Getting to work… (+proofread)

Saturday, February 20, 2010

I’m so stressed out right now, and I wonder if writing about today’s journey has any chance of helping me relax. I doubt it. I have little time to catch up on over a week of blogging, so please forgive typos and lack of style.

I left my simple bungalow this morning at 7:30am to catch a boat back to the mainland which would take me to my bus headed to the border. As I ate breakfast at the beach where the boats come in I was shocked to see the number of other travelers that were also waiting for a boat back. Did we all pick the same day to leave the islands? We pack into the boats and head to shore. It took 4 boats to transport us all. Getting on the bus seems relatively smooth. Having been on a later boat I have to get on the third bus, the first 2 are full. But I am reassured by the conductor that the buses are “same-same.” Any will take me to the border to then catch my bus to Kratie.

40 minutes later we arrive at the border, all 40 or so of us. As we wait in line for our exit stamp from Lao we exchange introductions, the usual, “where are you from?” “how long are you traveling for?” “Oh you went!? Did you like it?” “I hated it.” “I loved it.” “I got so wasted there! What a night!” “Most amazing place I’ve been so far.” “I didn’t see much, I was shitting through a needle.”

I attempt a conversation with a girl about how interesting it is that all the Lao women below the age of 40 I’ve encountered in the last 1 week are pregnant. Has she noticed that? Laos’ population is surely going to increase rapidly as it develops over the next couple of years. She’s vaguely interested. We switch to talking about our further travel plans in the next month. Talking to fellow travelers about their experiences is a great way to estimate time spent in places and whether somewhere is worth going, but I’d rather compare observations to see if my thoughts about a country or culture are random or shared. Can I go home with these ideas and share them as perceptions about Laos or were my experiences random series of events that don’t really mean anything about the country? Did someone have the same experience? The most general consensus I have managed to gather from most travelers my age is that Beerlao, the national drink, is supremely better than any of the Thai or Vietnamese beers. I’ve tasted them and I agree… I don’t mean to make all other travelers out to be shallow. I’ve met some wonderful, fascinating travelers that I’ve shared hours of conversation with on buses. But really, I’ve met very few people I could imagine myself traveling with for more than 24 hours because our travel tastes and styles differ so greatly.

So we’re waiting for our exit stamps. It’s my turn, I hand forward my passport and they stamp it. The man hands it back and as I take it he doesn’t let go and says, “20,000 kip?” “Huh?” is my reply. I hadn’t been paying attention. We have to pay an exit fee? Then he says on his own accord, “You already pay?” (There are several men sitting behind the window all handling the passports and money) “Sure.” I reply.

I take my passport and walk away onto the 100meters of road that is no longer Lao, but not quite yet Cambodia. The people standing behind me in line look shocked. What injustice, I didn’t have to pay!! It's sweet sweet vengeance for when they took my Vietnamese visa from me! The irony is that 20,000kip is barely more than $2 (though worth a good dinner!) and I now have no use for my 60,000 remaining kip, so I may as well have spent it. But it’s the principle of the thing. Laos and I are now even.

Two more lines and several fees later we have our Visas and entry stamps. Now we should be able to board out buses to our next destination. People are going to Siem Reap, Phnom Phen, or Kratie. There is only one bus. We are told more buses are coming, we just have to wait. I’m used to this by now and I know we will get out of here eventually, but I’m eager to get to Kratie. I want to book my ticket for a mini-van to Sen Menorum in Kratie and have some time to write my blog…
Welcome to Cambodia, I think as I settle in for a long wait. I’m getting the feeling it’s not so different than Laos.

I head to one of the small stands with cold drinks and snacks. I enjoy an interesting bowl of noodles in a green sauce. I have no idea what it was, I never saw it in Laos. It’s delicious. Several other travelers sit at the table drinking sodas. There is a group of 3 Chinese women traveling together and two older Italians. Suddenly, the single bus starts its engine. The larger group by the bus gets up, starts to hoist their bags and clamber on the bus. The travelers around me abandon their drinks and get up to run across the road to the bus. The women running the snack stand shout at them. At first it sounds like a complaint of, “You didn’t pay!” Then, once the travelers are gone, everyone is smiling and laughing. I’m still sitting there, they told me the bus wouldn’t leave until the other buses came, and I don’t see it going anywhere, so I continue to eat my noodles. “What is it?” I ask. “Driver,” they say, pointing at the man enjoying his noodles calmly at the end of the table. I laugh too. That bus is definitely not going anywhere. I watch 15 minutes later as everyone slowly files back off the bus once they realize this as well.

An hour later still no bus. Apparently the one we are waiting for has broken down and we are waiting for it to be fixed. I’m ok with waiting for things in these countries, but once I know something is broken, I don’t like to wait, I find a different ride. This, however, is not an option since we are on a road at a border so there is no flow of traffic.

Eventually it becomes clear that the broken bus is not going to make it. We cram as many as we can onto the one bus, and the rest of us get into a mini-van. They tell us we will head to the first town, Stung Treng, there will be another bus for us there to take us to our destinations. Whatever, I think. As long as we get into a town I’m happy. As we are finally leaving the border a bus pulls up to the Lao border. It’s the first bus from the landing outside Don Det. Something must have happened to them along the way and they were only now arriving. Who knows how they will get out of the border… Now I’m thankful I didn’t make it onto the first bus this morning, turns out they weren's all "same-same."

In Stung Treng we wait again. The current bus will take people to Siem Riep, the farthest destination. The rest of us must wait for a mythical bus that will come and take us to Kratie, and onwards to Phnom Phen. After 2 hours I am getting nervous. I really want to get to Kratie. My opportunity in Sen Menorum is too important to me and I’m beginning to stress. Before, traveling didn’t stress me so much because I didn’t really care if I made it somewhere in a day or two. Now I have an actual destination to reach for an actual purpose. I start to wonder if we should look for a public bus to Kratie. I don’t care if I lose the money I paid for this ticket.

