Busing it from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh

4th March 2012

If you're planning on travelling from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh, by bus, you have several options of companies to choose from. We chose 168, only because the staff at Zana House said that they were new...or perhaps they meant that the buses were new...or looked new. Ours was just fine.

We were punctually collected right outside the guesthouse entrance and appeared to be the last on a 'hotel pick up route', before stopping up the road, at their office, to allow the final passengers to board.

The ride is a comfy 3.5 to 4 hours long, making two stops along the way. One, possibly because someone wanted to buy fruit and veggies.

Day 15 Nha Trang to Dalat

After quite an interesting night with a young lady from Holland, Estra, we headed to Dalat by bus. I wasn't sure if we would actually be on time to board...as Stray found a bottle of Bundaberg Rum on the shelf in a bar, a couple of doors down from our hotel. Say no more!

Say no more i got blind i didnt even see it coming ,the rums were like double or triples

i think i had about 7 of them and half way thru this evening i have no memory of

i did appologize to Snap and Estra the next morn appartently i couldnt walk and they both helped me back to our room I couldnt have been to baddly behaved because Snap is still talking to me :)

The bus (which was comfortable and clean) took the new road, which in parts, was not sealed and a bit 'hairy', especially when passing an on coming truck. We passed through some beautiful, mountainous scenery, which overlooked streams lined by boulders, waterfalls and exposed granite rock faces.

Overtaking on the mountain roads doesn't seem to be a problem, the driver just beeps the horn louder when going around blind corners. The trick is...don't look!

The rural area approaching Dalat is scattered with small (roughly made) farm houses made from timber, some milled, some logs. Pine I suspect, as the area has many pine plantations. They looked like they would be bloody cold in winter. I smiled to myself when I caught a glimpse of a computer set up through one of the windows and a satellite dish attached to the side of the house.

We arrived at 12.15 pm and the bus company provides a free taxi to your hotel, which we had not booked. No problem, he recommended one not far from the lake, which has been drained to enable the construction of a new bridge. US$12 per night, huge, basic, clean rooms, not much English at reception but heaps of smiles and a willingness to assist.

After getting settled we went in search of a memory card for the camera. Not having any luck on our own, we stopped and asked some school girls who kindly drew us a map. Along the way we asked a few locals if we were on course and they happily kept us going in the right direction. AU$28 later I had a new card inserted in my camera. Electronic equipment is one of the few things that is not cheap here.

We stopped to buy some cigarettes on the way back and noticed a man playing a guitar in the back of the small store. His wife, who served me, opened a book of English songs, some they had written and some, not. She happily sang us a few lines from a few songs. Lovely people!

Dung and her boyfriend, Minh, joined us for dinner and showed us the night market afterward. I bought a cardigan, as it was quite cool and Dung gifted Stray a jumper and me, a beautiful purple scarf.

Day 14 Nha Trang

Not much going on today, we both had a hair cut and took a rickshaw ride to the big market. I had in mind the large, modern Maximart Shopping Centre, but the driver took us to the local market instead...all good! I bought myself a Vietnamese hat so I would blend in...NOT.

I have noticed a couple of hotels, cleverly named Nice Hotel and Good Hotel. If I were to open one here I would call it Clean Cheap Hotel, because when travellers arrive and ask the taxi driver to take them to a hotel, that's usually what they ask for.

No photos today, I am having problems with the cameras. The existing photos are there, but I can't take photos, some sort of 'write protected' thing. Have just Googled the error and may have a solution.

We are off to Dalat in the mountains tomorrow morning by bus. It cost about AU$8 and is 3.5 hours long going on the new road. The first travel agent tried to put us off that idea, because she wanted to push an expensive tour, and told us it took 5 hours with no toilet onboard or stops along the way.

Stray (who is having a massage right now) has had trouble sleeping, so bought a natural remedy yesterday and slept pretty good last night...snored his head off. I'm looking forward to catching up with our friends in Dalat and Vung Tau and to FINALLY do some shopping in the last few days of our trip.

We only took carry on luggage and still packed too much, but it has made moving around the country much easier. You really only need 3 or 4 days worth of clothes because the laundry services are so cheap here.

Well, that's it from me for now.