the work, we just had to hand over our passports and visa applications and they did the rest. That was easy. The river trip took 6 hours, including border stops, and delivered us right into the heart of Phnom Penh. All in all a very interesting 2 days of travel, oh well, it is all "part of the adventure". Unfortunately, there are no pictures for this part of the journey, because we thought it was safer and less trouble to pack the cameras away. We missed a lot of good shots, but a lesson learned.
Next installment, Phnom Penh.

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