We were heading from Koh Chang island to Siem Reap and we knew that this travel day was going to be a long one. We had the long bus ride followed by a border crossing on foot, followed by a 2-2 1/2 hour taxi ride to the city. We hopped in a taxi from our hotel which turned out to be a van. The van was a 15 passenger van and by the time we hit the ferry boat port we were filled to capacity of people that were headed for Cambodia also. We figured that this would be how we would be traveling for the next 6 hours. When we arrived at the port we all emptied out our things and we were trying to figure out which bus we were transferring to. There were many buses lined up and they were all headed to Siem Reap. We were slightly concerned about this trip due to a bunch of horror stories we had heard about scams from these places.
We were directed by a man who claimed to be the owner of the company we held tickets to, to his 15 passenger van. It was unmarked and untagged with anything from the company. He loaded up our bags and we got in. We started to pull away and only then did we realized that no one else would be coming with us. This created a little bit of panic in my heart at first because we had just been in a large group of people that all held the same tickets as us but none of them got in the van and we were off alone. The driver didn't speak a word to us and def. didn't speak English. It was at this point that we started to come to terms with the fact that we might be killed.
We knew approximately how long this van ride should be, but we weren't sure of it as the times can vary a lot. Much of the road was gravel and we crossed through many security checkpoints with military holding guns.
We quietly started to plan how we would get away if we realized we were going to be attacked. About three hours into the ride I had come to terms with the possibility of us being kidnapped. I was thinking about what we would do to try to stay alive and stay together if something happened. There were no other tour buses in sight for hours and every sign that said border crossing to Cambodia we seemed to turn away from.
We pulled off the side of the road for gasoline and I had to use the bathroom. Now, bathrooms in these countries are very different than other bathrooms. Here there is no real plumbing. You use a bucket of water to force the water down through the pipes after you go to the bathroom. Since there is no plumbing, there is also no toilet paper. You will find a small hose next to the toilet sometimes to clean yourself off with. Very interesting experience. Well, at this point I had gotten used to the situation with the restrooms, and I was eased into it because Japan has squatter toilets. However, upon entering this outdoor restroom I wanted to be sick. There was a poster that was displaying, in Thai writing, what I presume would happen to you if you sat on the toilet seat and contracted the flesh eating bacteria that thrived in these countries. The very sight of the photos was enough to make anyone cringe. I wanted to ask where we were but no one spoke English.
We pulled back onto the road and actually backtracked from where we were coming from. This made us even more nervous because the opposite direction showed more signs for Cambodia.
We assumed we were goners...
Suddenly we entered a town with a GIANT garbage dump and we pulled up to a shop where there were other backpackers. We WERE THERE! Safe and sound.
That was truly the most frightening 6.5 hours in a van ever.
We got our visas and our escort to cross the border. His name was July.
After downing some freshly prepared Pad Thai we headed on foot for the border. The border town was crowded and dirty, as was expected and felt much like crossing into Mexico. There were many casinos and shops.
We went through customs and immigration where posters about reporting child exploitation were plastered on the walls. It is a shame how many people take advantage of this orphaned poor children. I couldn't believe the number of posters and billboards all over the country about reporting anything you see that is suspicious.
We made it safely to our Taxi with the help of our guide and rode the two hours into Siem Reap with our new friends who worked in Bangkok and Sri Lanka. We arrived in Siem Reap and headed into town with a Tuk Tuk to find a hostel. We took a room at the first place he took us to (which we are sure he made a commission on because the room was rather pricey). At 20$ for the night we settled and he agreed to drive us around the next day all day for 10$. We agreed and said we wanted to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat in the morning. He agreed to meet us at 4:30am.
We went into the town that night and had a bite to eat. We were bombarded by small children in the restaurant who wanted to sell us everything from postcards, to bootleged novels, and more. They were smart too. One boy was able to rattle off all the stats about England right down to Government leaders, population, and location. It was amazing, but obviously a part of the plan to ooo and aaaa prospective buyers. I wonder who taught him all of that and why. It broke my heart.
We went back to rest for the night because the stress of the travel and the interrupted dinner were enough to wear anyone down. Plus we knew that judging by what we had already experienced so far in Cambodia, that we were in for one hell of an adventure the following day.
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