Travel Day: Siem Reap (Part 3)

Today marks my third visit to the Mochit station in three consecutive days - I think the staff’s beginning to talk. So determined was I to get things right this time around, I handwrote my destination in Thai (ผมอยากจะไป อรัญประเทศ ) to show the folks at the ticket booth (thanks for emailing it to me, Dan). It worked.

It’s not difficult to see the stark contrast in living standards between Thais and Cambodians when making the cross into Poi Pet. On one hand, you have wealthy Thais spending vast fortunes in fancy Vegas style casinos (gambling laws are less stringent in Cambodia – it’s illegal on the Thai side). On the other hand, you have impoverished Cambodian children and landmine amputees begging for money outside on the unpaved litter strewn streets.

I think license plates must be optional in Cambodia as most vehicles don't have them. This Texas plate probably serves more as a status symbol than an identifier:

Roads in Cambodia are among the worst in the world so I’ve heard. Many, including NH6, the stretch between Sisophon and Siem Reap are nothing more than cleared dirt paths interspersed with giant pot holes.

Just after sunset, little cities of light bulbs glowed bright over endless rows of fields lining the highway. A Cambodian sitting at the back explained that each one of these lights is a cricket trap.

A trap consists of a blue fluorescent lamp with a white bed sheet tied beneath it. A bucket of water sits at the bottom of this setup, where crickets fall after bouncing off the sheet. According to the guy, 15 tons of them are caught every night in this region (this number sounds a little high and is probably exaggerated). Most of them are fried up and exported to Thailand though maybe not in that order.

It took three days (35 of the last 72 hours have been spent on buses) but I’m finally in Siem Reap, the launching point for the Angkor Wat complex. It’ll be good to settle in for a couple of days.

Travel Day: Siem Reap? (Part 2)

The funny thing about the bathroom at the guesthouse is that there’s no light switch. The only way you can turn off the lights is to shut down the mains for the bedroom, meaning no power for the fan. Another funny thing about my bathroom is the missing pane on the top left of the window. So with the light on all night, and a small point of entry, my bathroom became a giant moth orgy by morning.

I decided it best to skip the shower and brush my teeth out on the balcony.

Today’s plan was to backtrack to Bangkok, catch the connecting 4:30 bus to Aranya Prathet, then either spend the night there or catch another bus to Siem Reap in Cambodia.

Flood damage in Phrae province on the way back to Bangkok:

Well, I made it to the Mochit bus station but I missed the last Aranya Prathet bus by about 10 minutes. I’m going to give this another try tomorrow morning.

Travel Day: Siem Reap?

A tout approached me as I entered the main entrance of Bangkok’s Mochit bus terminal promising to direct me to the right ticket booth. I told him “Aranya Prathet” (the town resting adjacent to the Cambodian border). He nodded and took me to a nearby ticket booth.

I said to the ticket lady “Aranya Prathet.”

She nodded as the tout had and wrote up a ticket before pointing me in the direction of bay number 26, where the bus was waiting.

Just before I entered the bus, I reconfirmed with the ticket taker “Aranya Prathet.”

To which s/he (ladyboy) replied “chai” (yes).

So here I am in a little town called Phrae. 800 kilometers away from where I’m supposed to be, in a province that, as of a couple of days ago, is in a state of emergency (massive flooding). Where foreigners rarely travel and nobody speaks English.

Ah, sweet, sweet adventure.