January | 2015 | thefatpotatodotcom

I think we were over the whole Southeast Asia scene after Thailand….or maybe I was. The smells infuriated my nostrils, I had trouble eating the local cuisine and the people, well everything was up for barter and usually not in your favor. But Cambodia, Cambodia at first was terrifying.

After realizing our bags had been pilfered through on one of the busses it was too late. I had a feeling in the pit of my tummy that the girl behind us was up to no good and I was correct. I told Daniel to be a little more aware, but we dozed off and got got. Luckily for us as Daniel pointed out she had to be the nicest thief ever. She didn’t take all our money and left us with 20$. Even though I was furious I just had to laugh at how Daniel thinks. After all this we managed to make it to the train station to catch a third class train to the border of Cambodia. It was going to arrive around 7 PM and we heard rumor that the train normally arrives later than 7 which would leave us very little wiggle room to reach the border to Cambodia as it closes at 8 PM.
The train was hot, and crowded and the sweat from you legs, back and arms cause you to stick to the seats. Every five minutes there was someone running through the cart selling some food and drinks. The nailbeds of most people on the train were dark and dirty, we soon learned why. The breeze didn’t come until the sun began to set and with it came the bugs but you had to sacrifice one over the other, we went with keeping the window opened. Daniel’s white shirt had turned black. My face had accumulated dirt on it. Both of our pants looked like they hadn’t been washed in 6 months. The closer to the border we got the dirtier we got. Dirt just seeped into the train. It became hard to breath at one point because there was so much smog.

It’s dark outside, you can hear the wings of bugs as they fly past your ear. There are a total of five people including the two of us left on the train. We all get up to exit. Confused, as there are no signs for Cambodia. We go to the front of the train station. There are a few tuk tuk drivers sitting outside, bargaining now will do no good if we can’t find another tuk tuk as the gates to Cambodia are soon to close. We paid $3 to get to the border. At the border we paid $30 a piece to get our visas. But you have to be very careful, they try to swindle you for more and will give you the wrong visa if you don’t pay attention.

It was late by the time we stepped foot in Cambodia. You could still see that Poipet was an ugly place. There was gambling everywhere, garbage everywhere and the drug cartel ran Poipet. The only form of transportation was a “taxi”and again run by the mafia. The buses stop running after 7 and there were only Cambodians who had their cars that were able to take you to where you needed to go. The “taxi’s” didn’t have a meter or any signage indicating they were proper taxis, only drivers standing beside their cars asking where you needed to go. After spending an hour trying to negotiate the fare price unsuccessfully and a rude comment made from a Cambodian we decided to take camp in Poipet until morning when we knew we could catch a shuttle for a set price. We found a place for $9 a night for a room. It had signs everywhere that stated no guns, prostitutes, drugs or grenades. In the room it had signs saying that if there was blood on any of the towels, rugs, or bed sheets that they would charge additional money for that. However I doubt they could enforce it. I began to question the decision to come to Cambodia, at first glance it was really ugly. We were tired, and filthy from the train. So we showered and slept to prepare for tomorrow.
The shuttle was very straight forward, and the people there also managed to swindle money from some travelers.

We finally arrived in Siem Reap. A wonderful little place. The country is poor, so naturally the price for things are very cheap and a lot cheaper than Thailand.
Daniel and I had fallen into routine spicy cheese and egg omelet with a heaping of vegetable fried rice for $1 in the morning followed by fresh fruit smoothie for $1 from a local stand on pub street. Pub street was chalked with western looking restaurants and tourists. It’s where everyone went at night. At night pub street was booming with music. Two clubs across the street from each other booming different music as if they were in competition to find out who can blast theirs louder. Not always the most enjoyable but after awhile you begin to not notice. Everywhere you go in Cambodia poverty is obvious, but especially in the touristy areas. We encounter girls as young as 13 with children in their arms asking you to buy them milk for their children. We later inquired why the children are so docile, they don’t cry yet alone barely move. They drug the babies so they don’t cry and are easier to handle while the supposed moms are out walking around asking for money. We also met a little bundle of joy naked Linda who was independent and self motivated. Every night she would stay out trying to sell bracelets she made in order to put herself through school. She didn’t want any handouts even though we offered she said she would rather earn her money than have anything given to her. Siem Reap was a beautiful surprise. While in Siem reap we visited the Angkor Wat temples- they were beautiful but after the fourth one you’re ready to call it a day. It’s amazing what tourism can do to an economy just 2 years ago the tickets were only 5$ and now they are 20 bucks a pop. We came up with this crazy idea to create our own country and build ancient temples, we could make a fortune. While in Siem Reap we met up with a good friend who had been traveling for over 8 months, it was good to see a familiar face, although it made me a little homesick. I love you ma I miss you tear tear o yea I miss you other knuckleheads too.

We decided it was time to leave Siem Reap and head to Sihanoukville. We didn’t spend long in Sihanoukville as it was just a stop over until the island koh rong. But Sihanoukville was terribly boring, and it appeared that all people did was smoke pot- not something Daniel nor I are interested in doing. Although drugs in Cambodia are illegal it appears everyone does it. It’s rumored that the cartel pay off the police so that people can do drugs without being bothered.

