First steps into Cambodia

27 - 30 November

It was an early start for the pick up and ferry back to Thailand's mainland, followed by several hair-raising hours in the minivan with a crazy Thai driver to the border with Cambodia.

On the ferry from Koh Chang back to the Thai mainland

Google "Thailand Cambodia border" and you'll be presented with an endless list of blogposts, travel guide recommendations, and articles about how much of a sham it is. They don't lie.

A tourist visa into Cambodia costs US$20, according to all official information. However you'll never get into the country on a land border with US$20 - especially if you've got a bus to catch. Avoiding the fake "quarantine" tent trying to scam travellers with out of an extra $5, you then get called into a room one by one to present your money to the officials who will insist the price is 1000 Thai baht. The US$33 this converts to results in a nice little cut for the border officials. Thai baht aren't even accepted in Cambodia (US$ are)... It was a small moral victory for me to get away with around US$27 when I insisted on paying in US$. You then get ushered out of the room without your passport and wait 5 minutes until it magically appears with some new paper inside. Then off you go.

Then you have to find your bus connection on the other side. During the above process we were being hassled by a number of different people trying to say that we were on their bus, and had been warned of attempts to get us not on our prebooked bus, but another that would charge us later... I was also the last person through the process and a bus driver was complaining that he would leave without me... Given he didn't do so, I trusted him (a scam would have given up on me), and somehow myself, and 5 others (including Lena and Suvi from my last accommodation in Koh Chang) ended up in Sihanoukville.

That included changing onto another minivan as the main bus went to Phnom Penh. Unfortunately I left my nice hiking boots on the first bus - and this was our minivan...

There were about 12 people crammed into here, along with all that luggage...

Our bags were tied somewhere into that bulge sticking out the back, and as our jovial Cambodian driver and his mate ensured it was all "secure", one of them said "First time in Cambodia?"

"Yes" most of us replied.

"It like this" he said with a big grin.

Welcome to Cambodia indeed...

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Sihanoukville turned out to be a bit of a tourist trap, but nestled in a decent spot along the beach. After a long day of travel and with an early bus to Phnom Penh in two days, I didn't get up to much there but enjoyed a Cambodian BBQ dinner on the beach, where beers were two for US$1 on happy hour and you could wander in the water while waiting for your food... While not particularly authentic, it did feel nice just to relax as a tourist and not feel all that guilty about it.

Sunset from Sihaoukville

A cocktail in the surf while waiting for dinner... Why not...

The day in between involved a late sleep in, and a brief walk around town to the market and the bus company trying (unsuccessfully) to get my hiking boots back. A fresh coconut was a temporary relief from the stifling humidity and before long it was back to the beach to cool off.

Suvi had found some Finnish compatriots and decided to stay in Sihanoukville for some time, while Lena joined me on the bus to Phnom Penh and where I was due to meet up with my sister Claire, the beginnings of a 12 day trip around Cambodia with my parents also.

Phnom Penh was quite a different capital city to Bangkok. Certainly it was noticeable that the country isn't as financially strong as Thailand. It was a very bustling, dirty, dusty and busy city, a real attack on the senses that was at complete contrast to the tourist spot of Sihanoukville.

I got some time to explore a bit around the town and the frontage onto the great Mekong River. I always liked exploring through markets and this one near to my guesthouse was no different...

The entrance to Preăh Barum Réachea Veang Chaktomuk (Royal Palace), near the confluence of the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers

Top quality scaffolding

At the markets: Spot the dog...

Eggs from New Zealand!

Giving a new definition to a safely secured load...
The three guys riding on top aren't wearing seatbelts!

For the day spare that I had, I visited two of the important sites from the Khmer Rouge regime - the S-21 Genocide Museum and the Choeung Ek Memorial, widely known as the Killing Fields. See my experiences about that in a separate post here.

Then it was off to pick up Claire from the airport... First time seeing any family in almost 11 months!

Family!

Back at the guesthouse I learnt a lesson about hiring a tuktuk driver - price before trip - and I got well and truly ripped off by him when I bended to pressure first. While I know the amount of money is still a lot more to him than to me, I don't like paying more than what the real price is for something. In this one case my driver refused to accept the "real price" even though I knew that would have been generous. In the end to avoid the awkward situation that was developing, I just paid up.

Then first thing in the morning - again - Claire and I were on a long bus ride to Cambodia's north and the town on Banlung. Several dodgy roadside eateries and toilets later, the on-time bus (read: less than 2 hours late) arrived to where Mum and Dad were waiting.