So we smoothed through the Thai side and walked the few steps into the Kingdom of Cambodia. We were ushered into a line for a health inspection, which we had to pay for, (ahem, scam). They took our temps by holding a plastic tube up to our foreheads and waved us off to the next check point. We were taken into a dark, bare, and serious room filled with guards who demanded 1,200 from the both of us. Lucian calmly asked for a receipt and they sternly said "no receipt." Lucian then proceeded to talk to me about the embassy and reporting them and they immediately said that we get a special discount and asked for the set amount of 1,000 Bhat for the visa.
Having uneasy feelings after leaving the small room, I looked around for our bus. We cozied up to a couple from Dublin who had identical tickets to ours and we noticed we were assigned a guide - Mr. Sam, who on cue, showed up and led us to his Toyota Corolla. 6 people crammed in and I prayed we weren't driving the next leg of the trip with half of my butt on Lucian's knee and the Dublin girl's shoulder in my chin. We said he was taking us to the bus station and said before the bus leaves we should exchange our US dollars or Bhat into Cambodian Riel because the bus would be stopping at a nice restaurant and they only take Riel. We drove into a market and stopped at a makeshift stand. (Lucian if you don't want to hear it, skip the rest of the paragraph). She gave us a rate for our 2,570 Bhat and handed us a large stack of Riel. Mr. Sam hurried us back into the sedan and off we went to the bus station (a dry dirt field with some wooden benches). After settling in our seats, we thumbed through the wad of cash we had and realized we were f'ed over for $20 (the worst thing is, we knew better). Mr. Sam hassled us for a tip and wouldn't leave the bus until we gave him some cash. So much for his warning about Cambodians trying to rip off the tourists...
Our bus left a noon and we were told back in Trat that the ride would last about 5 hours. We stopped about 2 hours in, but not at a restaurant...it was strange hybrid of a bus stop with a fruit stand and tables. All in all, our extremely bumpy trip took an extra 2 hours and we rolled into Phnom Penh as it was getting dark. A persistent tuk-tuk driver said he would take us to a nice place, which he did, but then demanded a huge sum of money after driving 4 blocks. We fell right to sleep after a large meal and enjoyed the first comfy bed we had encountered in weeks.
Lucian is in heaven with a table full of Indian food
My impressions of Cambodia were skewed because of the shiestiness of our first day. We eventually settled in to our neighborhood and explored the riverfront. As we were having lunch on the sidewalk that day, no less than 10 people came up to us, asking us to buy hammocks, sunglasses, and pirated copies of Lonely Planet guides. A hungry, homeless man approached our table and picked at our plates when we were finished eating. Lucian offered him the rest of his canned beer. He took it, clinked Lucian's glass, and chugged it dry.
Cyclos lined up and waiting to be used
Trying to capture the intensity of the street markets
The next day, we visited the Killing Fields and Genocidal Center of Choeung Ek. It was the gruesome sight where we they transported prisoners held under the cruel Khmer Rouge Regime in the 70s and executed them. Mass graves still stood un-impacted by other people and thousands of skulls from the victims sat in a temple at the center of the fields. The thing that was truly chilling to me were the scraps of clothing from the victims caught in the dirt on the grounds of the center. I decided to take a few pictures at the site. I felt weird about snapping photos at such a chilling place. I am not trying to exploit the victims or their families...I took pictures to remind myself and people close to me of the attrociousness of this act. I want to remember this awful piece in history and hopefully never forget.
The commemorative stupa filled with the skulls of the victims
Enjoying a drink on our last night in Cambodia
A tuk tuk ride back to the city and took in the city on our last night. The next morning we caught a bus into Saigon...more to come!
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