I took the locals bus from Saigon to Phnom Penh. The bus ride was fine, but a little chaotic at the border when I thought that I was told to go through immigration even though the bus driver (who was nowhere to be seen) had collected the passengers' passports at the start of the trip. I got a little flustered as I thought for a minute I was stuck at the border with no passport, no other foreigners in sight, and absolutely no English speakers (this was definitely one of those moments when it would have been great to speak either Khmer or Vietnamese, but as we've already established, Vietnamese is not exactly my forte, and I hadn't had the chance to pick up and Khmer just yet). The situation eventually worked itself out, and someone appeared with my passport so I could go through immigration..it's amazing what you can achieve with hand signals.
The whole situation was a testament to how I've changed since leaving home in March. The pre-travel Julia would have freaked out at even the slightest notion of being at a border sans passport/basic communication skills, but I took a deep breath, relaxed and let things work themselves out (as they usually do). Anna would have been proud of me.
When I arrived in Phnom Penh, I set out wandering around the city. It's a pretty interesting place. Sure it's a little dirty and the market has some funky smells going on, but it's set right along the Mekong river, and the colonial era buildings mixed in with the temples create a cool ambiance. These big SE Asian cities are definitely growing one me. Their charm isn't as obvious, but when you find it, you know it's genuine.
Motor scooter traffic is pretty insane all over SE Asia, and collisions are fairly commonplace. I wasn't in Phnom Penh for 2 hours before I witnessed my first Cambodian scooter collision. One scooter was passing another one (on the wrong side of the street, going the wrong way, of course), and when the passing scooter's handlebar caught on the backpack of the other scooter's passenger (luckily there was only one and not five). The helmet-less passenger, a young girl, probably 20-25, was ripped off the back of the vehicle and landed on her head about 6 inches from my feet. Instantly, a group of people swarmed the girl, shook her arm until she regained consciousness, then hoisted her back onto her friend's scooter and the two buzzed away...hopefully to the emergency room. I get a lot of flack from other travelers about not wanting to rent motorbikes and choosing tuk tuks over the moto-taxis, but this is exactly why I prefer 3 or 4 wheeled transportation.
-Julia
Phnom Penh market and Cambodia's National Wat
Walking along the banks of the Mekong
Family-style scooter riding
Yes, this restaurant is actually called "Happy Herb Pizza", and no I didn't sample any of the "Happy" pizza
Colonial buildings of Phnom Penh
Buddha watching over Phnom Penh
1 comment:
Julia,
I think Budda is rubbing off on you... very calm at the border:)Peace and tranquility become you. Mom
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