First impressions-Cambodia

The Cambodia countryside looks basically like driving through interior rural Mexico. Homes are mostly shacks, some a little nicer with stone and plaster, and some just sticks and straw. Many are built up on stilts to protect them during the rainy season; the lower areas serving as an open air place to cook, get out of the heat, and nap in their hammocks.

The wayside rest stops are much more impoverished. Bathrooms are just a hole in the ground and parking areas are crowded with little kids selling their crafts for Wun dalla', Wun dalla'. At one stop I gathered the courage to enter the store and see if there was anything appetizing. I spied a small bottle with brown liquid containing a real baby cobra with a large black scorpion in its mouth. The clerk gave me a price, he say it very good whiskey but drink only little bit very strong. I passed on it and headed right back to the van.

We've been drinking nothing but bottled water since we arrived, with the exception of juice in the morning and the occasional cup of hot tea. Just can't work up the desire to eat anything from a street vendor and certainly not at this little road stop. A woman walked up to the van with some snacks. What is that? A fried bat on a stick? I'd rather eat a rat sandwich. Wait. That IS a rat sandwich.

We reached the outskirts of Siem Ream and got off the minivan in what appeared to be an old abandoned shed used to hold kidnapped tourists. Oh goody, there were several TukTuk drivers there to meet us. They divided up our belongings and off we went to our hotel. Our TukTuk driver spoke excellent English and was the first person we met that did. That was the first reassuring thing that happened up to that point. Not wanting to let him get away, we negotiated a time for him to pick us up the following day.

Inside the hotel no one knew but the tiniest bit of English. Our room here was quite different than the one we had in Bangkok. It was a very simple, no frills room, tile floors, two short and firm (yet only one step above straw) beds, and a stark bathroom, all white, all tile, simple fixtures. While it did have a toilet, it came with the standard butt faucet. The bathtub had the only hot water in the room through a hot water on demand device that was about the size an American would use for hot tea in their kitchen. The water heater was connected to a hand held shower hose and of course no shower curtain. We both very successfully managed to wet the entire room in each bathing.

It was too late to return to Thailand or to change hotels, we had prepaid. Having passed on all the snack opportunities during the commute, we were hungry and hoped that a good meal would make the trials of the day seem better. Again, no one spoke English although the menus were in English. Using the Point-and-Smile system we managed to order and had a very tasty meal. The bill came to 36,800 Cambodian Riel (their currency).