Thur 12th Mar – Kratie to Siem Riep
Another long car drive. Again, after Laos, this is like Moo Moo Meadows. There are two seconds of unsealed road that causes mild bumps and I hear echoes of ‘oh oh’ cascade through the bus. Ladies, please. This must be what Declan feels when I dig my fingers deeply into his arm during ‘turbulence’.
The tour group is super easy. I shouldn’t complain. But…
That one Canadian who used to work in IT and in her retirement volunteers with dogs and cats (I ran out of interest to inquire what exactly about dogs and cats…). If you were to write off someone based on those two facts I would say: efficient use of your scarce resources.
And there is one Australian woman who cannot for her life comprehend information. Poor soul means well and wants to be liked but her brain is leaky.
Then the other Canadian, who reminds me of Pearl in appearance so commands much of my respect, keeps wanting to know how genuine her experiences are. These people are dirt poor, don’t worry they are cutting the coconut and serving it to you – just because you didn’t see it doesn’t mean it is a scam! Honestly all these people do all day is cut open coconuts. What grand scheme do you think they are concocting? I want to shake her and say, “stop asking how these goods are made. It’s exactly what you want but it is actually really sad when you see it. It’s a human doing labour you don’t want to, why are you expecting them to be proud of it?”
Honestly they are fine.
It’s just a long bus ride.
I buy a scarfy-thing too. Support the women, and all.
We all know who fed a bear for two days in the group.
Next to the restaurant a female massage touter weakly greets guests with a “Sabidee”. This is Laotian for hello. She’s understood tourists don’t care what Asian language you speak so may as well make it easy for yourself and revert back to the home language.
Coincidentally, the Austrian tourist next to me has just come from Laos.
“How did you find it?” I ask.
She shuffles in her chair so that she is looking me dead in the eye and says, “I was so relieved to leave.”
I’m excited to see Angkor Wat tomorrow. I rewatched Placebo’s Angkor Wat set on the bus today in preparation.
I can tell by your interpersonal anecdotes that you are feeling better! Don’t worry I am sure by the end of the tour you will have even stronger feelings 😅
Favourite photo: literally fish out of water 🙂 would you believe that due time Iran the Coffs marina is now on fuel restrictions which is affecting the fishing fleet here. Crazy how quickly things can fall apart.
Things I had to google:
Moo moo meadows
Amok curry recipe
Joshua Chiang
That cocktail looks yum.
I am glad you touched the gold!!
I am also very excited for Angkor Wat. Bucket list 👌
Love you heaps xx
Nice recovery with the forgotten shopping.
Mum: that is surprising about the Coffs marina. Why do they have a restriction? Can’t you buy as much fuel as you want so long as you pay for it?
I dont fully understand it but I think the situation in Iran has slowed supply and this combined with some panic buying has meant independent fuel stations that aren’t on contracts with the big fuel companies all of a sudden can’t get enough fuel to sell especially in rural and regional areas.
Becoming reminiscent of covid toilet paper…but is a serious problem for farmers etc
I would pay a premium to buy the fish sitting in the shade
Your tour guide is a good looking dude. Has he been running the tour well.
Do you think that the shopping would have been forgotten if Declan was still with you
Nice that it was still there when you returned.
Did you or any of the other ladies haggle at the silk place.
If you did haggle what was the initial price and what was the final price. Bit like being back at work. Where you a price maker or taker.
Dad: That’s funny about the fish. Fresh from the river but not kept fresh in the sun.
The tour guide has been good. He’s very organised and experienced at the job. It makes it super easy to be a guest.
My issue with the shopping is I had my backpack on the ground with my foot through it (Declan encouraged me to use this method) while I was having a drink and playing on my phone. So I don’t have to worry about anyone yanking it. But then the owner of the bar got offended and told me to put my backpack on the chair next to me. “Siem Reap very safe.” I didn’t really want to but felt pressured to. But my shopping bag was still on the floor. So that’s how I ended up leaving it… I grabbed my backpack from the seat and forgot to get the second bag from my feet.
Would that have happened if Declan was there? Impossible to say…
The guide did mention on the bus we could haggle and then no one did. I was the last to buy one so I felt social pressure that I couldn’t. If I got a cheaper price then all the other ladies would feel bad.
I can’t remember exactly how much money was. Around A$40.
Pressure got to you twice.
If I was buying something more expensive I might engage in some light hearted lazy haggling for some respectful interaction with the vendor. I would hope to receive some minor price reduction where both parties felt ok about the transaction. It was something I watched my dad do all the time so old habits are hard to break.
In the end the bar owner was correct. The area was safe as your shopping was still there when you returned. Had someone picked it up and handed it to the staff or was it still where you left it.
Dad: but would you have haggled when four people in a six people tour did not? I felt like I would have soured their experience if I got a lower price than everyone else.
My shopping was right where I left it. A thief would have been very disappointed with their haul if they’d taken my bag home: cute notebook, a card and a kids graphic novel…
The Moo Moo Meadows comparison is gold – nothing like a minor bump to turn a tour bus into a disaster movie. Glad to hear your “bio-flora” is finally winning the battle, even if that celebratory cocktail led to a 14-minute tuk-tuk rescue mission for the silk.
Maddy: Being sick on annual leave should be banned from the laws of nature. Save that business for sick leave days at work!!