Around the world for free

Be Square, then be there. Part 2

Cambodia

Arriving at Siem Reap airport is a very strange experience, once you get off the plane you have to queue to have your visa stamped in your passport and pay for the pleasure of it. You enter the terminal building and are summoned by one of the twelve or so Generals sitting holding court. Your passport seems to get shown to every one of them twice, before someone makes a decision to stamp it and wave you on your way 20 dollars lighter. We made a point of getting some US dollars before we went because everyone seems to prefer this currency instead of their own and everything seemed to cost 2 dollars. Our transfers were included in the price so we didn't have to wait long and it was only a short distance to the splendid colonial style Victoria Angkor Hotel.

After checking in we went for a walk to see what was near the hotel, not much really a shopping mall and a few shops, everything else was in town by the market 5 minutes away by Tuk-Tuk and costs 2 dollars. One of the Tuk-Tuk drivers kept pestering us so we asked him to show us round and before we knew it, we were by the lake, paying for a boat trip with the last of the dollars we had on us. We were shown on to a rickety old boat that you could walk faster than it and headed off into the Tonie Sap Lake,; after 20 minutes we diverted down so inland waterways and past the sea gypsies and into another floating community.

We pulled up alongside a floating school and told to get off and have a look around by our "guide" who we didn't ask for. Once on the boat we went into the classroom containing at least fifty children of varies ages and hairstyles and were greeted by them all. After saying hello a thousand times we went back out on deck and shown live crocodiles that were kept in the front of the boat for food and their skins. It's quite scary when you are so close to them, it was even more scary when we were asked to make a donation to the schools upkeep by paying for some rice or pencils, they didn't seem to take kindly when we said we had no more money on us, which we didn't and thought at one stage we were going in with the crocodiles.

After a quiet journey back, we were met by the Tuk-Tuk man who was waiting to take us back into town, first of all we needed a cash machine which he found for us, we never forgot after that to carry some extra money with us. As he was going along the road, I tapped him on the shoulder and he nearly jumped out of his skin and crashed the Tuk-Tuk, I only wanted him to take us to the supermarket for some wine, which they do sell in Cambodia. After he took us to a couple of supermarkets we found our provisions and went back to the hotel to freshen up before we went out to eat.

While I was in the shower, one of the hotel workers came to turn down the bed and leave some chocolates on the pillow, for this Trish gave him 2 dollars and for the following two nights while we were there and I was in the shower, he would know when to knock to get his dollars.

All fresh and ready to go we left the hotel to go into town for something to eat, a Tuk-Tuk man appeared out of nowhere and took us to the centre. The town looked like one of the resorts on the Costa's in Spain all neon and lots of girls saying to foreigners for money "love you long time", there was even a heavily pregnant girl there, we joked and said "I bet she says love you short time". We went down the allies and stopped for something to eat and had to tell the pestering kids to go away while we ate, I had tofu with ginger and noodles and it was absolutely lovely.

A little walk back out on to main street and there were signs everywhere for cocktails, two for one and only a dollar, you have to drink them at that price. Trish and I worked our way through the entire cocktail menu while watching the foreigners dodge the ladies of the night and the numerous Tuk-Tuk drivers touting for business. After all our cocktails we chose a mask wearing Tuk-Tuk driver to take us back to the hotel, when I said "here will be fine" he started to chuckle as if he was carrying royalty.