August 23, 2007

Siem Reap (CAMBODIA)

Arranging Transport to Cambodia's Northern Frontier

At 9am this morning a decision was made that would come to change the course of my life forever. I have been agonizing over how long to stay in Siem Reap because I do not want to part ways with Jo, but I have never been one to let emotions get in the way of the job at hand (I intend to complete the overland journey from Beijing to Singapore, after all). Fortunately, I will get the best of both worlds as Jo decided to accompany me on my travels through northern Cambodia and southern Laos. Her friends were gracious enough to let us go off together, and we agreed to meet up later in the summer in Thailand.

All this left me with the serious problem of coordinating how exactly I to go about this journey as the entire point is to get off the beaten path. So, with my pass to Angkor Wat already exhausted, I spent the better part of the day searching Siem Reap for a way to reach the Cambodian frontier to the north. I started with the tour agencies as they are always the easiest, but they said what I was attempting was impossible unless we chartered a private car for one week. Apparently, the frontier to the North is in worse condition than what existed during the guerilla warfare days when Pol Pot and the remaining Khmer Rouge were fighting the Cambodian government. I next moved on to the various bus companies around town, but all insisted that there were no roads going North, and thus no way for me to travel. I found this to be absurd as surely someone goes North, but it wasn't until late in the afternoon when I was introduced to a "connections" man who made a few calls on my behalf. I waited patiently while the Khmer man wrote down new numbers to call, and eventually he informed me that there existed a small village through which a northerly truck runs. Supposedly, we could get dropped off in the village and then ask around to catch a ride. While none of this sounded all that convincing, I booked Jo and I a ticket to the small town for early the next morning.

I met up with Jo before dinner and brought her up to speed on what happened (making our plans sound far more convincing than they actually were). Afterward, we went on another walk through town - stopping so she could have passport photos taken - and ended up at the local market for some last minute necessities. Although we were tempted by the tasty meats for sale (see photo to the right), we stuck to the simple necessities like toothbrushes and shampoo for our journey. Ashamedly, I have never been a big fan of chicken guts.

We ate a final farewell dinner downtown, and then made it an early night as we were setting off early the following morning. Below is a map outlining where all these places are in Cambodia. Now, let the journey begin!