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Jul - Sep 2002: This is a continuation of my China trip, but includes travels to other countries in Asia.

Southeast Asia, month 2

Jennifer Radcliffe
2005-11-12 10:50:55

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Trip to Cambodia

I said goodbye to Nissim last night, and woke up at 6am to catch a minibus to Cambodia today. I only got 2 hours of sleep last night because I wanted to sample Bangkok's nightlife before moving on, and I was up very very late. I had planned on sleeping on the bus, but no such luck - sleep was not going to happen in that cramped minibus. It was a painful 12 hour journey! It was actually only supposed to be a 7 hour journey, by the way, but transportation in Asia is never a straightforward deal. I've learned to expect the unexpected delays!

The difference between Thailand and Cambodia is immediately obvious upon crossing the border. An army of begging children in tattered, dirty clothes were waiting for us at the border, trash was strewn about and piled up in places, and the roads were terrible. The paved road ended at the Thai border, and we had 6 hours of bumpy potholed-filled dirt roads and dubious looking wooden bridges. While crossing one bridge we scrubbed the oilpan and put a hole in it, and we had to make a pit stop so our resourceful driver could plug the hole. He told us that we were lucky because last time he made the trip, one of the bridges was out of commission and they had to wait several hours for it to be fixed. He said that the locals come out at night and blow holes in the bridges now and then so that they can generate revenue as roadside assistance crews. With these roads and bridges, roadside assistance is a major industry in Cambodia!

The countryside we drove through on the way to Siem Reap was quite beautiful. The land here is flat and very fertile. Now and then we passed through a little village, and the houses are all on stilts and most have palm thatched roofs. There were pigs and cows munching in the grass on the side of the road, and big pink lotus flowers grew in roadside ditches. Life in Cambodia's countryside is very ...