Danny's Weblog

Overview of Cambodia trip in August 2003

In August 2003 I went from Pattaya in Thailand to Phnom Penh in Cambodia and back, partly for tourism and partly to get a new Thai visa (which can only be done outside Thailand). I made daily notes but did not write them up on the computer till September, so there are many asides which refer to later experiences.

I had previously uploaded the first day of the trip to "poipet1". I'm leaving poipet1 where it is, but putting a copy here.

I'm backdating the files to the nominal date so they don't fill up the main page. You can reach them here. (Remember that this site presents entries in *reverse* chronological order.)

www.panix.com [http://www.panix.com/~dannyw/weblog/Asia/Cambodia/Augtrip/]

After the trip, I also wrote an article about Cambodian teach-yourself books. I failed to upload this for a long time and I've changed my mind on a few thjings, so I've backdated this too (to November).

You can access it here:

www.panix.com [http://www.panix.com/~dannyw/weblog/Asia/Cambodia/cambodianbooks1.html]

I have a number of photos illustrating various points of this trip but they aren't integrated with the text yet. Some of the photos which I have already upload, however, are provided with a short tag which explains a point referred to in the text.

I planned the trip a little casually, largely based on information on the talesofasia.com website.

1. The information I'd gained from talesofasia.com was generally reasonable. I was certainly glad I was prepared for Poi Pet. My only quibble with his suggestions is that I don't think it helps to snarl at people who are just trying to sell you stuff, even if they're trying to rip you off. I think a polite "no thankyou" works better for two reasons. One is that it makes you seem more in control, ie you won't make them think that if they keep pestering you you're going to break down and buy something! The other is that it's just less draining.

2. I was no more impressed by Angkor than I thought I was going to be. Maybe it would have helped if I'd read up on it beforehand, although I had been very undecided prior to the trip whether I was going to bother with that stop at all. Also, having now read up on it a little, it seems that the stuff that interests me most, ie the practical realities of the architecture, is least studied. (I suspect it's easier for blowhards to whiffle about the significance of the saraband in the myth of the monkey gods than come up with a plausible explanation for how anything actually worked.)

3. Cambodia strangely enough seems both less satisfactory and more expensive than Thailand. The only thing that was cheaper and OK was the internet cafe I went to in Phnom Penh. Actually, it occurs to me the books on Cambodian were pretty cheap.

4. The arrangements for getting your Thai visa in PP now are ridiculous. I should of course have checked their website first. As I was under no time pressure it didn't matter to me, but this will hardly be the case for most people. It is not surprising that I saw far fewer farangs here than in Vientiane (although actually, because of the abominable dog-eat-dog pushing and shoving in Vientiane I personally would never go back there, whereas I might go to PP again.)

5. I speak more Thai and Cambodian than most farangs I meet, but I was barely able to get around without disasters. I think it would be a mistake for anyone to try to do this trip without at least several weeks of study of the languages.

6. It's interesting that I've stayed over a year in Thailand with no serious diarrhea, but got it bad enough in a few days in Cambodia that I had to delay my trip by a day. Another reason to travel with friends (and to arrange that each of you eats a different meal). At least figure out how to ask for electrolyte powder (also called salt replacement additive for fluid loss); in case you didn't know, diarrhea causes your balance of "electrolytes", ie sodium and potassium salts, to get out of balance, causing general weakness and malaise which you can easily counteract by drinking this mixture of electrolytes with water. Probably you should ask a good English speaker to buy a packet (with Cambodian for you in advance, and keep it with you so you can feebly wave it later on when you need more.

7. Even in Thailand the provisions for travellers are ludicrously inadequate, and in Cambodia travel is positively scary. Signage, schedules and announcements are all lacking (even if you can read the language). Overbooking routinely turns a strenuous trip into an ordeal. Toilets may be nonexistent or disgusting. Road conditions are impossible to predict.

8. Overall the trip is simply too dangerous to recommend to anyone. At several points noone on earth knew where I was, or expected me, except a driver who must have been aware I was carrying more in cash and valuables than he earned in months. And if we had gone off the road it might have been days before we were found, and I would have had to be airlifted to Thailand. All I could suggest is that you travel as a group of at least three people.

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