Just checking in to let you know I've arrived safely in Phnom Penh. It has been a long tiring day, leaving Chau Doc in small rowing boats at 7 am, firstly to a fish farm and then to see the production of various local products. Then we split into those heading for Phnom Penh and the others heading back to HCMC. That left about 12 of us on a very long and hot (and noisy) boat trip up the Mekong towards PP - from approx. 9:30 am till 5 pm with a 1 hour border and food stop, and then an hour-long bus ride into Phnom Penh.
The Okay Guest House here was included in the deal, and I can't object. It is a fine place and rates highly in Lonely Planet, but I have to confess that it is too much of a backpacker haven for my liking right now. I consider myself a different kind of traveller - but don't ask me to define it. Maybe I'm just getting old (although I'm not the oldest here), or maybe it's just that it is getting near time to come home now.
Anyway, I'm happy to be in Cambodia. It seems nice and laid-back and relaxed compared with Vietnam. I think our bus driver used his horn once on our 1 hour journey. In Vietnam (or Nepal or India for that matter) it would have been once every 10 or 15 seconds. No kidding!
My initial impression is that it seems a lot like Laos - outwardly very Bhuddist and peaceful. Of course Cambodia has had a very troubled recent history, and I confess that I'll be visiting some of the evidence of the Khmer Rouge attrocities as well as some of the national treasures. But I'll save Siem reap and Angkor Wat for another time. I can tell you that the Angkor Beer is pretty good though.
I was thinking of flying from here to Bangkok and then to Delhi, but Ive discoverd that there is a cheap daily bus service to Bangkok and maybe I'll use that - more so that I can see the land than to save on cash. It's all up for further investigation tomorrow!
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