We crossed the border to Cambodia riding a SAPACO bus. It was a bit small, but it was ok. The bus got on a ferry to cross the river. Another vehicle was beside us. We barely recognized it because it was so overloaded. You literally cannot see the vehicle behind the luggage tied to it. The immigration process was fine. We got new names as the officer called Ate Mich Mishellah. I was named Anghelikyu, Eunice was E-U-Ya-Yunika.
After crossing, we had lunch at a stopover. The people there were so nice. Two of the managers (we know because they were dressed in civilian clothing instead of the orange uniform) were near our table the whole time waiting on us. They offered us light tea which we had to refuse because of two reasons:
1. Because we didn’t understand whether we had to pay for it
2. Because the missionaries told us to be careful not to drink the water, and even the ice, here.
When the waiter kept on offering drinks to us, the manager scolded him and sent him away while he continued apologizing to us. They were really nice. When Ate left her hat on the table, they went all Angry Birds on us. One of them said a word that sounded like “Boogawk” softly then they all said that louder and louder every time. All the other waiters came to the table and kept saying the same word. It was funny, but then I realized that they must feel the same way when we ask each other, “Babababa?” and elicit the response, “Bababa.”
We got to Phnom Penh and met Tita Elvie and Samnong for the first time. We also met a Filipino family who’s been living here for a long time. The father gave us his number and told us that if we had any problems, we can ask him for help since he is an officer of the Filipino organization here. After getting our baon, which came in the form of big slices of brownies, we went on a van which took us to our bus which took us to Siem Reap. This time, the bus ride was not so nice.
There was this French couple who sat in the row in front of Gio and me. They reclined their seats as far as it would go with no regard in crushing us in the process. The best thing about that trip was finding out the best potato chips in Vietnam… TAISUN POTATO CHIPS CHILLI FLAVOR (Yup. It’s spelled with two “L’s.”
When we got to the bus station, a tuktuk driver, Mr. Boret, came to pick us up. He was holding a sign that said “Tess Bantatug” so it took a bit before we realized that he came for us. He spoke good English and helped us find a hotel. The hotel was pretty cheap. They charged us 39 dollars for one night, two rooms for seven people. The room was so nice. We’ll upload pictures soon.
We went out for dinner at this place called Monoram where we had spring rolls, Khmer-style barbeque, deep-fried pork ribs, and roasted duck. The food was good, but the fellowship was even better. On our way back, we bought ice cream (which was no match for Fruitare strawberry pops) and slept soundly for a few hours dreaming of the next day’s Angkor Wat adventure.
*cue Tomb Raider soundtrack*
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