I'm in Cambodia! Another fancy few stamps in the passport and another day down. I've been away a week now - although it feels much longer - and I'm getting into the swing of things.
Cambodian immigration is like nothing I have encountered before. They try to rip you off at every given stage, including making you wait 1/2 an hour for a 2 minute visa if you insist on paying the correct amount, and trying to get you to pay to fill out a SARS form that's phoney anyway. I am proud to say that, thanks to excellent guidance from Kirsten and some websites, I was not fleeced once in the process.
The taxi ride Poipet-Siem Reap was something else. 200km of potholed, unsurfaced road populated by bikes, scooters, pick-ups, lorries, cows, pigs, taxis, and a huge assortment of other seemingly thrown together vehicles. Cambodia is poor. Poorer than Thailand at least. Cambodian drivers drive on the right, but only the rich can afford a left-hand-drive vehicle. The rest get hand-me-downs from their richer western neighbour, where they drive on the left.
The trio could inspire a new level for a game a la Grand Theft Auto. The 150 potholes per yard road is about as bad as some I rode in Kenya, but it being monsoon season here... Well, it adds a whole new soggy dimension. In the game, there could be bonus points for splashing and drenching other road users with orange muddy water. Our taxi driver would definitely get the high score!
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