The journey: after a 24 hour ordeal flying from Newark to Bangkok, slept a few hours and then boarded the bus to Aranjapathet, at the border of Cambodia.
The bus ride was uneventful except when the police boarded at a blockade and removed two local men. I have no idea if this was an immigration problem or something more serious.At the border, things became rather hectic as predicted. First, our bus driver took us to a fake Cambodian checkpoint to fill out our paperwork and collect 800 Thai Baht. Thankfully I remembered that it was US$20, so was released from their clutches to find the correct entrypoint. The lines at the immigration point were long -- all Europeans and East Europeans. It took me 1.5 hours walking back and forth (I was confused) until I figured out the process. While waiting in line, watched people push giant carts back and forth through the border. A step back in time.
I had pre-arranged a ride into Siem Reap and since I was an hour late, was concerned I had missed my ride. But two scraggly men approached me with a sign that had my first name on it. Apparently the driver had hired them to find me. I was so glad he waited. Of course when we got to the car, they wanted tips. Many men surrounded me demanding tips. I actually did pay up to the two who found me out of gratefulness. On the road, with the Cambodian version of James Brown "I Feel Good" on the radio, we sped past bicyclists, motos loaded down with hundreds of pounds of goods, and open trucks filled with people. The rules of the road are simple: might makes right. Bikes and motos move to the side to let us pass.
The landscape and living conditions along the road reminded me of the Caribbean - St. Vincent to be precise. And the smell from the hotel lobby - smoke -- burning trash? Cooking fires?
Today Yuko is picking me up and we are going to the Small Art School for the Saturday class. My friend Barbara and her new friends went to Ankhor Wat to see the sunrise from the temple.
Exciting start to your trip!
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