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Cambodian Travel - Travel and backpacking in Cambodia - Southeast AsiaA visa run to Laos was all it was meant to be. I dipped my toes in Vientiane for a couple of days, scooting around the French city with a mademoiselle named Katy I met on the border. Her uncle was living in Laos , so knew where to take me. A Lunch of pasta with real cheese was enough to put a look of sleepy satisfaction on my face. It is all about the food) Katy decided to stay put. Although Vientiane is the calmest capital city I have been to, I had to flee to the countryside. The rain and a rather annoying Israeli dude named Rammmroot (something along those lines) decided to join me. Fabulous. I arrived in Pakse and jumped on a bus to the surrounding waterfalls. The sky cleared and delightful Laos unfolded before me. There is a place called Tad Loh which we must go to one day, a few bungalows lining acres of glittering ra info rest and only the sound of the soothing waterfall. We ate lunch at a local coffee plantation where (of course) Fee decides to befriend a litter of stray puppies and a bunch of curious kids. The following morning I stealthily slipped out of Pakse, fleeing from the freaky Rammmroot to the Cambodian border. Two gorgeous women from Holland let me join them. They had been travelling the world together, tackling the great lands of Oz together. Little did I know it would be one long expensive rollercoaster ride to Phnom Penh that day from Pakse. I was glad to have had the girls with me. A four hour tuk tuk ride with the friendly locals (where I tasted fried grasshopper on a stick, not bad at all: ). I nearly punched the driver in the face when he decided to drop us in the middle of nowhere with an intimidating policeman and his semi automatic. No thanks. Ten dollars later (Sunday rates?!?!) we had the Cambodian stamp on our passport. Another thirty five dollars later and we would reach the nearest town on a speedboat. We boarded a canoe, a little like the one in the Amazon (a hollow log), but with a massive engine. The driver puts on his motorbike helmet. There are none for the passengers of course. Off we zip through the Mekong at 300kms an hour. Flying past the tangled riverside, we barely touch the glassy water. Welcome to Cambodia . Magnificent. There was NO WAY the girls were staying in this tiny town. A taxi that afternoon to Phnom Penh it was. We bought our tickets for another twenty dollars and were shoved in the back of an old Commodore, the driver and two locals crammed in the front assuring us it was a 7 hour journey. 12 hours, a flat tire, pushing the car out of (one of the many) muddy potholes, trying to sustain a conversation with the sleazy non-English speaking driver ( so he doesn't crash), eating packets of chips for dinner…LATER, we arrive in Phnom Penh . A days rest in the busy capital. I headed north to visit The Sunrise Angkor Orphanage in Siem Reap. It was great spending the afternoon playing soccer with the kids. Two little boys performed a Khmer dance for me, incredible dancers! I learnt that one of their sponsors is from a fashion label in Australia that gives all profits back to the orphanage which I would like to get involved with. I woke the next day at four in the morning. I jumped on the back of a motorbike and zoomed past the ancient moat of Siem Reap to the marvellous Angkor Wat. Blinded by its beauty again. I weaved through secret alleyways and found a perfect little nook to watch the sunrise. No photo or written word can paint the magic of these buildings. I was lost in a forest of old memories and my wild imagination. The beach was calling me. I took a bus to the southern beaches of Sihounoukvile. The rain washed me away to Thailand . Here I am. Koh Chang.
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