I read my LP and ask around. Turns out Stung Treng only became connected to the rest of Cambodia by road several years ago, you used to have to take a boat to get there. The bus system is not large, all the public buses leave in the morning only. Waiting for our mythical bus is the only option. So we wait.

Amazingly, at 3:30pm it comes. It’s already full of local passengers. The air is broken and the windows don’t open. The bus is a complete sauna. But it doesn’t matter, it’s a bus. Some of us at this point are more stressed than others, but none of us are so stressed as the Chinese woman leading her two other friends on their trip with the best English. She puts up such a fight with the drivers because she is completely unsatisfied with the “company’s” service. She did not pay so much for a ticket so that she could sit in the aisle of a hot, steamy bus. Her English is impeccable, but she achieves nothing and in the end they are still on the same bus as us. The only bus.

It should only take us 2 hours to reach Kratie. I hope we will arrive by 6pm. About 40 minutes and about a liter of sweat lost later there is an unwelcome, familiar hissing coming from the back of the bus. The tire is punctured. I’m not worried. So far I’ve learned that flat-tires are the best thing that can happen. They are pros at fixing them. 20 minutes and we should be back on the road. I’m surprised when I see them pull out not a spare tire, but several nails and some odd material. One man stands with his finger over the whistling hole. It’s not a proper flat-tire, just a tire with a hole. So, apparently, the logical solution is to stick a nail in it and call it good. We are back on the road in 15 minutes, impressive.

30 minutes later we stop at a road side… mechanic? So now they will replace the tire properly? We wait and watch as they remove the outside rear-right tire. We wait longer. Then we watch as they put the same tire back on, fasten the bolts and honk the horn. Time to get back in. I don’t care if the fix the tire or not, I just want to get there, but it is unsettling to think that this bus seems to not be carrying a spare tire.

It’s now 5:30pm and I really hope we reach Kratie in the next 40 minutes. We have been driving ridiculously slow though. My stress is growing as I think about wanting to buy my ticket, use the internet, take a proper shower, and just know that I am ready to continue the last leg of my journey on time. Traveling with a purpose and time-constraint in developing-countries like these is the worst idea. I should have followed my original plan and aimed to be in Kratie a day early. But Don Det was so nice...

We stop again, too soon after we left with the "replaced" tire. Everyone gets off and the men crowd around the engine in the back of the bus. There are tools out, bottles of water, and a lot of debate. Is the engine overheated? We wait. This is what I was afraid of. The bus seems properly broken this time. I know we can’t be more than 60km from Kratie. The Chinese woman is having a shit-fit. She’s on her iPhone placing calls trying to hire a private cab while also telling the conductor and driver how mad she is. We are all just as frustrated as her, but we know that getting mad won't help the situation. If we could all get to Kratie we could figure out our independent travel plans.

Our current tickets are quickly losing their value. The sun is almost set and I’m reminded of being stuck on the side of the road outside Oudamaxai with Dina. I want to get to town, we’re not that far away. I walk out into the road and wave down the first empty-bed truck that passes. They slow down and I yell “Kratie?” They stop!! I get the attention of the Canadian girl and Dutch couple I’ve been talking to. Let’s go, I’m not waiting for this bus to be fixed or not fixed. Besides, this truck will drive 3 times faster than that bus.

To my amazement all of the travelers on the bus, including the Chinese women, decide to take the truck. We crowd on, laughing and taking pictures of each other, relieved to have a mode of transportation that we have some confidence in. And a breeze! What a relief.

At one point on the truck, once it is dark, someone shouts the name of the town they think we passed through. The name of town that is further south than Kratie. No? This can’t be happening! I cannot miss Kratie, I cannot afford to spend the night anywhere else because I need to leave first thing in the morning for Sen Menorum. Thinking back at the Ninh Binh incident in Vietnam, and how easy it is for me to be headed to the wrong place because I can’t read a single sign, I decide I can’t wait to find out. I bang on the rear window of the driver cabin. They pull over and I shout, “Kratie?” Are we still going to Kratie? They point ahead of us, yes, we are still headed to Kratie. Thank goodness. I relax a little.

When I get off the bus in Kratie I am so relieved. I walk directly to the guesthouse listed in the LP as having internet. They're full. I ask to buy a ticket for a mini-van to Sen Menorum. A mini-van is much less likely to break down and they drive faster, it’s my best assurance to know that I will reach Sen Menorum with plenty of time to spare. The man at the guesthouse calls to book my ticket. The mini-van is already full he tells me. Ahh! This can’t be happening. This is why I wanted to get to Kratie early. “What are my options?” I ask. I’ll sit on the floor of the mini-van if I have to. The only option is to take the public bus he says. I will have to transfer in a town called Snoul. The bus leaves at 9am. 9am!?! That’s so late! That gives me little flexibility in case things go wrong, and I’ve heard the road to Sen Menorum is bad.

I’m getting more and more stressed. I know that if I’m latter than the planned 7pm to meet Liz and Jennifer it will probably be ok, but I’d really rather be early or at the very least, on-time. Resigned for the worst, I head to the bus station to buy a ticket. Mercifully, there are two women still selling tickets at 8pm. She tells me the bus leaves at 7am for Sen Menorum! Never before have I been so happy to know I will have to wake up at 6am.

Now I’ve found a guesthouse and I am desperately trying to catch up on my blogs which is impossible before the internet places shut down for the night. I’m sorry I’ve been so behind. I have so many stories to tell, including ones that would make the context of this story much more meaningful…