Cambodia
Hi All,
Sorry for the delay in updating the old blog but we have being moving constantly for the last week pretty much and not much chance to get near the internet. Anyhow I shall bring us up to speed now.
FRIDAY 22nd Sept
OK so we left last Friday morning on an early bus from our Guest House in Bangkok to the border with Thailand.
It was an early start and we met a pissed english bloke called Sharkey while waiting for the bus. He was gee eyed and I thought he was going to start crying as he was half Irish and seemed very emotional about it. Nice guy though.
The bus came and we headed for the Border 5 hours away. For the duration I was stuck next to this big drunk american guy who was drinking beer non stop all the way there. He smelled like a pig and proceeded to get more pissed as the m0rning wore on. Fun fun fun.
We were stopped at a military roadblock and had our passports checked, more guns and tanks. But there was no problem and we were let through. I think that they are stopping locals moving about so much but forengers are OK.
About lunch time we were at the Thai side of the border clearing immegration getting out exit stamps. I was in front of Dee and went through with no problems and waited fro Dee on the other side of the Q. I waited for ages and there was no sign of Dee. I saw her head pop out the door waving me back in. So I went back to immegration and she was in a bit of a pickle with the woman at the counter. When we enterd at the airport the Arrivals counter had not stamped her Visa on entry. This caused a lot of hassle for us and we ended up both being taken to a waiting room and having our passports being taken of us and lots of forms being filled in, things being faxed and rubber stamping. It took ages and we thought our bus which was waiting for us on the Cambodian side would have left.
The Thai Police woman who was dealing with us was not happy but after we cleared up the mess she was OK and we were left to clear the thai side of the border, with our passports, phew :)
Entering Cambodia after Thailand is like stepping back in time. The road literally ends and evrything becomes mud,rubbish and water and the vehicles are all animal or human powerd. Giant traillers 10 foot high with stuff being pulled through 6 inches of mud but a gang of men. If you imagine a mudslide hitting a rubbish dump you will have a good ide of what Poipet looks like. Pretty much instantly you feel like you a having an adventure compared to Thailand which is as devoloped as europe or the states.
After getting thru camodia immigration, no problems, We hooked up with our bus who had waited and proceeded south about 150km to Siem Rep, the main town in the north west and base for exploring teh Temples of Angkor Wat.
The 150 Km took 7 hours over some serioiusly rough roads, how they got a bus over this surface I ll never know, seroiusly good driving. It was bone shattering and filling looseningly bumpy but the country side was beautifull and all the children on the road waved at us, unlike thailand.
We got to Siep Rep serously tired after about 16 hours total travelling. The bus dropped us at a guest house which sets alarm bells ringing, we usually like to choose our own places to stay rather than being forced to stay at a place. Everyone else on the bus legged it from there to one of the towns many guest houses but we were so tired and the rooms were half decent that we said fek it and we ended up staying there for the few days. It was a good call as we were pretty much the only ones there and got to talk a lot with the local people who ran the place, particularly the Tuk Tuk drivers who were young lads in thier 20's. They spoke great English and have an attitude about them that remind me of the Iriah, its odd but a few things in Cambodia have reminded me of Ireland.
I cannot say a bad word about Khemer people, they are genuinley intrested, polite funny people who like having a good laugh and a drink. The Thais are so used to forigners that most of the time you are not givin the time of day.
Cambodia is intense and the people here have been through so much its incredable. Its not long when you are talking to the guys that a story about the Khemer Rouge pops up and how family were killed or some other terrable act. But people here seem positive, very poor and they know it but most people a quite spiritual and stoic about thier predicimant. It makes you feel very privilaged when you think of what we take for gratned at home.
That evening we had some food in the guest house and a few drinks and talking to the lads, Beau, Chris and Tiger.
Tiger turned out to be our guide for the next few days and was a top bloke. Chris told us that he had just had an accident that day in his tuk tuk and rolled it of a 10ft bridge with 2 japanise tourists inside. No one was killed but the toursts were pretty banged up and wanted money from Chris which is redicalus as he is living at subsistance level anyway. His bike and tuk tuk were in the Police station and he needed $200 to get them back and then damage done etc etc. He was not happy and we felt sorry for him. How much of this was and effort, if any , to get some sympathy dollars out of us Im not sure.
So we retired that night making arrangements for Tiger to show us around Siem Rep the next day and go to the Tonle Sap lake, the biggest lake is Aisa.
So that was day one in Cambodia!
