Cambodia Getting There. My Cambodian holiday adventure both thrilled and chilled me to the bone. The trip was filled with unexpected surprises, both good and bad. And on that note I must thank Ryan, Jane, and Sheila for all of the pics since my camera with its 2000 photos became a casualty of bad karma and Vietnam Airlines’ workers.
The trip began with the airport bus from Mokdong to Incheon International. I woke at the crack of dawn and grabbed a taxi to one of the pickup stops littered throughout the city. The closest one happened to be near Mokdong subway Station. I only waited about ten minutes before the bus arrived (they run every twenty minutes). The fare was a reasonable 8,000 Won which was a real bargain considering a taxi would have run about 40,000 to 60,000 Won.
The bus arrived at the airport about forty minutes later and I hooked up with the rest of my group of friends from work:
With some finagling we managed to get seats together in the exit row. Oh, did I mention we flew Vietnam Airlines? No? Probably because I’m trying to forget the airline exists. Though the flight attendants seem to be some of the most beautiful people ever to fly the friendly skies. There uniforms also are extra spiffy.
The flight took about five hours to Ho Chi Minh city for a lay over. During the stay at the lovely (insert sarcasm here) Ho Chi Minh airport we ran across a group of fellow travelers headed for Cambodia. From the cheery disposition and big smiles and extra friendliness we pegged them as Christian Missionaries as a joke, but lo and behold that notion came to be true. They were traveling to Cambodia to dig wells in a remote village. Which definitely one upped our mission or sight seeing, drinking, and eating.
So with missionaries by our side we hopped aboard our next flight. Thank goodness for those Christians because that plane turned out to be a propeller driven single engine toy like vehicle that was probably tested by the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. Luckily we were only in the air for twenty minutes before we touched down.
In the airport we received our Cambodian visas for 20 Dollars American in around ten minutes. The Phnom Penh airport was small, but done in warm earth tones with great pieces of traditional art work for that native touch.
Outside we were besieged by taxi drivers, which was a sign of things to come, and decided to cab into the city to search for a hotel. The drive into Phnom Penh reminded me of rural Jamaica with no sidewalks, ramshackle houses and fits of development. One big difference, however was the sea of scooters that zipped and zoomed through the streets. Sometimes there would be whole families piled on top of a tiny little scooter with dad driving, mom behind him holding a toddler, a teen grabbing on to mom and a baby squeezed onto the handle bars. Crazy.
By the time we reached the city night had descended. Most of the buildings were beautiful old colonial structures suffering from too much weather damage and disrepair. The hotel we ended up staying at was only two blocks from the Tonle Sap river scene where most of the night life activity takes place. The rooms were 15 Dollars American for a double or a single: not too shabby (though we could have found cheaper accommodation if we had continued our search).
We jumped into a tuk tuk, a carriage pulled by a scooter, and headed to check out the action on Sisowath Quay Street which runs parallel to the river. Clubs, restaurants, bars all cram together along the street enticing tourists to come in, escape the heat, and spend some money, preferably American money. Yes, dollars are accepted in Cambodia.
We grabbed a bite to eat at Happy Herb’s for some of their special happy pizza. Think of my earlier reference to Jamaica and you know what I mean by happy. Things were looking bright and merry until a drunken expat Irishman soured the moment with some obnoxious behavior. He kept mumbling under his breath and then came over to our table and accused Sam of having sensitive hands. The horror! 
Determined not to have our night ruined we moved on to the Fcc club for some drinks and unexpected dancing. A Spanish band was in the house blaring out everything from traditional Spanish numbers to Santana.
Afterward we strolled along the river to take a breather and take in the fact that we were actually in Cambodia. The river walk is the place where families picnic, couples make out, friends chill and everyone else tries to sell whatever they can to make a buck. We headed back to the hotel to sleep and rest up for the morning trip to the Killing Fields.
To be Continued….
