I have heard all sorts of horror stories of others' adventures trying to cross the border from Thailand in Cambodia. So I ignored all the advice on things to do to make it easier so I could have a similar adventure. I didn't apply for a visa in advance, I didn't check in with the embassy, all I did was by a bus ticket to the border and winged it from there. And I am sorry to report, that my trip across the border was pretty easy... No one really tried to scam me into a buying a fake visa, no tuk tuk drivers drove me off in the wrong direction, and even though the border guards did require a bribe, it was about $2.50 so I couldn't even really make a scene over that. The only issue I had was my own fault. Like an idiot I was recording with my GoPro in the visa office full of armed guards. It was quickly taken away from me and I was whisked away into the corner. Luckily I was able to turn off before they took and I was saved because none of them knew what the heck it was, other than it kinda looked like a camera. So a few tense minutes later they gave it back, discouraged that they didn't know how to turn it on to see if I had taken pictures or not. So I got across the border just fine, and found transport to my hostel in Siem Reap. Most of these photos are taken from a bus, or the back of a moped or tuk tuk. But I tried to get photos of life in Cambodia. It seems much more poor here than in Thailand. A lot more people living in open air grass huts, with livestock walking around the yard, people sleeping in hammocks, naked children running around swimming in the rice paddies. It was awesome. Instead of mopeds, bicycles seem to rule the roads here. Tuk Tuks are actually little two wheel trailers being pulled by mopeds. The people seem to be a little darker than the Thais, and their language hurts the ears a lot less. American dollar still rules supreme here. You can pay in Cambodian Riehl but they get disgusted with you if you try and charge twice as much. So Cambodia was actually very cool. Several more posts from this country are on the way!
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| Cambodian gas station |
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| Goat crossing |
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| public bus |
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| public toilet with manual flush. |
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