Each day I catch a moto dteuk to New Life School and then home from university. This is a daily adventure, especially with my minimal Khmer. However I have quickly learnt some vital phrases for moto taking….bot s’dum (turn right), bot ch’wayng (turn left), dtou dtrong (go straight) and lastly or-goon bong (thanks brother). Just recently I have learnt how to say the price (and how to say too expensive – very important). However, I have found some regular drivers so that does make things easier.
When you are taking a moto dteuk you don’t say the address where you are going, you say a landmark nearby and then direct from there. So, I have been learning the layout of my regular areas pretty quickly. The roads have no real lanes, meaning traffic can get crazy, but hey that's all part of the experience.
A moto driver will try to take you to where you want to be the quickest way possible and this may mean going on footpaths, driving through a market’s car park or driving through a petrol stations to cut a corner. It is all safe because traffic here doesn’t move fast, thus it’s just about trusting the driver, looking around and enjoy the ride.
