Day 65, Friday 09 march 2012, Siem Reap to Phnom Penh
Last night in Siem Reap, I have enjoyed staying here, lots to see and do, nice people and pretty cheap, definitely another place to put on my list of places to return to one day.
I woke feeling tired and groggy and a bit upset in the stomach, which never bodes well when you have a five hour bus trip ahead. I packed my gear and went down for a coffee at 6.15 so I was ready for the pick up to take us to the bus some time between 6.40 and 7.10. The coffee proved something was astray as I pretty much had to run straight back to the loo, definitely not a good sign…
With fingers crossed we got onto the Paramount Express Services bus to Phnom Penh. I DO NOT recommend this bus company. Yes the driver was safe, but the five hour ride took almost seven, not just due to traffic – the ONE stop turned into two stops plus the twenty or so stops to pick people up and drop them off on the way (cash jobs) . The promised loo wasn’t there (thankfully I was so empty I didn’t need it), the aircon barely worked and a load of the seats were broken in some form or other. Not the VIP service we were sold.
Mike has a few paper backs so I am reading a book book at the moment, non-stop trash action (killer – killer whales anyone ?) but it kept me amused on the bus. I did spend some time looking out the window as southern Cambodia rolled past, if I had the chance it would be nice to spend some time on a bike pedalling some of the back roads and taking photos, for such a poverty stricken and war impacted country it is quite beautiful in parts, but not in a glorious mountain scene way, hard to explain.
We finally made it to Phnom Penh at almost 2:30, two hours later than expected, not that I was up to much anyway. We took a tuk tuk from the bus to the hostel I had booked on line. Me Mates Place, again not in the main block of hostels, so a walk to the river and grand palace, but it was supposed to be quiet (it was) and had good reviews. It appears to be a nice hostel, it has a restaurant/bar which I was first a bit nervous about as some times these can be noisy, but it seems well sound proofed and it was a quiet night on Friday.
I risked a burger and fries – the burger was the best I have had on my travels – yum, and a banana shake while blogging Preah Vihear. this was followed by an early night and I made it to bed with dinner intact, though stomach rumbling away !
Funnily enough I had only commented yesterday morning how I been travelling for two months with no stomach issues!
Where is Phil now? 
Sounds like it wasn’t the biggest tummy upset. Phew! Hopefully, it is building your immunity in preparation for the big one. Either that or it is depleting your gut flora and you will be more vulnerable. Half full or half empty? Either way, take care 🙂
Fortunately nothing major, just a frustration when there is things to do and places to see…. As you may have noticed I am not one to sit still all day 🙂
I am expecting it to building my immunity, Myanmar in 2 days so need to be good for that.