Traveling to Cambodia

We checked in early the night before because Day 2 was quite an early day for us. This is the day we are traveling to Cambodia. Cambodia can be a bus ride from Thailand or Vietnam. Bubba said that Philippines is fortuned with so many beautiful beaches but the counterbalance of that is, since we are an island of islands, it is a strain for us to travel elsewhere by land. There is no other country connected to us.

We booked our Siem Reap tickets through the Sapaco bus company. I have researched on three bus companies but it seemed from the forums that Sapaco is the optimum choice. The bus leaves for Siem Reap everyday at 7am. We woke up by 5am to prepare and check out of the hotel. Cab took us to the Sapaco office in 309 Pham Ngu Lao Street. We got there at 630AM and paid for our tickets. We had time to spare so breakfast was a top agenda. At the corner of the street, there was a small open-air Pho noodle house, Pho Bo Bo Kho. Bubba had the beef stew (40,000 Dong) while I had the meatballs and flank Pho (30,000 Dong) and 2 bottles of water (5,000 Dong each).

It was a huge red tourist bus with A/C, LCD TV and W/C (or what they call water closet) and free water. It took us two hours to get to Vietnam border. There were five bus stops including immigration for both Vietnam and Cambodia borders, which took an hour total, 30 minutes for each. It wasn’t much of a hassle since the bus conductor collates the passports and hands it to the immigration officer in bulk. You have to bring your bags though inside since it has to go through the scanner, which felt pretty silly.

It was a 12-hour bus ride but I didn’t have to brace myself much since I don’t mind traveling by land. I like long rides in fact (maybe not 12 hours long) but I’d take it any day than any 2 hours or more of boat ride.

Well, I thought wrong.

The bus stopped over for brunch at a highway carinderia, while waiting for our passports to be handed back to us (which was later on delivered via motorbike from the Cambodian Immigration office). We were still full from breakfast but opted to take a bite since we didn’t know if this was already the lunch break and when the next stop is. Bubba and I shared a plate of pork ribs and rice (seems like a safe bet), which cost USD 2.50.

The place was dingy but I didn’t want to fuss about it, so I ate with my eyes not leaving the plate and concentrated on the plate (trying to be oblivious to the guy who’s eating with his foot on the chair and another guy spitting on the ground).

A brief stop at Phnom Penh took 15 minutes. Phnom Penh is the capital and and largest city of Cambodia with more than one million of Cambodia’s 13 million population. Rightfully so because it is the economic, industrial, commercial, cultural, tourist and historical center of Cambodia. In the 1920s, the city was once known as the “Pearl of Asia” and was popular for its traditional Khmer tradition. Like Ho Chi Minh, Phnom Penh has some French influenced architecture and is currently the wealthiest hub in the country. During the stop, I took the chance to talk to a girl in front of our seat who I heard earlier spoke in Filipino on the phone.

Her name is Lea and she is two years younger than me. Gosh, I am packing on the years, everyone seems to be so much younger than me! Lea is currently working in Singapore as an interior designer. She’s been working there since her first job. Her parents gave the Singapore trip as a graduation gift to her as well as an opportunity to check any openings in Singapore. Luckily, a job landed on her feet. Her plan was to backpack Vietnam and Cambodia, very much like our plan. Since she is yet to book a hotel, I offered to look together when we get to Siem Reap. A list of hotels I researched over the net trims down our hunt.

The Sapaco bus stopped over another side street eatery for a late lunch. This one looked better than the first one. Bubba and I were famished so we decided to order 2 separate meals to devour on our own. We ordered beef with rice but we were handed fried rice with beef at USD 2.50 each. It is a bit bland so we put a lot of fish paste on the rice. Before going back to the bus, 2 Cambodian girls approaches and profusely convinces me to buy the fruits they are selling. Both spoke very good English and called me “sista!” They were really nice but one frightened me a bit with her pet spider when she put it in her mouth.

The bus gets on a ferry, which marks my first RORO-type of ride. This took only 15 minutes, crossing from one side to the other side of the river. To kill boredom, I watched the movie, “You, Me and Dupree” on my I-pod.

I suddenly felt nauseous around 4pm. I felt like throwing up and pooping. 30 minutes later, I felt claustrophobic which intensified the need to throw up. I was mentally trying to overpower my body and thoughts. I stopped watching and tried to sleep. I couldn’t. My lungs seem to gasp for air. Bubba was asleep. I held it in and concentrated on happy thoughts. But not even the memory of good poker night can sway my woozy state.

The final bus stop was a washroom break. Thank goodness for 10 minutes of fresh air. It helped me with the last hour of bus distress. We arrived in Siem Reap at 715pm, which more or less hits the 12-hour target.

Lea approached a tuk-tuk driver carrying a paper with her name on it. The driver was referred to her by her HS friend who stays in Phnom Penh and works there as a teacher in their International School. The tuk-tuk driver recommended two hotels for us to check out. We did and found it a little over the budget and quite a distance from the central district. I referred to my list and suggested Dead Fish. We saw the restaurant slash guest house and agreed to stay there. Lea managed to get a fan room with twin beds with her 5-dollar/night budget while we got an AC room for $13/night.

I suggested to Lea to meet in an hour so we can both settle in and freshen up (or probably rest a bit). 40 minutes later, we meet at the restaurant lobby. The well-lighted Pub Street lured us to having our dinner in one of the restaurants there. From the Khmer cooking we tried from the side streets, I begged off the cuisine and pleaded to get something more familiar. Viva Mexicano looked like the paramount choice at the time.

On the Table

Pineapple Juice USD 1.50

Strawberry Banana Smoothie USD 2.00

Big Bottle of Water USD 1.00

Cheese Quesadilla USD 4.00

Beef Burrito USD 4.50

Beef Enchilada USD 4.50

I didn’t get to eat much because I was hesitant to take in anything while the previous food is still lobbying in my stomach. Lea and Bubba nod their approval of Viva’s good food. I enjoyed the cold drinks. The night was quite dry.

We turned in early since we were tired from the bus ride plus we need the rest to be able to wake up early the next day. We’re doing the Angkor Wat tour before sunrise. I hear the sun’s orange blonde glow in the morning casts a golden shadow over the Angkor Wat making it seem to be made of gold.

You know the harsh tribulations one goes through climbing a mountain but reaching the top of the mountain makes it all worth it?