Hit the Road Jack

Ray Charles 1961

I spent most of Wednesday riding the local bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. I bought two tickets and was put right at the front in the space above the driver so was able to stretch out and wriggle around and was very comfortable. Not sure why I was given this prime position as there was a much prettier, much younger blonde girl on the same bus, she hadn't chatted to the bus stop hingers-oan though so maybe I got it for being friendly.
It turns out there is ONE road, and road is a generous word in some places. The journey was magnificent and I snapped out of the window for quite some time. We made the ~200 miles in about 6 hours, so only slightly longer than the 4.5 that I had been promised and we only made about half a dozen non-stops :-). In-bus entertainment was a TV showing what can only have been Cambodia's Got Talent, then Thriller, dubbed into Khymer with English subtitles, twice. Both were very popular choices with my busmates who sang and clapped along. There are strip-villages along much of the route and today's blip is a good reflection (geddit?) of what there was to see...stilt houses of all sizes and made from wood or breeze block. I'm going to guess that areas of land were allocated or sold off in regular sized boxes as many of the fields by the road were of similar size and shape, often with a dug out area growing rice or lotus at the front and the house with animals and motosomething sheltering from the downpour underneath. The last hour or so felt a bit hairy. For much of the way there are no road markings, no streetlights, no cats' eyes and it was absolutely pelting down with rain. When we arrived at Siem Reap we pulled into what I can only describe as a vacant lot in a poor part of town - still no street lights - and everyone else was met by family, friends or hotel pick up...leaving me to take a tuk tuk, on my own, in the dark, to the most expensive hotel in town....hmmm. I had already put my watch and bracelet in the bottom of my bag and I laughed off the idea that I might actually be staying there, just meeting a friend for a drink. Off we went in the tuk tuk with driver and driver's boss (?)a smarter looking boy with a mobile phone...and I had visions of being sold across a border somewhere...not convinced they would have got very much for me...and they must have been of the same mind as we arrived safely about twelve minutes later. The driver then wanted just $2...I was so thrilled to be there I gave him a thrill with $3! The Raffles Grand Hotel in Siem Reap is probably even more grand than the Royal in Phnom Penh - but just as empty. Readers may remember the trouble I had (not) getting a decent price from the front desk so how sweet was it to arrive and find that I had been upgraded to a room that I remember from the internet was $60 / night more than the one I had booked. Perhaps a little joined up customer service would be a good idea...I'm wondering if a Dear Manager letter might be worth a shot / free night somewhere...but back to the plot...I got cleaned up and went downstairs to join the party in the famous Elephan Bar....and found that I WAS the party...with three staff quite delighted to have something to do. Half an hour later, my trusty guidebook and I were joined in the bar by an American couple and I, fed up of my own conversation, went over and introduced myself and we had a super evening swapping travel stories. One day maybe someone will introduce themselves to me.