5.13.2010
5.10.2010
5.09.2010
From Never Never Land to the Ruins of Angkor
After the madness of Vang Vieng we needed a bit of a cool-off period- spent a couple days in Vientiane and then headed further south to the 4,000 islands (pretty sure the name is literal). A little boat dropped us off on the deserted end of one, Don Khon, and we hoofed it into a quaint little village and found a room complete with a huge bug in the toilet and papaya tree out front. New record low: $3/night. Slowed down and passed the days bumbling around the islands on rickety old bikes, watching water buffalo and Irrawaddy dolphins (with our new German film-making buddies, Anne and Stefan, who spent three days trying to catch them on tape), and trying to escape the unbearably mean heat in the Mekong, Beer Lao and watermelon in hand. Really rough.
Meandered down to Cambodia and over to Ban Lung in the remote northeastern jungle, explored crater lakes and waterfalls and then packed up for the long ride across the country to Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor...
Now, I think we've been at this long enough that I can say with confidence that there are two things about SE Asian bus travel that you can definitely count on: 1. no matter how full it looks, there is always room for more and 2. it will take at least forever and a day to get there. Just for kicks, I wrote down all the stops on our last bus ride, from Ban Lung to Siem Reap. Paints a pretty typical picture...
6:58am Depart Ban Lung (on the 6:30 bus)
7:02am Stop outside town to wait for a straggler to catch up on motorbike (10 min)
8:00am Morning snack (breaky #2?) for bus driver and crew (20 min)
9:00am Shopping for fish at the side of the road (5 min)
9:53am Pick up several large packages of charcoal (10 min)
11:01am Wait for back hoe to dig out and level a new path for bus to pass (5 min)
11:12am Pick up two stuffed manila envelopes (1 min)
11:38am Lunch (25 min)
12:17pm Drop off and pick up people in Kratie (5 min)
1:13pm Family selects and purchases 6-7 jackfruit (largest tree-bearing fruit in the world, smells and tastes like banana-flavored Laffy Taffy) (10 min)
1:56pm Drop off (1 min)
1:59pm Gas, window wash and cool engine bath (30 min)
3:03pm Drop off (2 min)
3:25pm Drop off (1 min)
3:29pm Drop off (3 min)
3:34pm Drop off (5 min)
3:53pm Change buses (5 min)
4:30pm Potty break/snack time (30 min)
5:04pm Drop off (4 min)
8:27pm Arrive Siem Reap
Grand total: 13.5 hours, almost 3 hrs at a complete stop. Can't wait for the next round!
-E
Meandered down to Cambodia and over to Ban Lung in the remote northeastern jungle, explored crater lakes and waterfalls and then packed up for the long ride across the country to Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor...
Now, I think we've been at this long enough that I can say with confidence that there are two things about SE Asian bus travel that you can definitely count on: 1. no matter how full it looks, there is always room for more and 2. it will take at least forever and a day to get there. Just for kicks, I wrote down all the stops on our last bus ride, from Ban Lung to Siem Reap. Paints a pretty typical picture...
6:58am Depart Ban Lung (on the 6:30 bus)
7:02am Stop outside town to wait for a straggler to catch up on motorbike (10 min)
8:00am Morning snack (breaky #2?) for bus driver and crew (20 min)
9:00am Shopping for fish at the side of the road (5 min)
9:53am Pick up several large packages of charcoal (10 min)
11:01am Wait for back hoe to dig out and level a new path for bus to pass (5 min)
11:12am Pick up two stuffed manila envelopes (1 min)
11:38am Lunch (25 min)
12:17pm Drop off and pick up people in Kratie (5 min)
1:13pm Family selects and purchases 6-7 jackfruit (largest tree-bearing fruit in the world, smells and tastes like banana-flavored Laffy Taffy) (10 min)
1:56pm Drop off (1 min)
1:59pm Gas, window wash and cool engine bath (30 min)
3:03pm Drop off (2 min)
3:25pm Drop off (1 min)
3:29pm Drop off (3 min)
3:34pm Drop off (5 min)
3:53pm Change buses (5 min)
4:30pm Potty break/snack time (30 min)
5:04pm Drop off (4 min)
8:27pm Arrive Siem Reap
Grand total: 13.5 hours, almost 3 hrs at a complete stop. Can't wait for the next round!
-E
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