As I mentioned, we were supposed to take a ferry boat trip from Battenbong to Siem Reap but the river is very low and what would have been a 6 hour trip turned into a 10 hour trip. We all agreed that driving would be better, not to mention faster. So off we went in the Cambodian tour bus towards Siem Reap. Unfortunately we missed going onto the Tonle Sap Lake but I think leaving Siem Reap we get to go on another boat trip.

I wish everyone could experience early morning traffic in Cambodia. It really is something to watch and even more exciting to be part of! As Jim says, “It has a flow and only the foreigners mess it up.” Only in the biggest of cities are there any stop signs (that mean anything) or traffic lights. Cars, trucks, bicycles (hundreds of bicycles) all moving in this well oiled rhythm. Hardly a honk to be heard. Once we got out of town, our driver was like Mario Andretti passing people left and right. I finally had to stop watching because all the near misses was making me very nervous.

The unfortunate thing about driving in the car is not being able to experience the villages or countryside at a slow pace but Siem Reap was some 180 kilometers away and I know I wasn’t up to the challenge. I am continually amazed at the amount of people the Cambodians can fit on anything that moves faster than walking. And the goods (other than human) they carry on their machines is amazing. We saw people transporting whole pigs (dead), chickens (also dead), all kinds of food and cooking utensils, and loads of wood that could heat my house for a full winter season. I think that the Cambodians should start their own bicycle team because there are some darn good, strong riders here.


I could tell when we were getting closer to Siem Reap because the traffic started getting pretty intense. SIem Reap was my whole reason for wanting to come on this trip and now we were finally getting there. We stopped in town to eat lunch on Pub Street, which is lined with restaurants catering mostly to the growing tourism industry.

We settled into our hotel and I immediately signed up for a nice massage. Tomorrow we get up to go to Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat, the highlight of the trip for me!

Link to today’s photos

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