Cambodia Trip (Eng)

มีเมลล์จากเพื่อนคนนึงมาให้อ่าน ซึ่งหลายๆคนพออ่านดูก็คงเดาได้ว่าอีนี่คือใคร เพราะพฤติกรรมส่อมาก ที่เขียนเป็นภาษาอังกฤษมาหาเรา ไม่ใช่เพราะกระแดะแต่อย่างใด แต่เพราะมันพิมพ์ไทยได้ช้ามากๆ (ชีวิตส่วนใหญ่ติดต่อกับฝรั่งน่ะ) เขียนมายาวมาก แต่สนุกจริงๆนะ มีแต่เรื่องอนาถใจเต็มเลย :) เพื่อนคนนี้หาเรื่องใส่ตัวมากๆโดยการไปเขมรคนเดียว เป็นเวลาหนึ่งอาทิตย์ (มั้ง) โดยไม่ได้บอกใครเลย แต่ก็เอาชีวิตรอดกลับมาได้ แถมได้ ฝ กลับมาอีก

Messege below came from my Thai friend who wrote me about her trip in Cambodia. Many of you here can guess who she is. Quite long...but I guarantee it`s very very funny with her many bad lucks together with cute guys.

Hey Deedee,

I settled down a bit and find time to hit the keyboard finally.

I caught a flight from Bangkok to Phnom Penh on Saturday 2nd, July. And again, I was about to miss the flight.....I bought the ticket just 5 hours before the departure time. And I had to pick up the ticket by myself at the agency, A&F tour as usual, as their messengers did not work on Saturday. I took a cab but the traffic was terrible and the driver just dropped me somewhere in the middle!!!!!! Anyhow, he was nice enough to drop me at the pier opposite to Taksin Pier, so that I could took the boat and then the sky train.

Let's see, my flight would leave at 5.40 pm. I arrived back dorm, had not made my luggage yet and had to make a progress note on one of my patient, at 3 pm. I changed my clothes and ran as fast as I could to the ward. Unluckily, my patient was sleeping and her relatives were around. Never a day that they had so many questions but today!!! At this very hurry moment!!! Gosh!!!!!!! I was about to cry as I could not answer any of their questions clearly and they kept asking another questions over and over.....Finally I told them to keep these questions for the "real" doctor(s), not a stupid, yet lazy, medical student like me. By the time I was back to the dorm, it was 3.40 pm.

I packed my back quickly, just threw every single item in the bag and zipped up. I did not even have time to take a shower....from yesterday evening......and it was 4.00 pm

I found a taxi at 4.05 pm and he promised to drop me at the airport before 4.40 pm. Well, do not take any of the cab drivers' words seriously!!!! He drove fuckin' slow!!!!! Though he used the toll way, supposed to arrive earlier, but there was an accidence on the toll way!!!!!! I was really nervous and started biting my nails like an idiot but what else I could do!!???

Finally we could move and it was 5.10 pm when I arrived at the airport. I flew with Bangkok Airways and their check-in staff seemed not to be happy with my late check-in. The lady told me that the flight was now boarding and I should proceed myself to the gate immediately. Of course I took her suggestion seriously but I stopped a bit a King Power's Booth, and proceeded to the gate at 5.40 pm. Still on time, huh?? But the boarding staff looked not so happy and gave me a big cold stared......I was embarrased...

It was a short flight, about 50 mins. And the first scam was once I passed the immigration. As I really had no idea where to go. I had my lonely planet guidebook and started reading a bit but all were about Siem Reap and Angkor, not Phnom Penh!!!!! And can you imagine the touts attack the foreigners at the Chang Pier?? Here was 10 times worse!!! 10s drivers ran up to me and tried to take me with their cars, motorbikes or whatever!!! (It's normal for any tourists na ya.)

I took one taxi to a guesthouse recommended in the lonely planet guidebook. Its location was not so pleasant for me. But it was so late at night and I was too tired to find a new one. So I stayed. 10 USD a night in single room with satellite TV, 24 hour hot shower and air condition sounded not so bad, right?? But after talking to some other tourists, either in the same guesthouse or others, I realized that I paid overprice!!!!! Stupid!!!!! (I paid more also for a ride from airport as I had only Thai money and 100 USD notes. They accepted Thai Baht but must be converted into USD, and for sure, at unfair rate... they did not take 100 USD notes as they were afraid of the fake one. I find an exchange shop to change my big notes to small notes. And they charge me 1 USD -_-")

I made a city tour, on my own of course, on the next day. I visited all the main sites with extra time at the restaurant and bar. And that was all. What the hell I would do here for 2 more nights???? Yeah, that was a big problem.

I signed up for a tour to another province, which was about 2 hours car, on the next day but nobody signed up for this tour!!! No tourist signed up for any tours actually!!!!! So I had to make it on my own again. The big problem was transportation. I had to hire a private motorbike, or tuk-tuk or a taxi. And those were god damn expensive, 2-4 times more than in Thailand!!!!!

One of the bad parts was the beggar. They were really annoying. And the same rules of those touts went for the beggar also. They worked in group, followed you everywhere and asked for everything, pen, pencil, candy, snack and of course money. Can you imagine how much did they ask each time?? 1 USD!!!!! FUCK OFF!!!!! Once a day is enough but I had like 10s times a day!!!!!! So much annoying!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't even set the tripod and took some shot......

