Getting into Cambodia
Our plan was to travel from Don Det to Phnom Penh and the ‘bus’ we ordered said it would be roughly a 9hr journey. So we booked our tickets and started early the next morning where we took the ferry at 8am from Don Det back to the mainland and waited for our first bus of the day. It should be noted that the details of this day are a bit hairy but bare with us. SO, the first van (not actually a bus like we were expecting) came after about an hour, showed up with a flat tire so we waited a bit longer for a replacement van. The van that showed up was equipped with 10 seats and there were 13 of us… we all looked around nervously at each other thinking some of us wouldn’t make it on. Little did we know though, that this would be one of our more comfortable (I use that word lightly) van rides.
Our driver insisted we’d all fit in, which we did, and off we went. It was a short drive to the Cambodian boarder, it took about 20 minutes or so? Our experience getting through the boarder was seamless however our 2 Canadian pals who we had met on the island that were also crossing weren’t so lucky. They showed up with no cash, there were no atm’s and it cost $38 cash to cross. Seeing that they were our friends and being the generous Canadians that we are, we helped them out and lent them the cash. They were very greatful and e-transferred us back right away (plus they threw in a little extra for our troubles, not a bad deal š). Once we walked through the border which was a neat experience in itself, we sat at a small roadside restaurant for 2hours until our second van arrived. We were scheduled to be brought to a bus station however, upon arrival we learned it was actually just a small restaurant. We spent about an hour or so here and ended up grabbing a bite to eat.
Around 1:30pm the third van of our journey arrived. We thought that this van was going to be the one that took us all the way to Phnom Penh…oh were we wrong. We got into the van and the driver proceedes to drive 50meters down the road where he left the van parked on the road (with us still in it), got out and sat outside of the van for an hour chatting up his buds. Keep in mind the van doors only open from the outside and it was a 35degrees day not to mention the van was over capacity by 4 people. It was a painful hour. Once we got going though, our driver made multiple random stops to drop packages off or pick packages up which we soon leanred was very typical of van rides in Cambodia. We proceeded to be transferred into 2 more vans, the second of which was a cargo van. If you’ve lost count by now, that’s 5 vans total.
By this time it was around 6pm and the sun was setting. The 5 hour cargo van ride was by far the worst. Not only were there 5 available seats for 10 of us but, the driver decided to take the scenic route. On the slow, dark drive through rural Cambodia, we encountered three police checks. At one check, the driver had to bribe the cops for whatever reason…our best guess was that it had something to do with the fact that there were 5 people in the front seats, including 1 American girl who was forced to sit on the drivers lap.
Eventually, we made it to Phnom Penh around 10:30pm and walked 2km to our hostel. Luckily the hostel we had our hopes on had space for us š . We stayed at Envoy Hostel and it had a great little kitchen and chill space. We made instant noodles and snacked on chips for dinner and guzzled it down with some 50cent beer. We got to bed around 12:30pm that night, way past our bed time. That was our longest and most exausting travel day yet and we hope it keep it that way!
Phnom Penh
We had a lazy morning spent recovering from our crazy travel day. Ky woke up and noticed she had acquired a rash.
That day we picked a few low-energy things to do around the city. We got some groceries, walked around and visited the national museum. For us, the museum was quite anticlimactic as it consisted of various stone relics which at first was neat but then, after an hour or so, got a little tedious.
Luckily, there was a homemade noodle shop close by. We were amazed as the noddles were whipped into shape right before our eyes! We enjoyed homemade dumplings and noodle stir fry for dinner.
After dinner we went to the Cambodia Living Arts Centre for an evening of dance and live music. The show was called Earth and Sky and it displayed traditional Cambodian dance, dress and music which we both found really cool.
The next day we toured S-21, the National Genocide Museum. S-21 was an old school that had been converted into a concentration camp during the Khmer Rouge. We got the English headsets and spent around 2 hours listening and walking around the various exhibits. There weren’t any pictures allowed. What we saw is hard to describe. It was a tragic yet beautiful tribute to the lives that were taken during the genocide. The whole experience was also extremely sobering. You could feel how recently the horrific events had taken place. There were still bloodstains on the floors, prisoner carvings on the wall, chains bolted all over the floors which we hadn’t noticed until we tripped over them. It was a powerful experience, we’re glad we went and will be humbled by the experience for years to come.
On our quiet walk home it was dusk and our brains were still foggy from being inside of S-21. Kylie was walking with her head down, checking google maps and suddenly 2 men on a motor bike pulled up, intercepted her walking path and robbed her. The good news is they only got my phone, it was non-confrontational and it was over just as fast as it started. Bummer. We immediately rushed back to the hostel to begin protecting Kylie’s digital privacy (I.e. Deleting info from her phone, changing passwords), and Bell was able to remotely lock the phone from being used at all. After we recovered from the initial shock, we went out for some recovery dinner and got overpriced conveyer-belt sushi – it was delicious!
