As I type Sharan and I are having an unscheduled night in (nothing to do) Stung Treng, as our Laos visas didn't arrive today as expected. The guesthouse has been kind enough to give us a free room though, which is nice except it's quite dingy, has plastic bags for windows and there's an (all night) wedding party on the street outside with very big speakers...looks like the ear plugs are going to get some use tonight.Welcome to the travelling life in Cambodia :)
But it hasn't been all doom and gloom. We spent New years eve in Phnom Penh on the river bank with the locals and tourists alike drinking beer and eating boiled eggs while watching the haphazard fireworks display. The next day we visited the unlikely combination of sad Khmer Rouge sites (killing fields, Tuol Sleng) and 'ok, now lets shoot some machine guns!' (quote: tuk tuk driver) at the shooting range. I was tempted by the rocket launcher but settled for a magazines worth of AK47 which was fun but not my cup of tea.
What never fails to amaze us is the driving over here which is crazy in the cities but down right suicidal everywhere else.. Every vehicle has their own 'crusing' speed that is uncomfortably fast and must be maintained always, even given other traffic, blind corners, stationary water buffalos, etc...crucial to this is the fact that for every 2 lane road there is an invisible 3rd lane in the middle that can be used at anytime, just honk the horn!! Adding to the entertainment are the locals carrying loads on their wheels that make the worst IKEA van disaster look like a casual shop at Tescos (see pic)
And then there's the rubbish, it's everywhere! Khmers really don't care that their country is becoming a tip. Picture this, we were at Bokor national park and had endured a butt numbing 3 hours on the back of a pickup to reach the hilltop summit viewpoint. It was a beautiful spot, surrounded by jungle and a view of the southern coast. Everyone was admiring the view when a Khmer lady runs towards the cliff face and throws a plastic bottle over the edge into the wilderness, proudly watching it fly into the horizon. Who does that??! She did get a bollocking and lecture by one of the dutch tourists though.
What has really stood out here are the kids, they are soo friendly and smart. Always saying hello but always trying to sell you something. The begging though is full on and something we have had to get used to.
Before we headed off to Laos we discovered that there waqs no ATM in all of northeast Cambodia and only one in Laos. We had to take the 6 hour bus back to Phnom Penh just to get cash out. A lesson learnt.
We have just returned from Ban Lung which is a small town covered in red dust. Vien loved the bumpy off road riding on the moto, pity his hair didn't enjoy it as much (see pic). We saw some cool waterfalls but the highlight was definitely the crater lake which was crystal clear water surrounded by jungle. We hired some inner tubes and wasted the day away, a great way to end our travels in Cambodia.
Other stuff we've done: Relaxing in Sihanoukvilles beaches, riding the hilarious bamboo train, seeing the Irrawaddy dolphins and obviously the magnificent temples of Angkor.
Tomorrow we're off to Laos for 3 weeks, thats if our visas ever turn up...
