Such is Cambodia...

Cambodia - D17
Due to some (ahem) miscommunication on a few fellow traveling parts, we spent this day in Phenm Penh. None of us felt up to tackling the city, our heads were still reeling from the graphic nature of the day before. As such, Day 17 was treat day - we selfishly indulged ourselves in luxuries that unselfishly benefitted the Cambodian community. In the afternoon we had a Seeing Hands Massage - massages given by blind Cambodians; their handicap gives them a heightened sense that makes their touch flawless, and their talent keeps them living comfortably in a way that many cannot. I would give it a 6 on the pain scale, but for the next 3 days my body felt fantastic...which as you will see proved to be a blessing!
For dinner we hit the FRIENDS cafe - a tapas restuarant that teaches children and young adults the restuarant business. Many of these young people go on to work in high class hotels or restuarants in Phenm Penh. I can see why, it was the best meal we had on our travels by far! It was barely within our control not to order the entire selection from the first bite. Friends is an amazing organization too, they have had over 100,000 kids pass through their school, and over 500,000 women and children through their shelters. Definitely an excellent addition to the Cambodian community that we highly recommend!

Cambodia - D18
Today marks the beginning of what we are merely dubbing "such is Cambodia". In this tiny statement there is a wealth of inuendo - we can't possibly do things the simple way, you never know what is going to happen, sometimes you just have to eat the fried spider, etc etc etc. We boarded our morning bus to the far reaches of Eastern Cambodia where we were promised authenticity and elephant wildlife among other pleasures of less touristy places. We rode for about 20 minutes sans air con and the tough were outwhined by the pampered. Our bus pulled over by the side of the rode and we spent 1 hour in the heat waiting for a new bus to pick us up: Such is Cambodia.
We rode the new bus for about 2 hours to a transfer point called Snoul. Nothing as far as the eye can see but red dirt. We spent a dusty hour there waiting for another bus to take us to Sen Monorom, our destination. The road was described by one Khmer as "barely there" so our expectations were high! The bus arrived and we loaded on. Passanger count: 4 Americans, 2 Swedes, 2 French, 3 Canadian/Khmer, 4 Chinese, 20+ Khmer, 1 Indian and his Khmer concubine, 8 billion mosquitoes and a partridge in a pear tree. We rode the bumpy path for about 6 minutes, when we pulled to the side of the road by a makeshift water stand, another bus and about 15 foreigners. We were told "Everybody out! Take bags" so we all loaded off and the great switch commensed. The foreigners loaded on our bus and drove off, we piled on to the shifty looking bus left behind and awaited movement: Such is Cambodia.
But none came...our driver had been inwittingly fooled by the other, albeit more clever, driver into giving our fully functional bus to them and leaving us with a shell that hardly contained an engine: Such is Cambodia.
6 hours by the side of a dusty road later, long abandoned by the more intelligent Khmer who had figured out we were going no where, the foreigners stopped arguing and agreed to spend the night in Snoul at the lone guesthouse standing. The only option for getting back into town was two foreigners to one Moto, bags squished in front with the Khmer driving through the dark sans headlights: Such is Cambodia.

Cambodia - D19
We woke up early, anticipating paying a taxi driver to take us to Sen Monorom, but were pleasantly greeted with the news that the bus company had finally acknowledged our plight and agreed to pay for a pick up to take the remaining foreigners (4 Americans, 1 Indian and his Khmer concubine) to our final destination. We loaded into the 4x4 pickup with about 15 Khmer, plus all our bags. Squished but grateful, we were ready to go...until the bus driver demanded payment. Turns out they had put is in the wrong pick-up, this was not our free ride. Everybody out: Such is Cambodia.
The new pickup arrived, we loaded into the (even smaller) pickup with (even more) Khmer and pulled out of the bus station...and drove approximately 25 feet...where the driver informed us that the bus company had decided that they were not responsible, but the Snoul division was so they should be required to pay, not the company. The Snoul division felt differently, and since both companies were refusing payment our pickup was going no where: Such is Cambodia
As we negotiated prices ($100 American dollars for the 6 foreigners) we all decided Sen Monorom could not possibly be worth it! So we made to leave the truck, when suddenly the Snoul division renigged (could be easily assumed that they just wanted us to pay and save themselves the trouble) and we were on our way! Graham linking arms with the Indian friend atop a tire, Sarah straddling the side of the truck, Jessica riding the luggage with a television set in her back, me tucked in the cornor at an angle with no less than 3 sharps objects in my side, and no less than 20 Khmer claiming approximately 7 inches of space for each of them. To sum up: 4 hours on a unpaved, red dirt road...sleeping legs, broken butts...entire body surface, crevices and orvices coated in red dirt: Such is Cambodia!