Once I was putting on a sunblock spray at one tourist site, those "give me one dollar" kids ran up to me, made a circle and asked me the sunblock. Starting with 5-6 girls but ended up with 20 kids around and I just couldn't move!!!! "No" meaned nothing to them. They just did not move and kept begging!!!!!! Gosh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And on my last day in Phnom Penh, I just wanted to take a walk in the city and took some more photos. I wandered around freely only a few minutes then I was followed by the touts and beggars............so boring. I finally sit in a restaurant and read my guidebook on Siem Reap and Angkor until 2 hours before flying. That was the only place I was left alone.

My flight from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap seemed to be good and my accompany, a man born in Portuguese family but live in France since his birth and now working as aircraft engineering in Cambodia, is so nice and funny. We had a very good conversation and just appointed to have some drink after landing. Then about 10 mins to land, the caption announced in a nervous voice that we had to head back to Phnom Penh airport as one aircraft, later reported as Vietnam Airline, crashed at Siem Reap Airport. And the airport would be closed at least for 3 days.......-_-" -_-" (How often does the plane crash each year??? And it is me again!!?? Do I have the angel of bad travel along??? )

And you know, though this is of course out of airline responsibilities, they provided the passengers the 4 stars hotel plus dinner and breakfast, and a bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. I will fly with them again next time!!!

Ok, I was lucky again to meet another cute guy on the bus. He's from England but working in the English Embassy in Pakistan. (The French man have a house in Phnom Penh and he would wait for the next flight. What's a pity!!) He is very cute, poite and funny. We also had a very good talk. The best of him was that he told me, after woking me up for snack, to take it easy to sleep on his shoulder!! (I slept like hell on the bus and my head, I guess, moved left and right all the way.) Unfortunately we stayed in different guesthouse and he would leave to Laos on the next day......but we met again in a couple of temples though. I really enjoyed talking with him. =)))

I did nothing after arriving at the guesthouse as I was so tired and it rained so hard. I just checked the price with the driver and made a plan for the next day together. He asked for 10 USD each day. (Normal price)

My driver woke me up at 4.30 am in the next morning as he needed me to see the sunrise at 6.00 pm in some temples. I was too sleepy to move but also too tired to make any argument. So I just took a shower, dressed up and moved in the cab.

He dropped me at Bayon, the main temple of Angkor Thom at 5.30 am. The sun gradully rose from the big forest, it lightened up the temples and then shined brightly in the sky.WOWOWOWOWO.................no I am just kidding. The truth was the sun were rising behind the trees and the clouds......what the hell I could see???? It was not so impressive and just wasting my bed time!!!!! And what did I do while waiting for the sunrise?? Of course to fight with the mosquitoes!!!! I put on the mosquito repellent, both lotion and spray, but it just was not help!!!!!! Maybe because I was the only one in that temple at the moment so I was their only target.

I moved to another temples around the area. And end up at the Angkor Wat. It started raining hard at 3 pm and I just stuck in the temple. Lucky again!!!, I met very very very cute boy, Natan from Israel. We actually met before in some other temples during the day. But we just smiled at each other without any talk. Then this time, when I was reading my book at one of many doorways of the Angkor Wat, I saw him and he saw me. We both smiled and he walked in my way. And we started talking. I said "It's you again." and smiled. Then he smiled and said "Yes. It's me again. So how are you doing?" bla bla bla and we ended up making a plan for tomorrow together!!!!! Hahahahaha
Honestly, he was one of the best parts of this trip!!!!! He left one day earlier than me but he's now in Thailand. We'll meet tonight!!!!!!

We went to some other temples far away from the main ruins. It took like 3 hours for a single journey. The rode was bumpy and muddy. And it was much worse with the rain. Our driver were crazy and he seemed to enjoy driving into the holes!!! Everytime he hit one, he would looked at us, smiled and sang a song!!!! It was not funny at all!!!!!!!!

We had a dinner and you know, he introduced me to his other friend. A russian born family but now living in Sweden. And he was damn cute!!!! But he was a bit strange. The first thing he wanted to do in Thailand was to visit the prisoners in jails. He was curious to know why those were arrested......The second thing was to see the cock fight!!!! What a tourist!!!!!!

We really had a good meal and very good talk. We stayed up late, until 2 am just for talking. =)) (They stayed in the same guesthouse but mine was a bit far away. Mine was much more quiet though.)

Then on the next day, my last day at the temple, I met Tom, another cute boy from America. We traveled together a bit. He's not as good looking as Natan but he is more gentle and polite. He's such a big heart man. You won't believe the way he behave to the local. He loves to help kids and the disabilities. Though he will never give them money but he always buy them some food, clothes and other important stuff. I am really in love with his habit. I really hope that he won't get himself into trouble because of his kindness..........

And once again that my driver convinced me to see the sunset. He guaranteed that it would be really beautiful. And I trusted him. Phnom Bakeng was the recommended as one of the best sites for the sunset so, unsurprisingly, it filled up with tourists. (I and Tim were also one of them. =)) We arrived the temple at 5 pm as the driver told us that it would happen at around 5.30-6 pm. We waited until 7 pm and the sun was still high in the sky behind the clouds.............another disappointing advices. But the view from the top of this temple is worth a journey.

Oh, the best moment was to see the rainbow crosses over Angkor Wat!!!! It was damn breathtaking!!!!!!!!!

Then we had a wonderful dinner at a very good resturant, very good food on Royal Khmer Cuisine. =)))

On the last day before departure, I went to one children hospital and donated my blood. Surprised?? Well, Tim inspired me to do something for the local. I have no money to buy kids some food or whatever. So that was what I could do!!!! And I was very happy!!!!

That's all. Hope you are still awake!!!!!

PS: I have also a few "girl" friends!!!!

Categories: travel, thailand, english