Kampong Cham

Yesterday was a long hard slog and frustrating at the end when we couldn't get any money.  I did manage to get a photo of the tourists in Laos all eager to head to new adventures in Cambodia. There's no one you know in this picture unless by some amazing fluke you've actually crossed paths with some of these youngsters. 

But today, after a little frustration we finally got money. We went to yesterday's out-of-service ATM and tried the machine with both our cards to no effect. Then we went inside and the charming young man there came out with us to help. He got the machine to recognize us, but after it churned away trying to give us money it just gave up. That meant some paper work and telephone calls since it appeared that we were meant to get money and now would need to have it refunded, but they could do nothing else for us.

We then headed to the other bank where, tempting madness,  (you know, repeating over and over the same thing and expecting different results), we popped in our cards again and not at all surprisingly, got the same result - no money. But we went inside again and chatted up another young man who understood our dilemma and found a solution - we went to the teller and she pulled out one of those handy dandy handheld machines they use in restaurants, we inserted our cards and magically it gave us permission to take out money. We were so excited that, after Geordie got money, I decided that I should use my card too. So now we don't have to leave the country for lack of funds. and tonight on our way back from dinner we saw a different bank and decided it was worth a shot, and wonder of wonders, it gave us money. Perhaps you can make sense of their slogan: "BIDC. Be the hand. By the side". 

Oddly though the machines dispense, not Cambodian riels, but American dollars. We've also noticed that restaurants, hotels and bus companies are all quoting prices in dollars and if you ask to pay in riels they work it out using the exchange values. I did change $50.00 into riel so we could buy small sundries like toothpaste or Oreo cookies for the bus trips though. 

That out of the way we decided we should get the hell out of town so immediately booked a bus to our next destination, Kampong Cham. Today's trip was not nearly as long and tortured, either.  We left Kratie at 11:00 am and the only confusion was that our bus headed in the opposite direction to where we were going. The route we had expected goes south-west at a diagonal from Kratie and our bus headed due east! We pulled out the guide book and realized that the bus was taking a long route that loops out to the east, and in almost a perfect semicircle heads back west. We've decided that the route was chosen because the road is in good condition and the other route not. 

For the first while the landscape was like yesterday - a wasteland - but halfway through,  the vegetation finally began to get lush, we passed acres and acres of rubber plantations stretching at one point as far as the eye could see, but we also passed bright green rice paddies and fruit tree plantations too, and this afternoon we learned that part of the area we travelled is given over to the production of fine quality black pepper. I have a feeling that the greenery which we thought was hops for beer was, in fact, pepper bushes. No pictures sadly - buses just don't lend themselves to good photos. 

But we arrived in Kampong Cham by 3:30 pm, only 4.5 hours of travel instead of yesterday's 9. And it turns out that this is the first time we've crossed the Mekong to the western bank, over this  long bridge. 

Now, in the last few days we've been paying 6 to 7 dollars for our rooms. And it showed. In our last place on Don Det the owner had not thought to supply wash basins. Hot shower yes, toilet yes, although when the power was out we couldn't flush because the electric pump didn't work. And at one point our bathroom was invaded by a large colony of ants looking for a new home - thousands of the little buggers  we made short work of them with some borrowed bug spray. 

Well, we've made up for it here. Our hotel is quite flash, with not only a sink (with hot water!) but even a tub. And the bed? Well, see for yourself. 

He feels like the Empress of China, I'm sure. And no, there is no window behind the headboard. 

But isn't it romantic. 

Surely you need to see it again to take in the magnificence of this room. $30:00 a night. 

Somehow, the view of the Mekong is almost a let down after this room, but I'm sure the cruise boat that steamed upriver while we watched from our balcony has a little opulence too. It does have a pool - that I know because I saw a near naked man step out of it as the boat went by.

A less opulent boat was moored on the bank of the river just where the cruise boat sailed by.  How the other half lives. 

And here's the bridge at night - taken from the restaurant where we ate crispy deep fried chicken tonight - way better than the Colonel's.

We've decided it's worth a two night stay by the way - partly because two long travel days in a row is plenty, thank you - and partly of course, well, the bed! .There are some good restaurants near here including one that provides opportunities for orphans and other disadvantaged young people to learn the restaurant trade. We had coffee there this afternoon and will head there for breakfast tomorrow too. I also need to buy socks; somehow I've managed to wear out four pairs - two of which i bought in Mae Sot. Then it's off to Siem Reap where we have already reserved a room for five nights to give us plenty of time to contemplate the wonders of Angkor Wat.