We'll Cross That Bridge When They Build It

It wouldn't have felt right leaving Cambodia without one more epic road trip and that's exactly what we were in for. On the map, getting from Sihanoukville to the Thai border in Hat Lek seemed a piece of cake. Oh those decieving maps. At least, by now, I was getting better at interpreting info about the roads we were to travel. Let me explain... when we entered Cambodia, we had read that the road from Poi Pet to Siem Reap had recently been "upgraded". The "Western Civilization" filter in my brain interpreted that to mean, "nice one...they just repaved the road". The reality was that the road had never been paved in the first place and "upgraded" simply meant that a few pot holes (craters) had been filled in and most of the land mines had been cleared. So when we heard that the road from S'ville to the border was "one of the nicest in Cambodia", I laughed to myself as opposed to getting too excited. It's sort of like talking about "the nicest person in Fulsom Prison"...it becomes very relative.

So, when our cramped mini van (with the broken a/c) pulled out en route to Hat Lek, we were mentaly prepared for "the nicest road in Cambodia". As it turned out, it was actually quite nice (for the most part) for not being paved...untill we reached the first river. "Uhmm...where the f*** is the bridge?" I guess bridges cost quite a bit of cash so, untill that materializes, there is alway the "ferry" service....Cambodian stylee of course. In other words, the "ferry" was three long thin wooden boats lashed together and covered with wooden planks with an improvised bar/restaurant and enough room for four vehicles...sort of. You really have to admire this country...they have nothing but still pull it together to make it happen somehow. Lessons can be learned. Anyhow... we made it accross with out dying and managed to cross three more bridgeless rivers in a similar fashion before reaching the border. As they say, half the fun is getting there.

Now that we are "there" (Bangkok) I'm just hot and sticky and wish I was back on the beach in S'ville. Of course, regularly sneaking into the pool at the 5* Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit has eased the pain a bit. We have a week to kill here untill Radka's visa for Indonesia is ready and then it's on to Bali and Lumbok. So untill then, if you need me, i'll be by the pool