Our plan was to go from Vientiane, the capital of Laos, to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, which is a fairly short and direct line south.
However short a distance this appeared o
n a map, we were informed that it would be a long and arduous journey. So instead we took an unplanned detour to Bangkok.It was a nice change to go to Bangkok. It's a super fun city with lots to see and do and eat. We stayed at a hotel with a roof-top swimming pool and ate and drank to our hearts content. The food in Thailand is incredibly good.
After two days of indulgent pleasures in Bangkok we then made the trip to Angkor Wat having to dodge scams every step of the way.
In Vietnam the techniques for ripping off tourists were quite unsophisticated: simply demand more money.
On the route to Cambodia from Thailand it seems they have taken it to a whole new level. Fortunately, Jennifer had done her research and was wise to their ways.
The scams range from tour operators in Bangkok putting you on buses taking long circuitous routes on the old, unpaved road, so that you arrive many hours late, in the dark, and very tired. Then you are dropped off at a hotel many miles from town with little choice but to stay there and pay what ever is asked.
Jen avoided that one by getting tickets for the train. The downside to this is that it seems there is no limit to the number of tickets sold so we spent four hours standing on the train crushed like sardines in 35 degree heat with close to 100% humidity.
On the taxi ride from the train station to the border the driver took us to an official looking building with staff wearing ID cards informing us that this is where Cambodian visas are obtained. Fortunately, due to Jenn's diligence, we were wise to this one too. We refused to pay and asked the driver to take us directly to the border. He was very reluctant to do this and stopped at two other places selling visas before taking us to the border were we received our visas in a matter of minutes for a small fee. I asked the border official about the scam: Yes we know but we can do nothing about it.
The fun does not end there. Once in Cambodia, an official for the ministry of something or other is there to greet us and give free information. The free government shuttle took us to the bus station where there is an official looking counter to change money. The official agent of the government with the official name tag, who courteously has stayed by our side this whole time, assures us that this is the best place to change money with a very good exchange rate.
Now we are cautious to the point of being paranoid so we change the minimum amount we need to pay the taxi fare for the two hour ride to Angkor Wat. We later learn, not to our surprise, that the rate was 20% worse than at the bank.
Now we are in the taxi and I don't think the driver actually knows how to drive. In Thailand they drive on the left - in Cambodia they drive on the right. Our driver seems uncertain as to which side of the road he should be on. The confusion might exist because the car he is driving is a right-hand drive vehicle.
I see he has no shoes. His feet are very wide in the forefoot, typical of feet rarely shod throughout a life time. He has a cell phone. Now the phone rings, we are driving down the road - not really on the right side or the left. He is trying to do two things that are obviously new to him: drive a car and talk on the cell phone. He is all over the road - his passengers are screaming (that's us) - I take the phone from him and remove the batteries. Unfortunately the two of us can't communicate together in Cambodian or English but I think he gets the idea that we are not happy passengers.
OK, now we're driving again. Not a lot of traffic but lots of different kinds of traffic as you can imagine: bicycles, buses (with a dozen people riding on the roof), ox carts, goat herds, cow herds, water buffalo herds, maybe someone sleeping on the road, little scooters buzzing around. The upshot - we have to pass a lot of vehicles. The problem- our driver is sitting on the right-hand side of the car. He can't see past the vehicle in front of us until our taxi is almost fully exposed to oncoming traffic.
OK - there is a truck in front of us moving slowly. Slight hill, blind corner. Our driver starts to pull out to pass, Jenn starts to scream from the back seat, I start to scream from the front seat, our driver continues his manoeuvrings. This is not good. I reach over and grab the wheel to steer us back into our lane. From that point on the driver understands that passing will require some teamwork. Before every attempt to pass he looks to me for the OK. Sitting on the left-hand side of the vehicle I can see oncoming traffic to give the thumbs up or thumbs down.
We arrive safely in Angkok Wat. It is the largest religious structure in the world and truly amazing. We pray and give thanks for our safe arrival.
