Driving to Phnom Penh like the locals

We left our hotel at 7:30 am yesterday to take a taxi to the ferry to Ha Tien. Our LP boasted about this "new" ferry because the trip to Ha Tien only takes 1 1/2 hours instead of the 2 1/2 to Rach Gia and is much closer to the Cambodian border. So, we were a bit surprised when our taxi driver dropped us off at the end of a long concrete dock and sort of pointed us down the dock. We took off in that direction but all we could see were fishing boats lined up at the end of this VERY long dock. We walked about fifteen minutes until we reached the end and finally saw the (small) ferry. It was already overflowing when we boarded and the attendant moved a couple Vietnamese people so that we had a seat. No sooner were we seated than the boat departed at 8:24 (it wasn't supposed to leave until 8:30)--I guess they were waiting for us. This ferry was nothing special and I don't know where they got the seats, but my feet couldn't reach the ground. Oh well, it got us safely to Ha Tien where we off-loaded and headed across the street to an office selling bus tickets to Cambodia.

By now it was about 10:30 and the bus didn't leave until noon, so we wandered around a bit and got some lunch while we waited for our noon bus that was to arrive Phnom Penh at 4:00. We met a Danish guy who was on our ferry and bus and chatted with him over lunch. Noon came and went and still no bus--apparently there were thirty folks coming from Cambodia and for some reason it was taking them ages to get through the immigration checks. Finally at about 12:30 we were but on a bus and taken to the border where we waited for about an hour or more before we were stamped and allowed to exit. Most of this time waiting for the group ahead of us to enter Vietnam. Getting in to Cambodia went smoothly, including getting our visa on arrival, although we ended up paying $24 and could have paid $25 in the office to skip the formalities. Finally, it's almost three and we are off....

Or so we thought. One of the bus company workers tells us that we missed our connecting bus to Phnom Penh and we'll have to stay in Kampot or Kep until the next morning because our bus is headed to Sihanoukville. We tell him this isn't acceptable because we paid to get to Phnom Penh and didn't want to go to Kep or Kampot. So, they offered to take us to Sihanoukville and put us on the overnight bus to Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. We continued to stick to our guns that we had been sold a ticket to Phnom Penh tonight and they needed to get us there. They finally agreed and in Kampot loaded us in to a shared taxi to Phnom Penh. Reid and I got in the back seat of the Toyota Camry and Jeppe got in the passenger seat. There was already a guy in the back seat and the driver motions Reid and I to scoot over to make room for another passenger...what?? So, we agree to pay for an extra seat so we have a little bit of room and then they tell Jeppe to move to the back seat. Finally, we agree and two people climb into the passenger seat we vacated. Okay.... And then, a girl climbs into the front seat between the driver and his door and we're off. Yeah, check out that picture again--that is four Cambodians in the front seat of the Toyota Camry where they road the 2 1/2 hours to Phnom Penh. Yikes!!

We finally arrived in Phnom Penh arouond 7:00 and headed to the Pavilion where Jeppe wanted to stay (it was definitely a splurge). There were no rooms, so we were showed another hotel, where we ended up staying even though it was another splurge night, but it was 8:00 at night and we hadn't eaten dinner and we were all tired. So, we paid up and headed out for a great meal--some of the best food we've had in a very long time. We just checked out of our splurge room and are about to head out to explore for the balance of the day.