To Phnom Phen
Just after 7:00 we climbed into our boat to the far end of the island where our transport company would be waiting. At 8:00 we crammed 12 foreigners, with all their luggage, and 3 locals into one of their small long tail boats and headed for the mainland. The next stop was to wait for the mini bus transfer to the border to fill up. By 8:30 we were heading to the border. 9:15 we started exiting Laos, entering Cambodia and waiting for our new transport to fill up. As usual our unusual South African passports caused a stir as officials typically scuffled around trying to figure out how this country was to be categorized. Our bus was packed to the brim and ready to go by 11:00.
About an hour later we reached the Mekong cross-over where we had to load off all our baggage to cross with the ferry. Then our bus driver decided we can leave the baggage in the bus - so we reloaded. Then we walked the distance in the scorching heat (Janine is convinced that Cambodia does not have an ozone layer) while our bus followed us. After all that we stopped on the other side for a 1.5 hour lunch break while we changed buses again. So by 14:00 we were heading off again. We stopped 3 times to put in fuel (who knows why) and once to drop off some travellers and to have supper. Just after 20:00 we were on the move again to do the final 2.5 hours to Phnom Phen. One tuk-tuk ride later and we had found a great hotel. Just another day of travel!
Culture Shock: The terrain reminds one of other Asian countries but one thing struck us - the amount of litter. Some streets in the Capital City can easily be mistaken for municipal rubbish dumps and as Johan noted, Cambodia smells much worse than India ever did.
About an hour later we reached the Mekong cross-over where we had to load off all our baggage to cross with the ferry. Then our bus driver decided we can leave the baggage in the bus - so we reloaded. Then we walked the distance in the scorching heat (Janine is convinced that Cambodia does not have an ozone layer) while our bus followed us. After all that we stopped on the other side for a 1.5 hour lunch break while we changed buses again. So by 14:00 we were heading off again. We stopped 3 times to put in fuel (who knows why) and once to drop off some travellers and to have supper. Just after 20:00 we were on the move again to do the final 2.5 hours to Phnom Phen. One tuk-tuk ride later and we had found a great hotel. Just another day of travel!
Culture Shock: The terrain reminds one of other Asian countries but one thing struck us - the amount of litter. Some streets in the Capital City can easily be mistaken for municipal rubbish dumps and as Johan noted, Cambodia smells much worse than India ever did.
<< Home