so, i book this bus ride from the east coast of thailand to siem riep, cambodia. that was my first mistake. it was a lot of money ($25). they say that you will get to siem riep by 5pm. those people lie. we got to the border ok if not a bit late, then you have to transfer busses across the border.
as we entered no-mans-land: blind people, children, and cripples (from landmines evidently) are begging for money - its a tough sight, and if i had any doubt that cambodia is a third world country it was now gone. we were told a story by the visa officials that we pissed off our bus ride by being late. the only thing we could do was catch another bus (and thereby pay more money). There is no way to tell if we had been scammed or not, but we negotiated the last bus out of town for $10 each (also a lot of money around here).
the bus ride was horrible. imagine a steel crate on wheels with uncomfortable seats and windows and doors that rattle. it hardly worked but that wasn't the biggest problem. there are only dirt roads in cambodia (at least from the border to where we were going). the first 15 minutes were an assault on the senses. i asked how long the ride was. 9 hours. christ. so we bumped and rolled and slammed our way to siem reap - the bus bounced and rattled and was hot and dusty. it was so tiring, but falling asleep wasn't an option - if you fell asleep with your head on your right shoulder, sooner than later the bus would hit a bump, sending your head smashing into the window on your left. that's bumpy.
sleeping was a bad idea regardless of the pain it inflicted - there was much to see. we careened (sometimes dangerously so) through very very poor villages. most shacks are built on minefields here and there are signs everywhere warning of it. it was good for me to see the way these people live - the extreme poverty of it all. the dangerous situation. the dust from the roads coating the shacks in which they live and probably their lungs. there was so so much dust. but despite this, their spirits were very high. everytime the bus rolled through, children (and some adults) waved with big smiles on their faces. they knew were were bringing money to their country, and money is desperately what they need.
still, parts of the ride were beautiful and i'm glad i did it. the big red sun setting and the burning rice fields were surreal and reminded me of scenes from baraka. we arrived at 11pm and this proves how crafty these people are - they know you're tired, and so they drive you to their guesthouse and since they have beds and a shower (which is all i wanted at that point) and you can't even think about using your spine to walk away you say "i'll take it."
after a 24-hour battle with food poisoning, scott and i visited the many temples of the angkor wat area. these are absolutely amazing and defy description. i'm sure you've seen pictures (and you could see mine if these computers had a USB port), especially of Ta Prohm, with banyan trees growing on the ruins. monks, wrapped in saffron-robes leap from the grey scenes of the ruins. their smiles beaming, welcoming. its majestic, its awe-inspiring, and i feel blessed to have been here to experience it. it was worth it. more than worth it.
scotty leaves soon, so we're headed to chiang mai on friday (by airplane, thank god) to squeeze in a little more thailand.
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