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Cuba - More than old cars
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Location Date North America 1496098800 South America 1495753200 Europe 1470006000 Oceania 1466377200 Asia 
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Location Date Siem Reap 1404428400 Kampong Thom Province 1404169200 Phnom Penh
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Location Date Mon, 30 June 2014 1404146820 Sun, 29 June 2014
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Yes, I (Bruce) duplicated the blog entry for yesterday. It had nothing to do with the 3 frozen Margaritas at US$1.50 each or the 2 beers at US$0.50 each that had been consumed beforehand. I think it was Brett's fault! Anyway the entry has now been corrected.
Off to the airport to find out that, although we had documentation provided by our tour guide confirming our flight, there was no booking for us. After an investigation by Vietnam airlines they found that our bookings showed up on their system under the date of May 29. This is the second time this has happened to Bruce with a Vietnam booking although the first was with a hotel. No problem however as there were seats on the flight and all we had to do was pay USD30 each and we would get on. We of course did this whereupon we were on our way to Phnom Penh.
At Phnom Penh airport we met our guide and 3 new members of the tour (or are we the new members of the tour?) all of whom had been on our flight which had originated in Hanoi and was going to Ho Chi Minh City through Vientiane and Phnom Penh, as you do. These folks had been on a Travel Indochina tour in Vietnam which was finishing up in Cambodia. We would meet up with one other person at the hotel. There are now 8 on the tour (6 Aussies and us) plus a kiwi guide, a driver and a local guide. This is a really good number.
After checking into the hotel 4 of us decided a trip to the Russian Market was on the cards and had a Tuk Tuk organised for us. The driver would wait at the market and bring us back – mainly because he gets paid when we get back. Imagine a taxi driver in NZ, or Oz for that matter, doing that! This market is nothing about Russian goods; it was built by the Russians years ago when they were the most predominant foreigners in Cambodia. It was the quintessential market with narrow alleys, everything you could ever want to buy crammed into small cubicle spaces, lots of people and hot. It did cool off a bit as the skies opened while we were inside. We eventually found our way back to the entrance we came in and our Tuk Tuk driver for the return trip to the hotel.
Later that evening we met up with our guide and other tour members for a briefing from Dave, our guide, followed by a dinner at the Friends Restaurant. Friends is an organisation that takes kids off the streets and teaches them a vocation in the restaurant business. They also have a number of avenues of raising money to do this apart from operating restaurants. When we travelled through Vietnam with Travel Indochina we were introduced to the Koto Restaurant in Hanoi which was a similar setup operated by a Vietnamese man who grew up in Australia. It is estimated that there are about 20,000 children living on the streets of Phnom Penh.
It looks like we have another good travel group.
Off to the airport to find out that, although we had documentation provided by our tour guide confirming our flight, there was no booking for us. After an investigation by Vietnam airlines they found that our bookings showed up on their system under the date of May 29. This is the second time this has happened to Bruce with a Vietnam booking although the first was with a hotel. No problem however as there were seats on the flight and all we had to do was pay USD30 each and we would get on. We of course did this whereupon we were on our way to Phnom Penh.
At Phnom Penh airport we met our guide and 3 new members of the tour (or are we the new members of the tour?) all of whom had been on our flight which had originated in Hanoi and was going to Ho Chi Minh City through Vientiane and Phnom Penh, as you do. These folks had been on a Travel Indochina tour in Vietnam which was finishing up in Cambodia. We would meet up with one other person at the hotel. There are now 8 on the tour (6 Aussies and us) plus a kiwi guide, a driver and a local guide. This is a really good number.
After checking into the hotel 4 of us decided a trip to the Russian Market was on the cards and had a Tuk Tuk organised for us. The driver would wait at the market and bring us back – mainly because he gets paid when we get back. Imagine a taxi driver in NZ, or Oz for that matter, doing that! This market is nothing about Russian goods; it was built by the Russians years ago when they were the most predominant foreigners in Cambodia. It was the quintessential market with narrow alleys, everything you could ever want to buy crammed into small cubicle spaces, lots of people and hot. It did cool off a bit as the skies opened while we were inside. We eventually found our way back to the entrance we came in and our Tuk Tuk driver for the return trip to the hotel.
Later that evening we met up with our guide and other tour members for a briefing from Dave, our guide, followed by a dinner at the Friends Restaurant. Friends is an organisation that takes kids off the streets and teaches them a vocation in the restaurant business. They also have a number of avenues of raising money to do this apart from operating restaurants. When we travelled through Vietnam with Travel Indochina we were introduced to the Koto Restaurant in Hanoi which was a similar setup operated by a Vietnamese man who grew up in Australia. It is estimated that there are about 20,000 children living on the streets of Phnom Penh.
It looks like we have another good travel group.
- comments
Gael Hmmm. I also can't imagine getting back to your tuk tuk or rather your taxi in New Zealand or Australia to find that someone else hadn't snaffled it! It's great the amount of trust and standing by your word is the norm there - from all accounts! Interesting to learn that the Russians were the largest population of foreigners originally. Most informative. Thanks.