The next day, we went to the police station to file a report – it was surprisingly a painless task. After that, we found a used phone store and got Kylie a used iPhone 5 for $50. PSA, she only has messenger and is unable to download any newer apps š. So if you have been trying to contact her, send her a message on messenger, that’s all she’s got right now! That evening, we caught a night bus to Siem Reap. A couple sleeping pills later, and we had arrived.
Siem Reap
We arrived at 6am, walked around a bit in a sleepy haze until we found a cheap hostel, called Unity. The owner was super-friendly and insisted we eat breakfast for free before we had even decided to stay. Suffice it to say we did stay there lol. That evening, we walked through the Siem Reap night market, where Matt was pressured into buying a nice new white cloth shirt and was then encouraged to tip the ladies who sold it to him because they had called him handsome! Nice try ladies, no tip for you. We then walked to dinner, at the Bug Cafe! Check out the following photos to see what we ate š
The next day, we had reservations at a nice resort located on the outskirts of downtown, called Tanei Resort and Spa. We hiked with our bags there – took us over an hour and it was stinking hot, but the pool made the walk worth it! We spent 3 nights here, maxin and relaxin by the pool, taking advantage of 2 for 1 happy hour, and enjoying the complementary white robes š„
Our last day in Siem Reap was spent touring Angkor Wat. We booked a sunrise tuk-tuk tour, so we arrived at Angkor for 5:00am. The city of temples was full of beautiful relics, but our tour guide spoke barely any English and spent most of the day giggling at himself. It was a little disappointing since we were told we would get an English speaking guide but we didn’t want to be rude. We did our own reading about the temples on Wikipedia later when we got home.
That night, it was time for us to part ways – Kylie was attending her 6-day yoga retreat the next day, so Matt hopped on a night bus to the west coast of Cambodia, Sihanoukville.
Matt’s bachelor week
I arrived in Sihanoukville at 6am. From here I was able to get my ferry ticket to the islands, the main reason I was there. I chose my destination of Koh Rong Sanloem. There were a couple spots to choose from, and I chose M’Pai Bay. A 45 min ferry ride later and I was there, in paradise! It was a beautiful island. I walked around the island twice, scoping out all of the spots to stay. 2 different people ran out of their restaurants to ask if I was lost lol it was very friendly. I settled on a hostel a bit farther away from everything, called the Lookout. It had a great lookout (fitting, I know) over the ocean.
I checked in, and walked around the island a bit. After returning to my hostel, I found out I had a new neighbour in the dorm I was staying. His name was Tom (England) and he had been to the island previously for a few months, so he knew a lot of people there. He invited me to a party at the Two Ducks bar that afternoon, and I obliged. We went to the party, and I was quick to discover there was a large population of English people there on the island, running hostels and bars and other small businesses. The party was a lot of fun, drank a lot of beer, and they even served dinner and with a donation bin that went to the island. Afterwards, we caught the sunset from the Lookout, and then went to the Dragonfly bar next door for the rest of the night.
The next day, Tom and I went snorkelling. It was loads of fun, and we stayed out there for over 4 hours. Saw lots of cool wildlife, including cuttlefish, barracuda, and hermit crabs. Unfortunately, I got really burnt š¦ I was a lobster. I spent a lot of time reading my book, and crashed early. The following day, I spent some time planning our Vietnam trip, and I went for a hike through the jungle. I went to the Dragonfly again that evening, but turned in early. This is when I started to not feel well… I spent the entire night being taken over by a sickness. I was getting chilling waves through my body, high fever, and restlessness all night. I woke the next day, and everyone swore I just had a “clang-over” – a hangover resulting from drinking too many shitty $1 beers. It made sense, but I knew I was actually sick and not just hungover. I scheduled a ferry trip back to the mainland for that afternoon. I booked the cheapest private hotel with AC I could find, and caught a taxi as soon as I got back.
My amazing friends convinced me to go to a doctors office. So, the following day I took a taxi back into town (as the hotel was a bit out of the way). I told the Dr my symptoms, she took me for a blood test, and sure enough I had contracted Dengue Fever, a mosquito borne illness. Go figure – an entomologist contracting an insect borne virus! The Dr prescribed me some immune system enhancing meds (as the only cure is rest) and I went back to the hotel to sleep. I couldn’t get into contact with Ky until the following day around 10am, so I buckled in for a rough 24 hours. The Dr said it could be a 7-14 d illness, and I was only on day 2.
The next day, the wifi crapped out and I actually ran out of data, so I had to venture out of my hotel room to get a top up for my SIM card. I made it just in time to get into contact with Kylie as she was leaving her yoga retreat. We had plans to bus separately and meet up in Phnom Penh, but there was no chance of that happening. Quick change of plans – she was now going to fly to me in Sihanoukville. She arrived at 9:30pm and proceeded to nurse me back to health over the next few days. Phew what a relief it was she had finally arrived!
After a few rough days with Matt’s fever spicking on and off, he finally started to come out of his dengue state enough for us to move on from Cambodia. Next up, Vietnam!
– Ky & Matt
Matt and Ky Travel Thai (+) 