Leaving on a jet plane . . .

Hi Everyone,
 
    I write this from the beaches of Cambodia where we are paying $8 a night for a lovely ensuite twin room with a fan, TV, balcony, and lots of room and light.  Breakfast this morning was a pineapple pancake for $1.75 and the 4 hour bus ride to get here cost $5.  The people here are all smiles.  Life is sweet.  But it was a long journey to get here.
    A Cambodia visa should cost $20 US at the border.  We knew that they charged more than that (1000 Baht or $28.57) because a friend had made the trip the day before and told us via e-mail.  We also knew that the bus drivers often offer to arrange the visa for you for a few hundred Baht more - not worth it.  So when we told our bus driver that we would prefer to get it at the border because we knew it was cheaper there, he got angry and told us he would only wait one hour and then leave us behind.  Knowing that scaring you is a common tactic of Cambodians to relieve you of more US dollars, we decided to risk it.  We also knew there were taxis at the border and we wouldn't be stuck.  So we got to the border and were escorted by another man with the same company through the border.  First you go through passport control at the Thai border, which took about 45 min.  Then you walk to the Cambodia side where you can get your visa and arrival stamp at the same place.  However, you need the arrival card to get through.  If you don't have a visa, a guard at a table charges you 1000 Baht to get it before he will give you an arrival card.  Because he is the only one who can give you the arrival card, you are forced to go through him for your visa.  He also charged us an additional 100 Baht (we're pretty sure this was for the guy who brought us here, because he talked to the guard before he asked for our payment).  So you give the guard the money and he walks around outside to the same window we are in line for.  Then he brings back our passports, now with the Cambodia visa inside and then gives us the arrival card.  So the guard gets 300 Baht in-pocket for every visa he processes and likley splits it with the guys working behind the window.
    Anyway, we got through the border and because we were at the beginning of the line, there were several people from our bus behind us and we were able to get back on our bus.  Phew!  Or so we thought.  The bus we get on is different than the comfortable airconditioned bus on the Thai side.  The ride from the border to Siem Reap is extremely bumpy and dusty and there is no AC on the bus and no leg room.  I sat above the rear wheel (the only seat left) which made it worse.  The idea (accroding to Lonely Planet) is that they purposely make the ride as long and as uncomfortable as possible, so that when they drop you off at a guest house commissioned by them, you are more than happy to stay.  Otherwise, if you go to a different guest house, they don't get anything.  It's very effective and it worked on us.  We were upset to discover that the bus had dropped us off far from the city center, but so exhausted we couldn't be bothered to negotiate with a tuk tuk driver (it's kind of like a motorcycle with a cart attached to it and the drivers are notorious for ripping off tourists), so we crashed there and moved in the morning.
    Siem Reap is the gateway to the temples of Angkor.  I was there four years ago and the city was more like a large village.  Now it is a booming city.  Back then, I spent two days exploring the temples, which was plenty of time for me, especially at $20/day.  So Lauren went off to explore the temples while I rented a bicycle ($1 for half day) and went riding along the river for a couple hours.  Next I treated myself to a one hour full body massage ($5) which I really needed after that bus ride! 
    The next day, we bused it to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia and home of the infamous Toul Sleng museum and the Killing Fields of Choeng Ek.  During the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot regime when close to a third of Cambodia's population (I believe it that' around 2 million people) was wiped out, Toul Sleng, formerly a high school, was converted into a prison/torture facility and is now a museum.  You have to have a strong stomach to visit these places and I've already done it four years prior.  So I opted to visit the Royal Palace instead while Lauren went to them.  The Royal Palace, home of the royal family, is beautiful and also houses the silver pagoda, famous for it's 5000+ silver tiles on the floor.  There is also a 90kg (200 lb) gold statue of Buddha and a large emerald statue of Buddha.
    Lauren and I then met up for lunch and then hopped on a bus to Sihanoukville, on the southern coast of Cambodia.  We then grabbed a taxi to our current lodging, Sakal Bungalows, a minute's walk from the beach - and that is where I'm headed now :-)  I hope you are all doing well and I'll write soon.  
 
Sierra