I asked my minibus driver if there was any accommodation in town, and he told me to turn left from the customs buildling and head along the road and I’d find the casino and a few guesthouses. Well I turned left but it must have been the wrong road because I walked for ages and found nothing at all. Well not nothing – I found a bunch of Cambodian kids who all wanted to say “Hello!” to me. I felt like a celebrity, and I got the feeling that not many tourists actually set foot in the town except to jump off the bus and onto a boat.
Finally I realised I was on the wrong road and went across one street to the main road and there in the distance I spied what looked like it might be the casino. The scenery on the way there was spectacular. The whole area here grows corn, lots and lots of corn. They don’t eat any of it in Cambodia, they export the lot – US$250 per ton.
I was just walking in the gates of the casino when two other tourists were coming out. They told me that it was an awful place to stay, but that their bus driver had introduced them to a local guy who spoke a bit of English, and had a little concrete “guest room” attached to his house. Sounded good to me, so I they led the way and introduced me to Hen Henry Jim Song. He turned out to be a great guy and I had a huge chat with him about Cambodia and about his town. It costs US$50 to rent a property in the town for an entire year. I’m thinking about going back and setting up shop for a while….. Oh, except they have no power and no internet. Hmmmm….
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| Hen Henry Jim Song |
According to Jim, I could get a taxi all the way back to Phnom Penh for $1.50, and it would take half the time of the bus. That sounded like a much bettter option, so I decided to stay until the next morning. Best decision ever.
I wandered around town with my new camera and tried out the different functions. Holy crap it is amazing to have a proper camera!! I had so much fun with it, I’m actually thinking I might get alright at this photography thing.
I stayed out until the sun set, and got this beautiful photo of a guy returning home from work.
I wandered back to the “guesthouse” and Jim rocked up and said let’s go grab some dinner. I went with him down a side street to a house with some friends of his and we started hoeing into some food. There was a lot of laughter and everything was mostly Cambodian with a bit of English from Jim and his friend Long. I was having an amazing time and they taught me a whole bunch of Cambodian words and phrases. We were drinking Cambodian rice wine (both white and red) and all the food was incredible.
After dinner someone turned on a generator and started up the music and we all started dancing on the dirt floor. It was a mixture of contemporary hits and crazy Cambodian karaoke, and something I won’t soon forget!
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| The only power in town |
Life is completely unexpected and I’m really happy that I decided to stay in the middle of nowhere on a whim and actually get to see something of the local culture. That’s what it’s all about, and definitely a highlight of my trip so far.
Now to wait out 5 more days and try the border crossing again…. 🙂
