Indochina Day 23, To Phnom Penh

Sunday June 19^th

We were picked up at our hotel today by a full sized air-conditioned public coach. GAP takes this route daily, so the bus company picks us up at the hotel before they go to the bus station to pick up other passengers. After we were fully loaded we drove an hour and a half to the Cambodian border. We had to pay $30US for a visa, but the bus company took care of all the paper work. It went very smoothly. Actually, it is a well run corrupt system. Just before we got to the border we stopped twice to drop off six packs of water bottles and a wad of money to a couple of officials, as bribes in order to facilitate our passage across the border. One is so they won't go through all the luggage and parcels the bus is carrying and the second is to speed up the visa process so the bus stays close to schedule.

As soon as we drove into Cambodia we could see and feel the difference. There was less traffic, it was less hectic, it was much more rural, and there was less population density as well. We drove past lots of flooded rice fields and farms. Most of the houses are raised on stilts to avoid flooding. The country has a different feel to it. It is much poorer than Vietnam and looks more like some of the African roads and towns, and some of things I saw in the traffic reminded me of India. Cambodia's Buddhism is more like Thailand, with ornate temples and saffron robed monks. As you can see in the photos, there is lots to watch on the roads as you look out the window. I had a seat at the front of the bus with Richard and could take it all in. Yes, the ducks and chickens are alive.

About an hour out of Phnom Penh we had to take a ferry across the river. It was basic ferry and we just drove onto it with other trucks and scooters, stayed on the bus and sailed across. The rest of the trip passed quickly and we arrived in Phnom Penh by four. We checked in and then regathered in the lobby for a cyclo tour of the city. A cyclo is a bicycle with a two wheeled chair on the front. The men who pedal these cyclos are among the poorest people. They lease their cyclo from a company and use it to pedal locals or tourists around the city to earn their living. They sleep in it at night! This is one of GAP's projects for sustainable tourism, by hiring them and helping to support them.

The tour took us along the river, past the the Penh Stupa, Royal Palace, the Independence Tower and the National Museum. It was a nice way to ride around town. Our last stop was along the river where we went to the former Foreign Press Building where reporters worked in Campochia (the former name of Cambodia). It is now an upscale restaurant and the food was delicious. Then some of us went for a couple of drinks before calling it a night. I bought a book from a young boy who was selling knock offs off books. It is called 'The Gate' and is the true story of the only western reporter to survive the Khmer Rouge. I'd like to read about the history of the genocide.