Cambodia - D20
Having arrived in Sen Monorom in tact, we were thrilled with the small town and authentic feel. It was one of the first times we had spent a day without hearing "Lady! Buy! Tuktuk Lady?!?" and it was a welcome respite. But we had come to Sen Monorom with a purpose to be fulfilled, and fulfill it we would! Jessica's (the other one, not speaking in the third person) great love in life is elephants. So we woke up early to begin our day of elephant trekking and all its wonders.
We were given a sack lunch and moto-ed out to a smaller village, where we were greeted by two adorable elephants! Their names were yet to be revealed (because obviously you cannot name an elephant until you take in its personality), but Sarah and I claimed the elder, more broken in elephant while Jessica and Graham took the younger. We rode on top in little baskets and our elephants were guided by a man and his sons (names also yet to be revealed). The ride was beautiful! We suantered through this barren wasteland, similar to an African safari, and were suddenly making our way down a mountian into the jungle. The ride down proved a bit precarious, as there were many moments we had to dangle over a ravine while Carla stopped for a bite to eat or a toe scratch until Carnie beat her into submission. (Explanation: We named our elephant Carla because she was an EATER! We named our guide Carnie, a proud nod to Connie and Carla, and the fact that he was an evil mistreater of animals...like a carnie) There were branches in the face, making me feel right at ease with my constant fear of reptiles, but the fact remained: we were riding through the Cambodian jungle on an elephant! We lunched at a river were we released our elephants to roam. We indulged in a jungle swim (wink wink) and some trekking where I proved what an Amazon woman I truly am (nudge nudge). Finally, we had to hunt our own elephants for the return trip home! Bella came willingly, and she was rewarded with a bath from Casanova and Jessica (Explanation: Jessica named her elephant Bella, because its cute I suppose, and the guide Casanova because he picked her a wild jungle flower). Carla proved that she cannot be controlled and she came in her own time. Much like the trip home, which she made in her own time! No longer afraid of the bamboo cane, Carnie had to resort to fire to scare her into movement! Despite the fact that there were a number of times Sarah and I faced our death down the side of the elephant, and my comfort level in that tiny basket was rivalling my ride in the pickup, we had an incredible experience!

Cambodia - D21
We left that morning praying for a smoother day. We volunteered for another day in the pickup (because lets face it, we had no other option!) but by that time had found the joy in a dirty road trip. So we headed back to Snoul and caught another pick up to Kratie. This time we became even more native, riding the 2 hour road to Kratie on top of the pick up instead of in the truck bed....we felt truly Khmer. There were even tourist taking pictures of us, so we will be gracing some photo albums in the near future.
We arrived at the river town of Kratie, but only for the night. Sadly, Sarah was ready to get another country under her belt so we were to leave for Laos in the morning. Kratie quickly revealed that there was tons of fun to be had there and will remain my one regret on this trip. Cambodia as a whole was nothing short of delightful...I LOVED IT. I highly recommend it for any world traveler and I will be sure to make a return journey in the near future - there are still wonders to be found here!

Cambodia/Laos - D22
The border crossing was fairly uneventful. Truth be told, because a bridge was out it took us 2 hours to cross a 200 meter river, but in comparison to the Sen Monorom trip, we were perfectly accepting of our circumstances. The border crossing at Voen Khamn is unofficial, so we were forced to pay ludicrous bribes of $2 usd's to cross, but corruption is a part of life here. Once across, we borded a boat to take us to Si Phon Dan, aka: The 4,000 Islands. In one word: paradise
Our stopping point was Don Det, probably the second largest island in the chain and nothing more than one great strip of hole-in-the-wall restuarants and bungalows. The weather is perfect, the water pristine, and the locals laid back. There are maybe 50 foreigners on the island at any given time (probably because the electricity only comes on for 4 hours each night) and there is no agenda. Just R&R to the tune of $5 dollars a day...wonderful!
I spent the evening enjoying an authentically Italian dinner, prepared by an older Italian woman (or man, to be prefectly honest I could not tell) named Paulo and her lover, and an older couple from Belgium. It was a truly hilarious affair, and the food was inredible. I was soon joined by the others, as well as my Polish stalker and his eerily silent traveling companion (another story for another day). Never fear, Graham stepped up and safely carted the girls to bed before the Paulske and Adam could do too much damage...