Bus Rides

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When we first started this adventure I dreaded the days that we had to spend on buses. You never know what to expect! What is the size of bus? What's the seat to person ratio? Any pukers? Any babies? What are the roads going to be like? Will the time quoted either by guidebook or travel agent be accurate? These are the questions that used to fill my mind while preparing for travel days. When we bought our bus tickets from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap the three guys travelling with us were most concerned about whether or not the bus would have AC. I laughed to myself as I thought "that is the least of my worries". All I really want now is enough room to feel comfortable. I can shut out babies crying, I can sit through the bumpiest roads, I can pretend life is a video game when the bus swerves all over the roads passing motos, cows etc.and if the bus has AC, well that is a luxury!

Bus rides have become part of the fun. On our particular ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap I sat looking out the window most of the time and was mesmorized by the landscape. Most of what we passed was sprawling fields dotted with a few trees and green areas. The villages were beautiful; every house was different. Most of the houses are on stilts and built of wood but they each have their own character, their own shrine, their own colourful coat of paint, their own mini farm. Then the village disappears as the bus continues right back through the fields that go on as far as the eye can see. Every once in a while we would come across a larger town that was bustling with markets and regular day-to-day life. The diversity you see on bus rides should not be missed. If you aren't looking out your window you might miss some of the most beautifuly authentic pieces of a country like Cambodia. In a place with such recent tragedy I looked at the fields and wondered "is this where the Khmer rouge forced so many people to become slaves on their own land? Is this where they made people work literally to death?"

Just as those thoughts crept into my mind we drove past a young boy herding his cows and I realized that the people here have the strength to move on so I shouldn't dwell on it either. Again and again I am reminded of how amazing Cambodians are and how beautiful this country really is.

xoxo Becs

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Comments

[Ravikanth]

Cambodian Houses
Hi, I got a chance last may to visit cambodia and travelled from siem reap to Phnom penh. Like you said we spent around 7 hrs through bus journey which went through the National highway. It is indeed sad to heard about the incident happended a decade back and it is reflecting in their faces nowadays even though they didn't share openly to outsiders. I am not sure whether you noticed a small structure (like miniature stilt house) outside every cambodian house in rural areas. I came to know that they worship their spirits through that and believe they safeguard them from evil force. If you know more about it , let's share some information through your blog. As a final word, you people rocking and realizing things when many thought they were just dreams only.. Guys like us live our dreams through your blogs.. Keep rocking.

[Patti]

Bus Rides
Becs, You are blessed abundantly with your awareness of what's around you on this trip. So many people never see past the immediate let alone reflect and digest and comment on what they see. You have developed an art of conscious awareness some people spend a lifetime trying to perfect! This amazing journey is imbedded in your thoughts forever! Love you all, Miss you all! xoxo Patti