Back Into Sruk Khmer
The following morning I reported to the guest house where I had purchased a minivan ticket all the way to Stung Treng, Cambodia. The owner, Mr. Pon then tells me at the last minute that I would be going by motorcycle since I was the only one going. As it were, I was not surprised at having been sold one thing and receiving something completely different. So off I go on the back of a 110cc Honda with my big backpack on my back and trying to stay on as we weave around the dirt roads in a vain attempt at avoiding the bigger pot holes.
Fortunately it was only about forty-five minutes after crossing a pontoon motorcycle barge to the real minivan that would be taking me somewhere. This barge consisted of two shady wooden boats with a platform connecting the two and a motor. At the minivan I was joined by ten other tourists going in different directions. About 2/3 were going sight seeing and the rest into Cambodia. We dropped off the sight seers while those of us crossing the border got stamped out of Lao for a one dollar administrative fee. Funny thing is I’m sure a couple I talked to who got on the boat to sight see also said they were supposed to go to Cambodia. Well, they didn’t with the rest of us.
We then switched minivans again, getting into one that pulled up with people coming from Cambodia. At the real border we all got our stamps for another one dollar fee and off we went. Only about two hours after crossing the border we arrived across the river from Stung Treng and took a ferry across for about ten cents a person. There is also a brand new bridge spanning the river that isn’t open yet. It is of Chinese construction and there is quite the debate about this. The Chinese are building a “super highway” to connect itself with all of South East Asia. My personal opinion is that it cannot be a good thing and I fear that Cambodia’s rapidly depleting natural resources will only deplete faster with this.
In the minivan I met a trio of European travelers and we all hung out for the rest of the afternoon and evening before breaking up to go our separate ways in the morning. It was a fun group of very nice people, a German, French, Dutch, and me. We exchanged contacts and perhaps will meet again.
In Stung Treng, a sizable city nearest the Lao border, I was made aware of how clean and nice Lao was. Stung Treng like every other city or town in Cambodia is littered with trash. Rotting fruits and vegetables, empty gum wrappers, plastic wraps and empty potato chip bags litter the streets. I had gotten used to it in my four months in Phnom Penh, but having spent an entire month wandering around, the sight was a bit shocking and disgusting. It really is invisible to the local population who have much more important things to worry about.
