Cambodia..alas... how to cross the boarder the hardest way
I woke up early in the morning, finished packing and went for a swim. It was still raining, but I really wanted to get some exercise before the trip. I swam for few minutes when I crossed paths with jellyfish and ... she won.... I got stung on my legs. That was the end of the swim, getting stung is rather painful. Now I wonder if it was a sign, or a warning.
I had a ticket for boat and bus to Kem in Cambodia for noon ($16).
I met my friends at 9am for breakfast. Just around 10 am the guy from tourist office showed up, saying I had to leave right away. So I grabbed my backpack and hopped on the back of the motorcycle to go to the harbor.
When we got there the driver looked nervous. Bit of waiting and another guy who could speak English showed up to tell me that the boat left already at 10 am ( 2 hours early!!!). It also was the last fast boat for the day. I told him I needed to leave, I was on the last day of Vietnamese visas. He found slow boat that could take me , gave me all my money back and send me on my way all by myself.
I knew this will not be any good. He said the boat would take 2-3 hours, and is going to harbor not far from Ha Tien ( border town), he said I could take motorcycle taxi from there. He said the boat will cost 100000 and the taxi 50000-70000. I had not choice ( didn't want to have to pay fine of $20 or more for overstaying visa).
So there I was, on a stinky boat with only few passengers, few motorcycles and boxes and boxes of fish and seafood. There was a wooden island where we all sat. Some people had hummocks. Nobody could speak English. Waiting , waiting, more boxes of fish being loaded... We finally left at noon.
The boat was SLOW, what takes the fast boat 1 hour, took us almost 5. It was getting late and I still hoped I would at least make it across the boarder and stay there in a hotel.
When we got the the harbor ( note I had to pay 150000 for the boat), someones girlfriend was waiting for me to take me to Ha Tien. No English again. We drove the motorcycle for some 30 min, maybe more to the town where she took me to her house , where I waited, still don't know for what ( i think a friend to take me to Kep). I guess they didn't find anyone, so I was dropped off at the boarder, 5:55 pm, driver asking for 200000 ( $10)... I gave him 100000 and just walked away to the border.
It turned out that they close it at 6pm. The friendly Vietnamese officers stamped my passport and told me to rush as fast as I can to the Cambodian side..... I took a moto taxi, for dollar. The boarder was already closed, but he took shortcut around the fields (!!!) and got me to the Cambodian officers at 6:05pm.
The officers told me it was too late, but I explained I got stamped out at the other side, so I have no place to go now... and unless they let me sleep on that spot.... They were rather friendly the whole time, even gave me a cigarette ( yes I needed one).
So they made a call and the officer who does the visas came back. He was not happy. He gave me hard time. Made me cry ( not hard after day like this). Told me it is his dinner time... I told him that last meal I ate was breakfast and that I did my best to get there on time. He said there are no hotels in town and I will have to go all the way to Kep and it is dark and it is dangerous.... GREAT!
When I tipped him $3, as I had no exact change to pay $22 for my visa, he was smiling again, saying I will be fine. The other friendly officer asked for $5 as a tip too, but I smiled at him and told him no ( it would be a bad Carma trying to get more money from poor lonely traveler anyway).
One of the motorcycle taxi guys agreed to take me to Kep for $15, that was the rate they have in LP. So we hopped on his motorcycle and we drove on shitty roads, in the dark, for over an hour.
The land was flat and I watched the lightning far away, we passed little villages, where man were sitting watching tv in little cafes. I could hear the thunder and frogs. It was almost nice, night riding. ... except the road was very bad and I was worried about my safety. Just hoping my driver is a good man and good driver and will take me all the way to Kep without accidents.
At around 7:30 pm, we made it to town. It took a while to find the area with inexpensive hotels. I payed my driver and even gave him tip, poor guy had to drive all the way back.
I was happy to be in Kep, in a nice hotel, that made me good food for dinner. The final cost of my trip to Cambodia was around $30, I guess still less than overstaying my visa.
Seems like the really bad days make for really good stories at the end....
Kep
It would be hard not to enjoy this little, mellow town, with red blooming trees along the main street and nice water front promenade with monkeys waiting for tourist to feed them and the most beautiful sunsets.
The town is missing a downtown and a beach, but has nice green NP with 8km trail around it with stunning views.
I met my Californian friend Ken here, we traveled in Burma together. It was nice to meet up for few days again.
We rented a motorcycle and went to visit Kampot, town some 30 km away. The ride was unpleasant with dusty roads and extreme heat. Our motorcycle broke down at some point and Ken had to push it for a while to the repair shop. We were lucky and got it fixed rather fast ( for a $1). We only spend little time in Kampot, rushing back to hike in the NP for the sunset.
Sihanoukville and Otres Beach
Resorty town in south Cambodia with nice beaches and bunch of undeveloped islands around it. It is also the young backpackers hang out spot, so expect lots of drunk youngsters and loud music in the evening to wee hours. There is also a lots of "working girls" in the bars and you are constantly harased by the tuk tuk drivers.
I took a walk 4 km south to the Otres beach and fell to instant liking of this little place with clean beach, just few restaurants and bars. I found a hut on the beach and arranged to move there the next day.
I spend few days swimming, walking on the beach and perfecting my sun tan. If you wait till it gets dark at night , you can experience the magic of swimming with the fluorescent algae. The little sparkling dots... like a fiery dust. That and the stars make for unforgettable moments.
