16.2.08
Touch down! After just over 10 hours of flying I stepped out
into the warm Khmer air and was immediately confronted by a scrum of tuk tuk,
moto and taxi drivers competing for my attention. Luckily my name was printed
on a brightly coloured card held by a young man. As I gestured to let him know
where I was and walked around the corner towards him I was greeted by two Khmer
women from the Fred Hollows Foundation – Somin and Sophavid. Both spoke fluent
English and once I started getting used to their accents I could understand
them quite easily. I was glad I had two local guides especially when we entered
the Khmer traffic! It appears that there are no consistent rules when it comes
to driving in Cambodia. Cars, mototaxis, tuk tuks and pedestrians share the
road in a frenzy to get from A to B in the shortest time possible. This meant
zig-zagging through convoys of motorbikes and wayward busses doing 3-point
turns in the middle of main roads! Chaos it seemed but accidents appeared rare.
After breakfast we made our way to the Russian Market. Here was a rabbit warren
of stalls with everything on offer from fresh produce to counterfeit CDs and
DVDs. Bargaining is difficult but recommended so you don’t get ripped off here.
It seems like a game to the locals to get a good price and they sure start them
young! A Khmer boy who was no older than nine years old was selling books in a
mobile stall strapped around his shoulders - kind of like the drink sellers at
the football. You would think children wouldn’t be as sales orientated as the
more experienced adults but how I was wrong! This sales savvy junior looked at
me with his eyebrows narrowed after offering what I thought was reasonable for
one of his books and he returned, “Listen miss, I don’t do cheap.” He got his
sale, however, for an agreed price.
Next it was on to the National Museum where ancient Hindu
and Budda archaeological treasures recovered from the country’s temples were on
display. Some dated back as far as the sixth century.
After returning to the hotel for a much needed rest we all
went to dinner where I was introduced to Sam Ath – the Fred Hollows Foundation
country manager. Dinner conversation included what strange things I should eat
on our way to Kampong Thom tomorrow.... Fried spider, anyone?
