Our travel day from Phu Quoc, Vietnam to Cambodia started (as it was to continue) with a delay at the airport. We had envisaged (because visions are often better than reality) that the airport at Rach Gia, Vietnam would have buses going to one of the border towns to Cambodia. However, when we approached the airport and saw the size of it, and then walked through customs to see an empty arrivals hall, we knew we had a challenge ahead of us.
We wanted to get to Chau Doc, a popular border town that didn’t look far away on google maps. When we asked the taxi men standing outside the airport how much they would charge to take us there, they all shook their heads before declaring “one million dong”. This is a huge amount of money, but none of them would budge on price.
We talked with an official at the airport and a moped driver in a helmet who seemed keen to get our business, and found out that there was a bus going to Chau Doc and it was just along the road. A taxi took us to the bus, and the little moped driver drove alongside the taxi, rather like a royal escort! At the bus, the little man in the helmet made sure we got onto it OK and then he took our fare and disappeared. We were worried that we had just handed over our money to a complete stranger who would be speeding home to take the next week off work, but as it turned out, this little man had indeed gone off to pay our fare. And from that point on, one Vietnamese person after another helped us on our way to Chau Doc, beckoning us off one bus, putting us into seats at the next bus station, showing us to our next bus, and finally taking us (with all of our luggage) around Chau Doc on mopeds to find a bed for the night.
It was quite an adventure and we saw some fantastic sights out of the bus windows as we travelled through the mekong delta. There is no ignoring the fact that all the towns and people in this part of the country are completely reliant on the river, and have almost become one with it. It is difficult to see in some places where the houses end and the river begins. My reflection in the bus window and Christian were the only white faces I saw that whole day, and our voices were the only ones using words I recognised. It was really exciting!
Eventually we arrived in Chau Doc at about 8.30 pm. There was just time to organise our river crossing into Cambodia for the following morning, before climbing into bed for a well deserved sleep.
So here’s a joke for you: What kind of cockrel wakes up at 4.30am? Answer: A Vietnamese one.
The never-ending journey
So after a broken sleep, we paid our 8 pounds hotel bill (that was for the drinks from the mini bar as well as the room itself) and headed to the river. There was a spring in our step as we knew we would soon be in Cambodia! We had paid extra money for the executive fast boat and I sincerely implore anyone going to Vietnam and making the river crossing into Cambodia to do the same. The fast boat took us eight hours door to door from Chau Doc to Phnomh Penh (we were told it would be half this). God only knows how long the slow boat would have taken.
On the way, we had numerous stops. In one we walked through a small village and had loads of kids running after us and shouting hello. They were all so sweet and smiley in their smart white uniforms, we even had this little toddler in his pyjamas greet us. We were celebrities again!
The border crossing happens on the river bank in a pretty set of buildings surrounded by gardens. It was fairly painless and we got through quickly with the help of our boat guide and a local photographer (oops forgot passport photos!). Our guide was quick to point out the car owned by the Cambodian Border Official – bought through all the bribes!
Eventually we arrived in Phnomh Penh, the Capital, and took a tuk tuk to a hotel. The streets of Cambodia’s capital are not quite as littered with motorbikes as Ho Chi Minh, but they are pretty hectic nonetheless. In fact they were probably more hectic than normal, because Christian and I had (unwittingly) booked our trip to coincide with Cambodia’s biggest festival; The Festival of Water.
It was lovely to step out of the tuk tuk and into our hotel. Circa 51 is a fantastic Oasis in the heart of Phnomh Penh with service, staff and furnishings to rival any Western boutique hotel. After more than 24 hours taking a taxi, a plane, a taxi, a bus, another bus, a moped, another moped, a bicycle tuk tuk, a boat, a bus and a tuk tuk, it was fantastic to actually arrive somewhere!
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