Siem Reap to Phnom Penh

Saturday 2 August.

Up about 7.30 and excellent breakfast at 8 in the hotel. Freshly scrambled eggs, grilled tomatoes, bread, yoghurt and fruit, coffee and orange juice, all for $4. Had another wander round the town and stopped for a beer at Red Piano, same place as last night, before heading back to hotel to check out and waited for the pick up for Giant Ibis bus to Phnom Penh.

Tuk tuks in Siem Reap

Beer in Piano Bar (First Beer)

Minibus came around 12  and took us to the bus depot where we got on the big bus. Almost all young westerners with back packs. Only a few people who could be local. Giant Ibis gets good reviews but is more expensive than others.  Quite a while to get out of the  sprawl of Siem Reap but then we are back in the rice fields. Just as green, just as flat. Lots of water buffalo.

Which reminds me of the following story I read somewhere.

In one of the many less salubrious bars to be found in Bangkok, Pattaya or Chiang Mai, one of the more experienced women is explaining the ropes to a young girl who has just arrived from a village. "Western men are like water buffalo", she says. "They look big, dangerous and ugly but in reality they are docile, stupid and easily led".

Almost continuous houses along the road. Occasionally coalescing into a rudimentary village. Always with at least one blue sign for the Cambodian People's Party. Difficult to imagine what it must be like living here. Boring and monotonous comes to mind. Difficult to imagine these small communities and vast expanses of rice paddies as the killing fields; they look so timeless. After the country was rebuilt,  how was the land distributed?   Somewhere there must be title to all these rice field but presumably all the records were lost under the Khmer Rouge.

Found some of the answers in

http://www.un.org/esa/agenda21/natlinfo/countr/cambodia/land.pdf

At 3.20 a small hill was sighted on the left hand side. Break out the champagne! Then back to FLAT! Most of the houses have a different pattern here. Raised on stilts they have 2 - 4 pitched roofs from front to back. Usually tiled some corrugated iron. A few newer style ones but no mansions!

Houses along the way

At Krong Stuen Saen, quite a large town, we cross a river but after that it is more of the same. The road is not so good now with broken or no tarmac so going slowly. Guess there is some tarmac but the road is the colour of mud and the potholes join up. I can see why the wealthy go for Toyota land cruisers.

At 3.30 we stop for a 30 minute break at a cafe where I have some pork fried rice and a lychee juice. Back on the bus at 4 and the rain starts, heavy bursts and then more gentle stuff. 

About 6 a sign says we are 75 km from PP. Getting dark now and road is quite a bone shaker. Just after 7 we are back on proper roads with real tarmac, at least for a while, then back to the bone shaking stuff. Passing little towns and almost continuously built up along the road but still very dark. Can't be far from PP now. 7.35 Street lights! 7.49 on the bridge over the Tonle Sap! And then into the bus station.

$4 for a tuk tuk to the hotel which again surpasses expectation. Teahouse Asian Urban Hotel.

http://www.theteahouse.asia/

After dumping my stuff head straight out for dinner in one of the streets nearby which the man at reception has kindly marked on the map he gave me. There are lots of restaurants to choose from  but it was getting late and I was feeling hungry so settled on Anise which looked chic and had plenty of patrons. The Khmer style fish stew was satisfying and tasty, rather plainer than I had expected, but coupled with some rice, a glass of beer and a plate of peanuts ticked all the right boxes. 

Beer and Peanuts in Anise (Last Beer)

http://www.anisehotel.com.kh/?page=detail&menu1=156&ctype=article&id=156&lg=en

Final Conclusion: It's about 1000 km from Bangkok to Phnom Penh. 1000 km of continuous cultivation. 1000 km of flat rice fields!