I'm Gonna Miss Saigon

I left HCMC this morning, and I am writing this from the hotel lobby where I am staying in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It was a decent bus ride, which I will discuss in a bit. First, my final impressions of Vietnam.

1. All the people I met in HCMC were really, really nice people. I got the impression that they were just interested in getting to know me, and not trying to see how much money I have. I know that sounds crass, but in many places in Asia, there is a lot of that going on. With the exception of one unscrupulous Cylco driver, I really think people in VN are super nice and genuinely friendly.
   
2. Food. You can't beat street stall food for quality vs. price. I think most of the best meals I had were in tiny little roadside restaurants. Quite cheap, and quite tasty.
   
3. Motorbikes carry more than just people here. I saw all sorts of things being carried on a simple little Honda Dream. Quite often, I've seen two people on a bike, with some large signage wedged in between them, so that the passenger can't see at all. I've seen 5 people on one little bike. I saw one guy with what appeared to be a mobile fire pit on the back seat. I am not too sure what it would be for, but the fire was ablaze.
   
4. Police on motorbikes, ride two to a bike. That must be quite the power struggle every day, choosing who gets to be the driver, and who gets to ride shotgun and make siren noises (just kidding).

My trip to Cambodia was slow, and interesting. The bus ride itself was normal (regular bus, regular seats), but the process of getting out of Vietnam and getting into Cambodia was kinda weird. Part way through the trip, the driver slowed the bus down (didn't stop - just slowed down), and some guy hopped on through the open door. He seemed 'official', as he was asking for our VN departure card and $25 USD for the Cambodian Visa. We eventually arrived at the VN border about an hour later. We were marshalled off the bus, and sent in to the Customs room, with our luggage. Our passports were surrendered, and our luggage was x-rayed. We emerged through 'the other side', and took our luggage and passports, and got back on the bus.

The bus was moved about 100 metres further, and we all got off again, at the Cambodian border. Passports in hand, we all march off the bus and hand over the passports again. About 20% of the luggage was x-rayed (a sample?) and then we all got back on the bus. We were driven to a roadside food stall for a lunch break (Cambodian street food is good too!). A half hour later, we hop back on the bus and are given our passports back, with a new Visa attached.

A few hours later, I was woken up from my little snooze, to be informed that my stop was coming up. My luggage was rustled up from the back of the bus (when did it come IN to the bus? It was in the luggage storage area to begin with) and the bus pulled over. I hopped off, and was greeted by some scruffy old man shouting "Mr. Robert? Mr. Robert?". I looked around, and was unhappy to not see a hotel or a taxi. He grabbed my suitcase, and told me to hop on to the back of his vintage motorbike. And I am sure most of you know, I don't pack too light. So, there I was scurrying down the busy rush hour streets of Phnom Penh, on a bike with some old guy, a large suitcase squeezed in between us, and a camera back pack on my back. It must have been a great site.

I checked in to the Castle Hotel (finally, the Knight returns to the Castle). It's pretty nice. They claim 4 stars, but I think it's in a scale of 7. I usually judge a hotel on the bathroom, and whether or not it provides a nice comfy robe. Robe, check. Bathroom, not too bad. The area around the hotel is pretty good, from what I can see. I walked around a little while, and was swarmed by street urchins. The city seems quite nice, and English is spoken everywhere. And the USD reigns supreme. When you buy something, they tell you the price in USD, but only provide Cambodian Riel in change. Sneaky.

Tomorrow, I will do a city tour, with a private tour guide. Hopefully, it's not on the back of a vintage motorbike, driven by a septegenarian.