Sorry for the delay in updating the old blog but we have being moving constantly for the last week pretty much and not much chance to get near the internet. Anyhow I shall bring us up to speed now.
FRIDAY 22nd Sept
OK so we left last Friday morning on an early bus from our Guest House in Bangkok to the border with Thailand.
It was an early start and we met a pissed english bloke called Sharkey while waiting for the bus. He was gee eyed and I thought he was going to start crying as he was half Irish and seemed very emotional about it. Nice guy though.
The bus came and we headed for the Border 5 hours away. For the duration I was stuck next to this big drunk american guy who was drinking beer non stop all the way there. He smelled like a pig and proceeded to get more pissed as the m0rning wore on. Fun fun fun.
We were stopped at a military roadblock and had our passports checked, more guns and tanks. But there was no problem and we were let through. I think that they are stopping locals moving about so much but forengers are OK.
About lunch time we were at the Thai side of the border clearing immegration getting out exit stamps. I was in front of Dee and went through with no problems and waited fro Dee on the other side of the Q. I waited for ages and there was no sign of Dee. I saw her head pop out the door waving me back in. So I went back to immegration and she was in a bit of a pickle with the woman at the counter. When we enterd at the airport the Arrivals counter had not stamped her Visa on entry. This caused a lot of hassle for us and we ended up both being taken to a waiting room and having our passports being taken of us and lots of forms being filled in, things being faxed and rubber stamping. It took ages and we thought our bus which was waiting for us on the Cambodian side would have left.
The Thai Police woman who was dealing with us was not happy but after we cleared up the mess she was OK and we were left to clear the thai side of the border, with our passports, phew :)
Entering Cambodia after Thailand is like stepping back in time. The road literally ends and evrything becomes mud,rubbish and water and the vehicles are all animal or human powerd. Giant traillers 10 foot high with stuff being pulled through 6 inches of mud but a gang of men. If you imagine a mudslide hitting a rubbish dump you will have a good ide of what Poipet looks like. Pretty much instantly you feel like you a having an adventure compared to Thailand which is as devoloped as europe or the states.
After getting thru camodia immigration, no problems, We hooked up with our bus who had waited and proceeded south about 150km to Siem Rep, the main town in the north west and base for exploring teh Temples of Angkor Wat.
The 150 Km took 7 hours over some serioiusly rough roads, how they got a bus over this surface I ll never know, seroiusly good driving. It was bone shattering and filling looseningly bumpy but the country side was beautifull and all the children on the road waved at us, unlike thailand.
We got to Siep Rep serously tired after about 16 hours total travelling. The bus dropped us at a guest house which sets alarm bells ringing, we usually like to choose our own places to stay rather than being forced to stay at a place. Everyone else on the bus legged it from there to one of the towns many guest houses but we were so tired and the rooms were half decent that we said fek it and we ended up staying there for the few days. It was a good call as we were pretty much the only ones there and got to talk a lot with the local people who ran the place, particularly the Tuk Tuk drivers who were young lads in thier 20's. They spoke great English and have an attitude about them that remind me of the Iriah, its odd but a few things in Cambodia have reminded me of Ireland.
I cannot say a bad word about Khemer people, they are genuinley intrested, polite funny people who like having a good laugh and a drink. The Thais are so used to forigners that most of the time you are not givin the time of day.
Cambodia is intense and the people here have been through so much its incredable. Its not long when you are talking to the guys that a story about the Khemer Rouge pops up and how family were killed or some other terrable act. But people here seem positive, very poor and they know it but most people a quite spiritual and stoic about thier predicimant. It makes you feel very privilaged when you think of what we take for gratned at home.
That evening we had some food in the guest house and a few drinks and talking to the lads, Beau, Chris and Tiger.
Tiger turned out to be our guide for the next few days and was a top bloke. Chris told us that he had just had an accident that day in his tuk tuk and rolled it of a 10ft bridge with 2 japanise tourists inside. No one was killed but the toursts were pretty banged up and wanted money from Chris which is redicalus as he is living at subsistance level anyway. His bike and tuk tuk were in the Police station and he needed $200 to get them back and then damage done etc etc. He was not happy and we felt sorry for him. How much of this was and effort, if any , to get some sympathy dollars out of us Im not sure.
So we retired that night making arrangements for Tiger to show us around Siem Rep the next day and go to the Tonle Sap lake, the biggest lake is Aisa.
So that was day one in Cambodia!
posted by Fionn at 10:56 PM
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