Koh Rong, an island where water buffalo run wild and vipers rampant. We were warned of snakes, rats and sand flies and the soothing relief coconut oil can provide to bites and the prevention thereof from the flies the first day we arrived. Koh Rong was filled with tourists who littered the beaches but on rare occasions you could find a clean stretch. Our room was cheap and provided us with a bug net to keep the mosquitoes away. At night it got very hot and the power would go out at 2 AM and come back on in the morning. It also would go off at 10 AM for 2 hours. The entire island ran on a generator. Daniel and I would go for swims while it was still dark as it was too hot to sleep. At night you could see fluorescent yellows and greens as you splash in the water. It was magical. The disturbance of the phytoplankton caused an emission of light. This became our routine for the time we spent on Koh Rong. We spent the majority of our days relaxing, but one day we decided to take a boat out and visit the other surrounding islands which captivated us. The islands were primitive and it forces you to live in a time unimaginable to me, when my parents grew up. It was refreshing no wifi no phone connection, and barely any electricity. It forces you outside of your comfort zone you aren’t able to hide behind a phone or computer screen you have to interact with people face to face. Luckily Daniel and I are both talkers so this wasn’t a problem.

Daniel and I decided that our time on Koh Rong was coming to an end and headed to Vietnam.

Phuket, a beachy town filled with tourists, bars, and ladyboys, lots of ladyboys, no seriously tons of ladyboys. There may be more ladyboys than real boys. This is where I celebrated my 25th birthday.

After a grueling bus ride from Bangkok, we arrived to a so called bus station, that wasn’t anywhere near Patong (where the beach is). Every worker their told us we needed to be at another bus terminal to get there and our best option was to take a taxi. “Take taxi, take taxi” this seems to be their mantra to tourists they think are naive. The taxi drivers charge 200% more than the bus and claims there is no bus. Hold on, let’s think for a moment, I see native thai people here traveling, how do they get to the other bus terminal? I doubt they pay taxi drivers and if they do it’s not going to be the rate they’d like to charge us…. Daniel and I bump into two English girls who are also traveling and who have fallen in the same predicament. We look around and spot a bus that looks more like a truck but instead of a bed it had a metal frame with wooden floor beams and wooden rails painted pink. I asked where it was going and was told it was going to Phuket town and from there we can catch another bus to Patong. The fare was better than the taxi, and we were dropped off at the beach.
Our hotel however, was not at the beach, it was another 30 minute walk in the grueling sun with our bags, uphill, to our hotel. This seems to be a common theme with the both of us. We’ve walked so much on our journey that a 30 minute walk doesn’t seem to phase us anymore. I miss Europe and their trains.

Our hotel was The Wave Hotel and seemed to be a popular destination for Russians. I think we were the only non Russian people there apart from the staff. But the room was clean and cold, perfect for the hot Thai weather.
Our first venture after a nice cold shower was the beach. The beach was filled with tourists and people relentlessly trying to sell the odd knickknack, along with sunglasses, beer, henna tattoos, swimsuits, hats, threading, and a very strange wooden elephant bowl that morphed into a statue. The sellers do not take no for an answer the first time, it’s only after saying no five plus times that they understand you don’t want to buy anything. And after one leaves another person comes selling something else.

The water was clear and warm, the best we’ve felt so far on our travels.
And the Asian games were being hosted in Phuket, so after our swim, just a few meters away we walked to watch the competitions.

During the evening hours Phuket changed. Restaurants that were empty during the day became packed at night. There were street vendors selling every kind of pancake and your usual street vendors selling the unidentifiable meat at a very low price. This was the hour that the lady boys came out to play, and a lot of them are very pretty. At almost every bar there was a ladyboy dancing on the bar top. As you walk the streets taking it all in your constantly bombarded by the pop sounds made followed by “ping pong show, come see ping pong show…” Something Thailand is known for.
This seemed to be the theme for the next few nights. During the day we booked excursions, we went white river rafting, zip lining, to the monkey caves and we got to ride elephants, my least favorite part, I felt so terribly bad for riding them, we also swam in a waterfall. And during the evening hours we hung out with Gabriel and Isaiah from Singapore, and the occasional Russian from our hotel.

We decided while in Phuket, that we should become certified scuba divers, so that we could prepare for the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, plus it was cheaper to do in Thailand. It was an amazing experience.

My birthday was about to roll around, and I had mentioned to Daniel that I didn’t want anything special, just a nice dinner. It’s the morning of and our hotel phone rings, Daniel picks up and says that he thinks there was a mistake in the dates for pickup to go scuba diving and says he’ll sort it out. He leaves the room and returns five minutes later with breakfast. Breakfast in bed was how my birthday started. We then got ready for the day and Daniel again surprises me with a fish bath. Where all the fish eat away at the dead skin cells on your feet. It was a very strange feeling but a great experience. I convinced Daniel to join me.
He then guided me to where he told me that I’m getting an hour long massage, and as I got my massage he left and told me to meet him back at the hotel. After my massage I met Daniel in the lobby of the hotel and he said that my pampering isn’t done and I then was surprised to a manicure and pedicure. But that wasn’t all, I return to the hotel room only to find hundreds of flowers all over the room! I absolutely love flowers! And I would be surprised with a bouquet from Daniel often in the states but I wasn’t expecting any on this trip. Dinner is rolling around and we go out to eat on the main strip. After dinner Daniel asks me to pick a number 10-25 I answered with 10. He then tells me that he has one more surprise and tells me to wait for a few minutes. He returns and we walk on the beach, and before I know it, there are ten lanterns that were to be released in the night sky! As we watched the lanterns float up into an abyss and become one with the moon I’m surprised again by videos of both of our families wishing me a happy birthday! BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!