Crossing the border,

My diary entry from 1:30pm, on the bus to Phnom Penh.


Just crossed over the border into Cambodia, and what a strange experience that was! Dogs and chickens running everywhere, dust clouds filling everyones eyes, nose and mouth until you can't breathe. 'There is a gap of about 300m between the Cambodian side of the crossing and the Vietnamese side. Between the two points are rows and rows of casinos and clubs, with signs saying "Welcome to Ha Tien Vegas!"We decided that the rules must get a bit foggy in this dusty no man's land, so it would be the perfect spot for something as dodgy as a mini world of casinos. The only semi official thing about the crossing was the stamps, the security checkpoints are pretty much just little huts in the sand, with guys in hats propped up behind a desk. It was unnerving relinquishing our passports for even a second, especially when we found out that our group had somehow ended up with some other guys passport-he was going a few hundred k's in the opposite direction :S 

We walked through the sandy wasteland for about 600m, got some stamps and a visa, and piled back onto the bus. The whole interior of the bus was completely caked in the red dirt, so when we finally had to change buses we all looked like we'd been on safari with Bear Grylls for a week. We drove through the Cambodian countryside for about 4 hours, and finally arrived in Phnom Penh 3 hours behind schedule. Stepping down from the bus steps is like descending into a churning ocean of tuk tuk and moto drivers. Absolutely overwhelmed, we tried to find our bags amongst the growing pile whilst fending off the yelling and grappling. "Lady! Lady!"they scream, grabbing your arm and trying to pull you over to their tuk tuk before you go with someone else. "Guesthouse!" "Hotel"-they yell anything to try and get your attention. I have never been so glad to look up and see two people I know, standing amongst the swarming crowd. Lucy and Rob (two people we met in Vietnam) picked the four of us up from the bus and walked us to their guesthouse just around the corner. We checked in, and then made our way to the market- delirious with hunger! There were 8 of us at dinner, and I think we ate them out of work! We pointed at a handful of random things on the menu, and for about 2 hours the dishes just kept coming! So much food. It was such a fun thing to do, actually having to figure out what is on your plate. Thank God it was dark because I don't know how much I would have eaten if I could have seen it properly! Haven't been sick yet though, so fingers crossed :D