So we've spent about 4 days in Cambodia now and it is so strange to be in a place so different from anything I've ever seen before. People here earn on average $1 USD /day - it's a whole different world from what we are used to in North America.
After passing through the border crossing at Poipet we headed straight to Battambang, Cambodia. After exploring for about 20 minutes, Jessica, Rosie, Steffi, and I realized that the local market (w
here a woman sat on the street chopping live snakes into pieces) close to our hotel was the biggest attraction in the whole city. Our first day here came as a huge culture shock to us. None of us have ever been exposed to such p
overty. After talking to some German tourists (we only saw about 8 tourists other than our group of 15) we were able to find a small western style cafe - Cafe Gecko. There we were able to sit on the patio and take in our surroundings. There were no street lights and crossing the street definitely takes some getting used to - like I said before, you have to cross with a no fear attitude. I have progressed to crossing with barely even looking both ways - it is almost safer that way. I never thought I'd miss the comforts of stop lights and stop signs as much as I do right now. As our tour guide put it as we were entering Cambodia, "In Vietnam they drive on the right, in Thailand they drive on the left, and in Cambodia they drive wherever the bloody hell they want to." He couldn't have said it any better - it's quite common while driving in our bus to see cars coming towards us in the same lane.
The next morning we woke up at 7am so we'd have 20 minutes to get ready before gearing up with helmets and water and heading off on the backs of motorbikes for an adventure through the rural areas of Battambang. My driver, Sakhir (aka James Sakhir Bond because of his sunglasses) , barely spoke any English, but we communicated through smiles and hand signals. It was so much fun!! He was a speed demon! He greatly enjoyed trying to pass everyone else in our group so we would be at the front. It was very exhilarating to say the least.
We made our way over t
o the railway tracks where we rode on bamboo trains. It is pretty much a flat bamboo platform on wheels with a motor. There is only one track so if you meet another bamboo train coming in the same direction, the train with the lighter load has to disassemble their train and wait for the other one to pass. Our group was really fun. We had some close encounters with animals though - a rooster waddled in front of us with some chicks and shortly after a cow casually made his way over the tracks - he didn't move away until we were about 15cm away and screaming in fear of hitting him (I'm sure our driver was just playing with us and would have been able to put the brakes on if need be...).
Picture: Our bamboo train adventure (left-right: Rosie,
Steffi, Kelly, Jessica, me)
We were then reunited with our motorbike drivers who took us to see different areas in which they made rice noodles (aka Thai noodles) and spring roll paper. Whole driving through the rural areas we were greeted by adorable children waving at us and calling out hellos. They seemed to all come running when they heard us driving by their homes. It would have made for a great video.
After our motorbike adventure we headed back to our hotel to meet our bus and head to Siem Reap.
After passing through the border crossing at Poipet we headed straight to Battambang, Cambodia. After exploring for about 20 minutes, Jessica, Rosie, Steffi, and I realized that the local market (w
here a woman sat on the street chopping live snakes into pieces) close to our hotel was the biggest attraction in the whole city. Our first day here came as a huge culture shock to us. None of us have ever been exposed to such p
overty. After talking to some German tourists (we only saw about 8 tourists other than our group of 15) we were able to find a small western style cafe - Cafe Gecko. There we were able to sit on the patio and take in our surroundings. There were no street lights and crossing the street definitely takes some getting used to - like I said before, you have to cross with a no fear attitude. I have progressed to crossing with barely even looking both ways - it is almost safer that way. I never thought I'd miss the comforts of stop lights and stop signs as much as I do right now. As our tour guide put it as we were entering Cambodia, "In Vietnam they drive on the right, in Thailand they drive on the left, and in Cambodia they drive wherever the bloody hell they want to." He couldn't have said it any better - it's quite common while driving in our bus to see cars coming towards us in the same lane.The next morning we woke up at 7am so we'd have 20 minutes to get ready before gearing up with helmets and water and heading off on the backs of motorbikes for an adventure through the rural areas of Battambang. My driver, Sakhir (aka James Sakhir Bond because of his sunglasses) , barely spoke any English, but we communicated through smiles and hand signals. It was so much fun!! He was a speed demon! He greatly enjoyed trying to pass everyone else in our group so we would be at the front. It was very exhilarating to say the least.
We made our way over t
o the railway tracks where we rode on bamboo trains. It is pretty much a flat bamboo platform on wheels with a motor. There is only one track so if you meet another bamboo train coming in the same direction, the train with the lighter load has to disassemble their train and wait for the other one to pass. Our group was really fun. We had some close encounters with animals though - a rooster waddled in front of us with some chicks and shortly after a cow casually made his way over the tracks - he didn't move away until we were about 15cm away and screaming in fear of hitting him (I'm sure our driver was just playing with us and would have been able to put the brakes on if need be...).Picture: Our bamboo train adventure (left-right: Rosie,
Steffi, Kelly, Jessica, me)
We were then reunited with our motorbike drivers who took us to see different areas in which they made rice noodles (aka Thai noodles) and spring roll paper. Whole driving through the rural areas we were greeted by adorable children waving at us and calling out hellos. They seemed to all come running when they heard us driving by their homes. It would have made for a great video.
After our motorbike adventure we headed back to our hotel to meet our bus and head to Siem Reap.
So great to see you soaking it all up like a sponge! Take as many pictures as possible, and try eating as many new things (as long as they are safe for your tummy) as possible, and keep your eyes wide open my dear....This will make for life-long memories.
ReplyDeleteps. Where are my pants? I wanna see them displayed in your pics!!!!