We took the day bus up from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh and arrived around midday, Sam was feeling very ill at this point but we still needed to find our accommodation and check in before he could rest. We managed to get a tuk tuk to take us from the bus stop to the hostel we'd booked, although it was quite a way out of town and took ages to find. We'd had a hard time finding a suitable place when we were booking, and the map and road names were totally confusing - many of the roads are numbered rather than named but for some reason do not seem to be numbered chronologically with respect to geography. Arriving at the hostel, finally, we checked in and I put Sam to bed.
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
Phnom Penh: Riots, Sickness and Genocide
We took the day bus up from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh and arrived around midday, Sam was feeling very ill at this point but we still needed to find our accommodation and check in before he could rest. We managed to get a tuk tuk to take us from the bus stop to the hostel we'd booked, although it was quite a way out of town and took ages to find. We'd had a hard time finding a suitable place when we were booking, and the map and road names were totally confusing - many of the roads are numbered rather than named but for some reason do not seem to be numbered chronologically with respect to geography. Arriving at the hostel, finally, we checked in and I put Sam to bed.
Friday, 3 January 2014
Sihanoukville: A Little Piece of Paradise
The journey to Sihanoukville (Cambodia) from Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) was one of the longest days of travelling of my entire trip to Asia. It began at 8am when my travel companion Sam and I were met at our hostel by a Vietnamese man who led us to our bus. It turned out to be about a 10 minute walk from the hostel, which we weren't expecting. At 8am, with heavy bags and not enough sleep, this was not particularly welcome. We got to the bus and hung around for a while as luggage was piled onto the bus, and tickets were handed out. It was at this point that it became apparent that some people on the bus had got a ticket all the way to Sihanoukville, whereas we were scheduled to get off in Phnom Penh and make our own way onto another bus. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
The bus took a couple of hours to get to the border, where we had to get out of the bus, unload our bags and carry them through border control to leave Vietnam, followed by immigration and visa check for Cambodia. The bus driver sorted most of this out for us and it was easy, although rather boring. I braved the toilets on the Cambodian side, and wished I hadn't. Eventually, we got back on the bus and drove for only about another half an hour before stopping at a run-down cafe for lunch. I didn't fancy anything on offer so I bought a can of coke and some crisps for later. Back on the bus, we proceeded to Phnom Penh, where we arrived about 3pm. Here, many of the passengers were taken to their next bus, continuing on to Sihanoukville on the coast. We found a timetable on display and worked out that there was a bus in 20 minutes. So I left Sam to wait for our bags to be unloaded from the bus and went to queue for tickets. The queue took forever, people kept pushing in and chatting to the lady behind the screen for ages. Eventually I got to the front of the queue and she told me that the bus, which was now leaving in just 5 minutes, was full. Thankfully, she sold me a ticket for the next bus after that, but we'd have to wait till 5pm for it. I agreed, paid and found Sam and our bags again. We decided we should try and get some food and stock up on a few essentials, so we hauled our bags across the busy road to a small supermarket and then across to a fairly unpleasant-looking restaurant, the only thing we could see nearby, and ate some questionable noodles. In all fairness, they didn't make us sick, so I'll consider that a win. We killed a couple of hours and got back on the bus for the final time.
The bus took a couple of hours to get to the border, where we had to get out of the bus, unload our bags and carry them through border control to leave Vietnam, followed by immigration and visa check for Cambodia. The bus driver sorted most of this out for us and it was easy, although rather boring. I braved the toilets on the Cambodian side, and wished I hadn't. Eventually, we got back on the bus and drove for only about another half an hour before stopping at a run-down cafe for lunch. I didn't fancy anything on offer so I bought a can of coke and some crisps for later. Back on the bus, we proceeded to Phnom Penh, where we arrived about 3pm. Here, many of the passengers were taken to their next bus, continuing on to Sihanoukville on the coast. We found a timetable on display and worked out that there was a bus in 20 minutes. So I left Sam to wait for our bags to be unloaded from the bus and went to queue for tickets. The queue took forever, people kept pushing in and chatting to the lady behind the screen for ages. Eventually I got to the front of the queue and she told me that the bus, which was now leaving in just 5 minutes, was full. Thankfully, she sold me a ticket for the next bus after that, but we'd have to wait till 5pm for it. I agreed, paid and found Sam and our bags again. We decided we should try and get some food and stock up on a few essentials, so we hauled our bags across the busy road to a small supermarket and then across to a fairly unpleasant-looking restaurant, the only thing we could see nearby, and ate some questionable noodles. In all fairness, they didn't make us sick, so I'll consider that a win. We killed a couple of hours and got back on the bus for the final time.
Sunday, 3 November 2013
Travel Prep: Asia and Australasia
I am now in the final weeks of preparation before I depart on my adventure around Asia and Australasia. I will be gone for 4½ months and visit 10 different countries. Logistically, it is rather complicated. In terms of visas and entry requirements, just finding out what you need and what is and isn't allowed is a mammoth task in itself. So, here is some of the wisdom I've gained along the way.
Sunday, 20 October 2013
Asia Adventure
Hello, stranger!
Great news - I'm planning another trip, which means more posts here very soon. This time I'm indulging myself in some purely recreational travel, no field work! And, I'm finally going to make it over to Asia, one continent I've not been lucky enough to visit before.
I'll be jetting off on November 13th for 4 months travel around southeast Asia and Australasia. Here's a list of the places I plan to visit:
Great news - I'm planning another trip, which means more posts here very soon. This time I'm indulging myself in some purely recreational travel, no field work! And, I'm finally going to make it over to Asia, one continent I've not been lucky enough to visit before.
I'll be jetting off on November 13th for 4 months travel around southeast Asia and Australasia. Here's a list of the places I plan to visit:
- Japan
- China
- Vietnam
- Cambodia
- Thailand
- Laos
- Borneo
- Bali
- Komodo, Flores, Rinca
- Australia
- New Zealand
Watch this space for new travel updates very soon!
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