I woke up early in the morning, finished packing and went for a swim. It was still raining, but I really wanted to get some exercise before the trip. I swam for few minutes when I crossed paths with jellyfish and ... she won.... I got stung on my legs. That was the end of the swim, getting stung is rather painful. Now I wonder if it was a sign, or a warning.
I had a ticket for boat and bus to Kem in Cambodia for noon ($16).
I met my friends at 9am for breakfast. Just around 10 am the guy from tourist office showed up, saying I had to leave right away. So I grabbed my backpack and hopped on the back of the motorcycle to go to the harbor.
When we got there the driver looked nervous. Bit of waiting and another guy who could speak English showed up to tell me that the boat left already at 10 am ( 2 hours early!!!). It also was the last fast boat for the day. I told him I needed to leave, I was on the last day of Vietnamese visas. He found slow boat that could take me , gave me all my money back and send me on my way all by myself.
I knew this will not be any good. He said the boat would take 2-3 hours, and is going to harbor not far from Ha Tien ( border town), he said I could take motorcycle taxi from there. He said the boat will cost 100000 and the taxi 50000-70000. I had not choice ( didn't want to have to pay fine of $20 or more for overstaying visa).
So there I was, on a stinky boat with only few passengers, few motorcycles and boxes and boxes of fish and seafood. There was a wooden island where we all sat. Some people had hummocks. Nobody could speak English. Waiting , waiting, more boxes of fish being loaded... We finally left at noon.
The boat was SLOW, what takes the fast boat 1 hour, took us almost 5. It was getting late and I still hoped I would at least make it across the boarder and stay there in a hotel.
When we got the the harbor ( note I had to pay 150000 for the boat), someones girlfriend was waiting for me to take me to Ha Tien. No English again. We drove the motorcycle for some 30 min, maybe more to the town where she took me to her house , where I waited, still don't know for what ( i think a friend to take me to Kep). I guess they didn't find anyone, so I was dropped off at the boarder, 5:55 pm, driver asking for 200000 ( $10)... I gave him 100000 and just walked away to the border.
It turned out that they close it at 6pm. The friendly Vietnamese officers stamped my passport and told me to rush as fast as I can to the Cambodian side..... I took a moto taxi, for dollar. The boarder was already closed, but he took shortcut around the fields (!!!) and got me to the Cambodian officers at 6:05pm.
The officers told me it was too late, but I explained I got stamped out at the other side, so I have no place to go now... and unless they let me sleep on that spot.... They were rather friendly the whole time, even gave me a cigarette ( yes I needed one).
So they made a call and the officer who does the visas came back. He was not happy. He gave me hard time. Made me cry ( not hard after day like this). Told me it is his dinner time... I told him that last meal I ate was breakfast and that I did my best to get there on time. He said there are no hotels in town and I will have to go all the way to Kep and it is dark and it is dangerous.... GREAT!
When I tipped him $3, as I had no exact change to pay $22 for my visa, he was smiling again, saying I will be fine. The other friendly officer asked for $5 as a tip too, but I smiled at him and told him no ( it would be a bad Carma trying to get more money from poor lonely traveler anyway).
One of the motorcycle taxi guys agreed to take me to Kep for $15, that was the rate they have in LP. So we hopped on his motorcycle and we drove on shitty roads, in the dark, for over an hour.
The land was flat and I watched the lightning far away, we passed little villages, where man were sitting watching tv in little cafes. I could hear the thunder and frogs. It was almost nice, night riding. ... except the road was very bad and I was worried about my safety. Just hoping my driver is a good man and good driver and will take me all the way to Kep without accidents.
At around 7:30 pm, we made it to town. It took a while to find the area with inexpensive hotels. I payed my driver and even gave him tip, poor guy had to drive all the way back.
I was happy to be in Kep, in a nice hotel, that made me good food for dinner. The final cost of my trip to Cambodia was around $30, I guess still less than overstaying my visa.
Seems like the really bad days make for really good stories at the end....
Kep
It would be hard not to enjoy this little, mellow town, with red blooming trees along the main street and nice water front promenade with monkeys waiting for tourist to feed them and the most beautiful sunsets.
The town is missing a downtown and a beach, but has nice green NP with 8km trail around it with stunning views.
I met my Californian friend Ken here, we traveled in Burma together. It was nice to meet up for few days again.
We rented a motorcycle and went to visit Kampot, town some 30 km away. The ride was unpleasant with dusty roads and extreme heat. Our motorcycle broke down at some point and Ken had to push it for a while to the repair shop. We were lucky and got it fixed rather fast ( for a $1). We only spend little time in Kampot, rushing back to hike in the NP for the sunset.
Sihanoukville and Otres Beach
Resorty town in south Cambodia with nice beaches and bunch of undeveloped islands around it. It is also the young backpackers hang out spot, so expect lots of drunk youngsters and loud music in the evening to wee hours. There is also a lots of "working girls" in the bars and you are constantly harased by the tuk tuk drivers.
I took a walk 4 km south to the Otres beach and fell to instant liking of this little place with clean beach, just few restaurants and bars. I found a hut on the beach and arranged to move there the next day.
I spend few days swimming, walking on the beach and perfecting my sun tan. If you wait till it gets dark at night , you can experience the magic of swimming with the fluorescent algae. The little sparkling dots... like a fiery dust. That and the stars make for unforgettable moments.
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