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Kompong Cham..
From Siem Reap, we took the public bus to Kompong Cham. Not impressed with the early start... We got off the bus in Phnom Penh and were immediately mobbed at the door by tuk tuk drivers, women selling baguettes, and kids selling books and bracelets. After sitting in airconditioned 'comfort' for the past couple of hours, stepping back into the heat and the shouting and the crazy traffic was a bit of a shock, and everyone looked a bit frazzled while trying to get all our luggage off the bus amid all the hawking and honking. We had another smaller bus waiting for us though, and once the luggage was switched over, we had time for an early lunch at a not-for-profit restaurant which raises money for an orphanage attached to the back. Most of us (including me) wimped out and had pizza (how very Cambodian).
Arrived in Kompong Cham a couple of hours later - it's a bit of a nothing town, and could easily be chopped from the itinerary - very run down, nothing to do in the town itself. We arrived after another long bus ride, settled into our hotels, then jumped into tuk tuks for our "family lunch". We arrived at a small wooden hut on stilts to find places laid out on a long mat on the floor, and the food started coming out almost straight away. Yummy curries, stir fried vegies, amok, fried pork, spring rolls and plenty of rice - so much for losing some weight while I'm on holidays! We also got to chat to the people who lived there, and got introduced to their kids (one of which was asleep in a hammock and not impressed with being woken up by a bunch of strange white people).
We headed back to our hotel, jumped on pushbikes (very rickety old ones with baskets on the front), rode to the ferry (which was just a big wooden barge) and went across to a small island to spend the afternoon riding through farmland and dodging the cows which wander around on the road. The hospitality of the people here is still pretty mind-blowing. Someone pointed out fruit growing on one of the trees and asked what it was - next thing we know, we're inside someone's house being handed fans and fruit chopped up on a plate! Turns out it was someone Haing knew, but this lady didn't know us and still invited ten random strangers inside!
Bryan and Scott then decided that racing on gravel on crappy old bikes was a really good a idea - good thing Haing had a first aid kit... Bryan had some pretty impressive gouges out of his arms and legs, which the locals found fascinating - they all stopped what they were doing and came over to watch the first aid demonstration.
After riding for a while and sweating off half my body weight we rode past a school which was having an English lesson. Haing went inside to chat and then we were asked in to help the kids practice their English - was nice to visit somewhere and actually do something useful this time!
The next morning we jumped back in yet another bus, and headed off for our homestay. It was a bit weird though, and not very home-ish, kind of a just token stop. We arrived the village, had a quick look at where we'd be sleeping, but since the owners weren't there, we didn't stay long.
Being all hot and smelly and sweaty from hours on a bus everyone just wanted to get clean! There weren't any showers in the village, so Haing took us to a swimming area nearby. Having just seen the Mekong River (which looks like something you'd find in a choc-milk carton, but not quite so appetising), we were pretty doubtful, but after a very bumpy road and stopping to push the bus over a massive ditch (which had to be filled with branches to get across) we arrived at a pretty groovy swimming spot in fairly clear water. The water was nice and warm, and the locals swimming there seemed to make a point of getting out of the water to stand on the bank and just stare at all the strange, half-naked westerners. But the novelty soon wore off and they disappeared again.
A few of us were just floating around and gossipping and realised we could hear lots of yelling coming from the other side of the rocks - climbing over, we found Haing slipping and sliding down some rapids - natural waterslide! Yay! Turns out there's a pretty big rock halfway down though, which my arse had no trouble finding....
From there it was on to the community 'restaurant' (aka: shed with cooking gear out the back) where we were fed still more curries, amoks, rice, and plenty of fruit (at least I was eating something healthy!). After sitting around the campfire for a while (and being blinded by wandering smoke), it was back to the village. We actually did get time to meet the people who lived there and talk to them (via Haing, since they didn't speak any English). They were fascinated by Ruffin, asking him how tall he was (6'5), and asking us all questions about marriage, education, and comparing notes.
This homestay was a bit more flash than the other one - less mud, and most of the beds were actually off the floor. I did see a rat run along the top of the wall, but I'm sure it had a gold tooth... Getting to the toilet was interesting though - the cow lying on the path really didn't want to move....
Next morning, a quick tour through the rice paddies with the owner of the house, then back on the bus for breakfast and the part of the trip we've all been waiting for - the beach! Sihanoukville, here we come! Woohoo!
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