It's an uneventful bus journey to Phnom Penh, I'm too late to travel straight to Kampot so i spend my time eating and shopping (for nothing, Bob is too heavy with books). I still don't like Phnom Penh and i keep getting told my other travellers that it's good. I don't think they've attempted to walk anywhere though.
The bus to Kampot is a totally different experience however. Finally I'm getting to see the friendly Cambodians i keep hearing so much about. Most of my journey and a good chunk of my day is taken up by locals who want nothing more than to chat to someone who speaks English, it's my first real insight into Cambodia, and i think i get as much from it as them.
I decide to take a day trip while in Kampot to Bokor National park, to see spooky derelict buildings, waterfalls, have a trek through the jungle and travel by boat and 4*4's. The guides English isn't great, and neither is his guiding. A classic is
"what's that old building"
"It's an old building"
He also spends the boat journey trying to find out from me how to get a western girlfriend - like I'm the best one to ask! The roads are dreadful and even the 4*4 struggles, we get a flat tyre - so begins another day of awful travel and the bonding of a group through adversity ;)
It's a good group - 4 Swiss/Germans and 5 English. It's been a long time since I've been with so many English people. It turns out that there is no waterfall - it's the dry season, there isn't really a trek, and so the only thing is the spooky old buildings. Hmmm.
Our 4*4 has further problems on the way back, at one stage they jack the car up to check the wheels. As they only have several inches of movement in them, and there's at least 2 bolts holding them in place, they deem the car to be OK. It really isn't though and so we end up walking for an hour, and then waiting 30 mins in the dark while we wait for a replacement car. Gunter the German(maybe not his real name), complains to hell and so we get a free meal out of our 'ordeal' - it was a $5 trek and we are in Cambodia - just what did he expect! Still i keep quiet and eat the free meal.
I join Jenny from the tour for breakfast. We have been told that the chocolate brownies at this place are the best in the world. Jenny eats the last one, denying myself and a guy who had been going there for weeks his daily fix. Life doesn't hold more adversity than this.
I have to get a shared taxi to Sihanoukville, i hear shared really means squashed, the day is not boding well...
