After just over a week lazing by the Mekong it was time to leave.
We booked transport across the border to Cambodia, less than an hour away, and onward to the first enclave of civilisation following, Kratie.
There were some shenanigans at the border. Some bribes were avoided by paying a little extra to have someone process our visas in advance. It would have worked out about the same either way. The actual border crossing was made on foot. As we shuffled uncertainty from Laos to Cambodia, between immigration roadblocks, a group of Western tourists passed us coming the other way. The scene was reminiscent of a 60s Cold War spy exchange.
We also had to wait for two and a half hours after immigration for a coach to take us onward. It didn't arrived. Instead we all piled into a tiny minibus, 4 bums crammed into each row of 3 seats. One guy complained. The driver didn't care. We'd bought our tickets in a different country. There are certain inconveniences you have to learn to put up with when you travel around this part of the world. Either that or burst an eyeball. Fortunately for us, we only had a couple of hours to our destination.
As for Kratie itself, there's not much to tell. There are a few streets and a Market. We stopped over for a couple of nights to acclimatise. On first glance, Cambodia seems similar to Laos. The French colonial influence was still there, in the food and architecture. The people were similarly laid back. Cambodian women are fond of rocking snazzy pyjamas in public. They look as if they're dressed in wrapping paper, like really comfortable birthday presents.
Both Laos and Cambodia are considerably less affluent than neighboring Thailand. The infrastructure is in worse shape. The weeds of westernization haven't choked the local way of life. That said, Cambodia has embraced the US dollar, with the local Riel used mostly when a sum of less than a dollar is required. I don't know why this is - the Riel isn't worth much less than the Kip, perhaps it was a way of delegating post Khmer Rouge fiscal policy to the US. Maybe that needs a rethink... Regardless, juggling three currencies is tricky and you have to be careful that locals don't take advantage of you rubbish mental arithmetic. Right, that might just be me then. Accommodation is cheap. You can find decent, budget double rooms for $5.
From Kratie we book a coach to Siem Reap, to see one of my most anticipated sites on our trip - Angkor Wat. This coach trip was my first exposure to Khmer karaoke videos. These are played back to back on every journeys. Most of them follow the same basic format, one or two singers occupy the forefront, warbling over the strange Bontempi backing track. They are surrounded by a group of people doing a strange, disinterested Khmer line dance. There's usually one person on the periphery, bucking the trend and shakking out like a madman. The costumes may conform to a theme but most of the time the dress code can be described as "mid 90s high school prom". I've left you a sample below.
We booked transport across the border to Cambodia, less than an hour away, and onward to the first enclave of civilisation following, Kratie.
There were some shenanigans at the border. Some bribes were avoided by paying a little extra to have someone process our visas in advance. It would have worked out about the same either way. The actual border crossing was made on foot. As we shuffled uncertainty from Laos to Cambodia, between immigration roadblocks, a group of Western tourists passed us coming the other way. The scene was reminiscent of a 60s Cold War spy exchange.
We also had to wait for two and a half hours after immigration for a coach to take us onward. It didn't arrived. Instead we all piled into a tiny minibus, 4 bums crammed into each row of 3 seats. One guy complained. The driver didn't care. We'd bought our tickets in a different country. There are certain inconveniences you have to learn to put up with when you travel around this part of the world. Either that or burst an eyeball. Fortunately for us, we only had a couple of hours to our destination.
As for Kratie itself, there's not much to tell. There are a few streets and a Market. We stopped over for a couple of nights to acclimatise. On first glance, Cambodia seems similar to Laos. The French colonial influence was still there, in the food and architecture. The people were similarly laid back. Cambodian women are fond of rocking snazzy pyjamas in public. They look as if they're dressed in wrapping paper, like really comfortable birthday presents.
Both Laos and Cambodia are considerably less affluent than neighboring Thailand. The infrastructure is in worse shape. The weeds of westernization haven't choked the local way of life. That said, Cambodia has embraced the US dollar, with the local Riel used mostly when a sum of less than a dollar is required. I don't know why this is - the Riel isn't worth much less than the Kip, perhaps it was a way of delegating post Khmer Rouge fiscal policy to the US. Maybe that needs a rethink... Regardless, juggling three currencies is tricky and you have to be careful that locals don't take advantage of you rubbish mental arithmetic. Right, that might just be me then. Accommodation is cheap. You can find decent, budget double rooms for $5.
From Kratie we book a coach to Siem Reap, to see one of my most anticipated sites on our trip - Angkor Wat. This coach trip was my first exposure to Khmer karaoke videos. These are played back to back on every journeys. Most of them follow the same basic format, one or two singers occupy the forefront, warbling over the strange Bontempi backing track. They are surrounded by a group of people doing a strange, disinterested Khmer line dance. There's usually one person on the periphery, bucking the trend and shakking out like a madman. The costumes may conform to a theme but most of the time the dress code can be described as "mid 90s high school prom". I've left you a sample below.
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