Siem Reap to Phnom Penh : By Bus

The drivers here seem to be a little more reckless than in other Asian countries I've been to. I've seen about five near road accidents and one actual one since arriving in Cambodia.

On the way to the bus, our tuk tuk was travelling too closely behind the car in front so of course when the car braked suddenly, so did he. We didn't hit the car but the scooter buckled and the brakes stopped working. After sitting in the middle of the main road for a while, Bighead jumped out and helped push the tuk tuk to the side of the road. We ended up having to unload and jump in another tuk tuk to get to the bus on time, leaving the poor guy to sort it out himself.

The Mekong 'limousine' bus was much better than Angkor Express. Cleaner and more comfortable, although I believe each bus differs slightly so it's luck of the draw. The air con was working well and good suspension made the bumpy road bearable. Every so often the bus would bounce around so much that it would start to make this loud grinding noise above the back wheels. It would also shudder violently for short periods. I managed to read my book through all of this so I was happy enough.

About 40 minutes out of Phnom Penh the poor old bus finally gave out and chugged dramatically to a halt. I think the driver thought that if he just gunned it, he might be able to make it. Alas, we all tumbled out into the stinking hot afternoon and watched as the driver disappeared under the bus, to later emerge defeated and covered in grease.
The whole village (or at least it seemed) came out to watch. A lot of the local passengers began making calls for rescue. There was a scramble for luggage as others decided to flag down shared minibuses. It was all quite exciting for the first five minutes. After a while, we were told that another bus would arrive in 20 minutes so we decided to wait it out. It was hot and sticky by the road side, it was getting dark and the mozzies were arriving in full force. The view of the Mekong river across the road with locals gathering at its edge sure was something special though.
After about an hour, the bus that had supposedly had difficulty finding us, finally arrived (there's only one road so I'm not sure how this happened). As we climbed aboard we were greeted with that indescribable full body wave of euphoria that can only be felt the moment you pass from extreme humidity into a glorious, icy cool air conditioned space. Aaaaaah, the relief.

You'll know exactly the feeling (and moment) I'm talking about if you've ever been in tropical heat and had the luxury of air conditioning. It's best if you've been in the heat for too long when every molecule within, forces you towards a safe place. A mall or shop, any place will do so long as it has an air conditioning unit that's right above the door. As it pelts out its constant stream of loveliness and you walk your overheating body through it, it envelops you. Wraps you up in happiness until you feel you might float away. That's what I'm talking about. That moment (and feeling) has to be one of the most pleasurable, possibly even making all that hot sticky heat worth while!

So it wasn't the luckiest of days... or was it?

Frogs Legs and Elephants

The preferred mode of transport here is the tuk tuk; slightly different in style from the Thai ones. The passenger carriage is towed behind on a motorbike, rather than in one complete unit. Still just as smelly and loud though!
On Sunday afternoon, a short tuk tuk ride found us sitting on the edge of lovely green park in central Phnom Penh.

On the table before me, sprawled out on a plate, lay a local delicacy. Deep Fried Frog. It wasn’t my fault, MJ made me do it. There was no confusion over what they were, the darling little guys almost looked cute with their little arms and legs. Nawh... I actually loved the little frogs and their croaky wee songs in Bali so it was slightly uncomfortable for me.
Perhaps if I thought of it as pay back for this, although maybe it should have been a Balinese frog I was about to eat. Oh I don’t know I can’t really justify it, I just had to try one… or three.

MJ whipped up the dipping sauce like a pro. You come here often? Ultra tasty. Chilli, lime, black pepper and salt. I was a bit of a wimp and could only bring myself to eat the legs. They were surprisingly meaty and pretty tasty, especially combined with the sauce. Yum. Kinda like a cross between chicken and fish.

On our way home we spotted this guy on his way home.
I've got to get going and pack up for our bus trip to Siem Reap. I can’t remember the last time I went on a bus. How exciting!

For Huia

I hear that you've been waiting patiently to see some elephants from Thailand. I've been spending far too much time eating yummy food and scuba diving to have a chance to go tramping in the jungle. After all, this is the best place to see them.

Last time I came to Thailand I was lucky enough to see a wild elephant bull in the jungle one day. He was really smelly! You could smell him from 1km away.Around the city of Bangkok they have a very rare kind of green elephant. These guys are not as shy as the wild ones so you can get really close.Here are some hard working elephants. The first group are on their way home for the day with their riders. The others are having a break in the shade and are tyed to a post with a very short rope. This means that they can hardly move. Each of these elephants has to carry tourists around everywhere in the hot sun and they also must do whatever their rider's say.
I think the wild one is the best even though he was smelly. What do you think?

Chillin

Assult of the Nostril

After a bit of a shit flight with Air Asia, including a late departure and very quick dash across terminals in Jakarta to meet our connecting flight, we arrived safely in the BIG MANGO! Yeh!

It feels great to be back! Although, after the pleasant aromas of Bali, Bangkok has been a bit of an assault on the old nostrils - the dominant smell being dog poo combined with an undertone of human waste. Nice.

You have to be able to look, and smell, past all the shit to get to the heart of BK and enjoy it.

In true Bighead and Samesame fashion, we've already made friends with all the local alley cats. Very pleased to see the Thai's like cats just in case we decide to bring ours over.

Much to our delight, Khaosan Rd is still the same, a bit more expensive, but still as same same as ever. We've already been busy seeking out old haunts (last seen in 2003).

We also thought we'd better check out the D&D Inn on Khaosan Rd (an old fav, bar the grumpy staff). I'm pleased to announce that not only have we been pleasantly surprised by friendlier staff, the whole place, including the rooms have had a make over. I recommend this place to anyone wanting to stay in the heart of Khaosan Rd.

The other thing I love about the D&D, is that they have a roof top garden/pool/bar/salon/internet/lookout area where you can spy on the action below.

We've wondered around quite a bit already, it's stinking hot compared to Bali. I haven't been feeling to good that last couple of days (stiff neck, headache something or other) so I've had to take it slower than usual and stop for breaks regularly, which is a bummer because I really wanna get into it. However, a wander round computer geek heaven, Pantip Plaza, in search for a lappy for Samesame and one look at Bighead's lunch perked me up heaps!

When we walked past this delightful array, I couldn't help but take a pic. Whenever I take pics like this, I always ask first. Sometimes I secretly shoot from the hip to catch the real action. In this case, I had asked first and it was fine. However, I don't think all of the cooks agreed, as while I was taking the second pic, I was pushed out of the way by someone on their way to the wok! Perhaps we won't eat here after all. Looks delish though don't ya think?

Frog in the Bog

OMG! Don't even ask how it was I came to meet this naughty little fella. Really.

Mental note to self, always keep the toilet lid down.

Monkeys!

Doberweiler?