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To shake off our morning grogginess all four of us had a swim in the sea followed by breakfast at the Jay Bar. A Thai omelette certainly seemed to get rid of any hangover that we might of had. We knew we had plenty of travelling to do so set off early, getting a truck to the ferry, which took us back across to the Laem Ngop on the mainland. After some bartering we were in another truck taking us to the bus station in Trat. When we arrived at the station our truck driver decided to persuade us to come with him to Thai-Cambodia border "for a better price" than the bus. After much deliberation and some more bartering the driver got his way. We were back in the truck heading to the border. We were all pretty excited about going to a new country but as we approached the border our excitement turned to apprehension. The locals didn't seem to be smiling anymore as it was all a lot more serious and we were the only Westerners around. We got our passports stamped on the Thai side, (which was the easy bit) then walked about 200 metres, backpacks on, along a path in what can be described as 'no-mans land'. It was neither Thailand nor Cambodia.
The minute we set foot on Cambodia soil we were mobbed. People were trying to 'help us' with the passport control, sell us fake cigarettes, drugs and God knows what else. After nearly 45 minutes of enduring this, waiting for our visas we eventually left and headed to the nearest town, Krong Koh Kong, in a taxi. Which wasn't actually a taxi, but just a Cambodian guy who gave us a lift...for money.
We really didn't know what to expect from Cambodia, but after that first experience we were a bit tentative. We could already see big differences between here and Thailand. It felt like Thailand but with an edge, a more wild west version and also very clearly, poorer.
We found a nice place to stayon the river, getting ourselves a double bedroom with bathroom, air-con and even a tv. It was nicer than anywhere we'd stayed in Thailand but ridiculously cheaper (only 200baht - £4). We found ourlselves also having to deal with three currencies; Thai Baht, US Dollars and Cambodian Riel. It got quite confusing because everywhere would accept Dollars, some places would accept Thai Baht and nowhere took Riel. Yet, when we paid with either Baht or Dollars, we would get Cambodian Riel as change.
We were probably getting slightly ripped off everytime this happened, but it made very little odds to us as it was so cheap anyway and we felt bad enough paying so little when it was such a poor area.
This was a completely new experience for all of us. It seemed as if we were the only Westerners in the town and as we wandered around people would been looking at us, especially the children who would always say hello. I think it was the least English speaking place we had ever been, and actually for the first time made me feel very far from home.
That night after taking the place in, all four of uswent for a very fancy meal by the riverside and had an early night after the long day travelling.
The following day started brightly but ended with probably the most traumatic experience of both our lives.
We'd had breakfast and then sorted out bus tickets for the following day to Sihanoukville and then whiled away the afternoon in a riverside bar having lunch, playing pool and chatting. The past few days I had had a bit of pain in my throat and ahd stopped taking the malaria tablets thinking it was being caused by them. When back at the hotel I looked in the mirror at my throat and was shocked to find it very red an inflamed. Slightly concerned, we went on the search for a Doctor and after a little while found one. His English wasn't great but managed to get across that I had acute pharyngitis and I was given a bag of antibiotics, (which could have been anything). Either way, I started taking them. Feeling a little more relieved that it was just an infection we went to meet the Aussies at a restaurant for dinner. I hadn't been feeling great whislt eating but just presumed it was the infection and that I needed to rest. So after we'd eaten we walked back and it was then I experienced the worst feeling I'd ever had. My throat felt tight, my breathing became very difficult and I thought I was about to collapse, so I sat down, literally in the middle of the street, to the shock of Kirsty and the guys.
I don't really recall too much of the next half hour but I remember very vividly sitting there drinking water being surrounded by people and the look of horror on Kirstys face.
Kirsty managed to get me back to the bedroom, where for a while we stayed hoping for this episode to go. Unfortunately this was only the beginning of a very long night.
The tightness in my throat wasn't going and admittedly I began to panic. The thoughts running through my head were completely irrational but at the time, seemed to very real. We decided to got to the hospital, which turned out to be easier said than done. After many panicked attempts to convey to our hotel owner what we wanted, he finally understood and hailed a random guy on a motorbike. We both jumped on the back not knowing whether the driver even knew where we wanted to go. He ended up taking us to the Doctors that I had been to earlier in the day, but was now shut. It was already about 10pm and nearly everything in town was shutting. This did no good for mental states. The driver then took us to another Doctors, which was also shut, but this time he banged on the door, waking up a a guy who was apparantly a Doctor. He came out and tried to help but clearly spoke no English and no matter how hard Kirsty tried to explain what was wrong, he didn't understand, let alone know what to do. When the Doctor had come out he had turned on a few lights and over the next few minutes we were engulfed by swarms of moths. It got to the point where we all had to run outside as they were bouncing of us and felt like we couldn't breathe. The night had turned into a nightmare, everything was going wrong and it didn't seem like it was going to get any better.
We had a map of the town and there was a red hospital cross just north of the town and so we decided to just walk to it. My throat hadn't eased, I was still struggling to breathe and I was probably on the verge of a panic attack. Kirsty, although scared, stayed remarkably calm as we finally found what seemed to be a hospital at 2am.
The hospital was an old, brick bungalow type building, with no windows but just holes in the walls. We eventually found a Doctor who thankfully had someone with him who spoke a small amount of English. I was put onto a solid bed and given oxygen and after a while an injection into my bum. Neither of us knowing what it was, despite many attempts from them to explain.
I fell in and out of sleep for the next four hours or so with Kirsty by my side, and we walked back to the hotel at about 7 am. I was feeling slightly better but very weak and both of us were still feeling quite traumatised from the horrible night.
We said goodbye to the Aussies and left Koh Kong on the back of a tuk-tuk to the border once again. The plan was to go back to Trat and take it easy there for a while, knowing that if anything was to happen, there was a hospital that was a lot more English speaking and felt a lot safer.
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