Scoop from Singapore

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

We had bought our bus tickets through our hotel, so at 12:30 we boarded a coach bus (no more vans, thank goodness) and embarked on the next leg of our trip. I have become very good at putting my headphones in and sleeping on public transportation, so I dosed for a while on the bus ride, even though I had done nothing to require sleep. I am also a pro at curling up in a bus seat, with my feet resting on the back of the seat in front of me and my body curled to the inside. It's a sight, I'm sure, since the boys said my body shouldn't bend like that.

Now, while sleeping on a bus doesn't seem like an incredible feat, you need to understand Cambodian buses and driving. When there are paved roads, they do (gasp) have yellow lines down the center. Yet, they apparently mean nothing. We passed other cars and trucks regardless of solid and dotted lines, and without care to curves and oncoming traffic. Honking the horn is common and happened EVERY 45 seconds, as a way to say "hey, there's a car behind you". In some instances it made sense, as a warning to motos that a big bus was coming up behind them. But when we were behind a row of cars and oncoming traffic, I am still unsure what honking accomplished.

5 hours later (remember we were told 2) we arrived in Phnom Penh and were again mobbed by drivers, this time of tuk-tuks. We wanted to buy bus tickets to Vietnam before going to our hostel, but the bus station didn't seem to sell them. The man who was following us and offering to take us to our hostel also offered to drive us in his tuk-tuk to Vietnam, but we passed on that.

We finally agreed to hire this man to bring us to the hostel, and he swore that all five of us could fit, no problem. Well, 4 would have been a very tight squeeze, never mind and additional five large backpacks. We gave it a go anyway, since we were afraid of getting split up, but I am pretty sure we broke his tuk-tuk. It sputtered a sad put-tuk-tuk-put-put as we started, and the noises only got worse as we travelled on. After driving around the city for an hour and stopping for directions for multiple times, our driver confessed to us that he did not know where our hostel was, and he was worried about his tuk-tuk, so he transferred us to his friend's ride. This one was newer, and the man knew where we were going. Progress.

We finally arrived and settled in to our rooms. Since it was already dark and the city was very busy but seemed the least safe of all of our visits, we decided to just eat in our hostel and stay in. The hostel played the movie "The Killing Fields" which was about the war in Cambodia, so that was a perfect way to spend our evening. We went to sleep early, since apparently doing nothing all day can make you as tired as an active day.

The next morning Rachel met up with the other group and we boarded another bus, this time for Vietnam. 6 more hours, I told myself repeatedly, and we will be done with buses. Thank goodness we were flying home.

Another reason I was not a huge fan of Phonom Penh may be because I fell down the stairs there. Our room was on the third floor, and although I am no longer surprised by narrow and steep staircases, this one was slippery as well. And, as most of you know, Old Navy flip flops do not help with traction. Thankfully we were done with the beach, because I have some awful bruises from my upper thigh up my back and shoulder.

posted by Bride-to-Be @ 10:47 AM