This section from Saigon to Bavet is the twenty-ninth instalment of my bicycle ride from Yunnan to Cambodia – if all goes according to plan. Titled “Slap the Belgian!”, it is simultaneously published on Crazyguyonabike.com, where you’ll find a map with the itinerary and many other bicycle diaries by me and others. I hope you’ll enjoy.
Finally, the big day breaks. The visa time’s up, we’re well rested and we’re going to Cambodia! A country I’ve heard much good about but haven’t been able to visit, despite coming very close a couple of times on my trips. We don’t know what to expect. And when the senses are devoid of impulses, the brain makes up its own chatter and noise. Here’s the product of the fantasies running amok in the fragile shells that bob around on our shoulders:
Cambodia’s a mix between Thailand and Vietnam with a little Lao poverty tossed in. It’s flat and hot but food is great, much like food in the Mekong delta is awesome. Also, because of the poverty, it’s a relatively cheap place, but some inflation and corruption certainly make for elevated prices. Yet they do not exceed the prices of Vietnam’s megacities, where a nourishing noodle soup costs $ 1.5 and freshly pressed juice goes for $ 0.75. The people, not belonging to the strain known as homo Sinensis, are less competitive and scheming than the Vietnamese, and rather friendly if a bit resigned as to their lot.
Our fragile shells are about to be shaken. We wave goodbye to Saigon and make our way out, weaving through the traffic on Saigon’s bustling streets, like two determined spermatozoids shaking off the diminishing competition on the way to liberty. Before long, we find ourselves 20 km away and on the famous highway 1 leading to Cu Chi and Phnom Penh.
The highway is provided with motorbike and bicycle lanes until Cu Chi and therefore relatively safe to ride, if a bit boring and mind-numbing because of the uninteresting surroundings and the constant beeping. After Cu Chi, our lanes merge with the main ones, but traffic becomes sparser and sparser as we near the border, so we still feel safe.
After a few rests, drinks and bites in order to spend our very last Dong, we see the border gates loom in the distance. We quickly zip past a long line of queuing trucks and walk into the nearly empty immigration office. After a guard stamps my passport goodbye and nonchalantly flicks it back to me, I’m officially in limbo between Cambodia and Vietnam. I notice Vietnamese people all have 30.000 VND stuck between their passports, but the guard leaves it in there. Is it meant for the Cambodian side?
Indeed it is, as we find out after buying a $20 tourist visa for myself (Tu doesn’t need one, being a national of an ASEAN country) and walking over to the Cambodian immigration office. Three ladies with faces that would drag over the floor if they had tried to walk somewhere, grumpily stamp me through and give Tu shit for not having cash. After a bit of protest from her side and after they see that she’s in foreign company, they decide to waive the 30.000 VND in what is likely bribe money. Good thing we blew it all.
Our first impression of Cambodia surprises us – even though it really shouldn’t. The first kilometre or so is lined with casinos with large neon signs in Khmer, English and – of course – Chinese. A bit further down the road are the obligatory pawn shops, and we imagine unfortunate Chinese gamblers walking out of there with barrels around their waists.
We check in to the recommended Kim Ly hotel, which is indeed ok, but a bit pricier than expected at $12 per night. Apparently the promised $8 rooms are without air-conditioning and we really do need some cold air – if at least to dry our clothes. After showering and washing up, we walk across a square in search for food. We find some chain store that promises us Pad Thai for $2.5 USD.
Many of our expectations about Cambodia will be shattered in the coming days, but here in Bavet, the first two perish on the battlefield of reality. $2.5 is outrageously expensive by itself, and entirely given the quality of the food. Dry instant noodles, topped with some veggies and and omelette and covered in sugar. Doesn’t resemble Pad Thai in the slightest.
Our hunt for coconut juice ends in a similar disappointment. It’s almost twice as expensive as in Saigon, and thrice the price of the coconuts we’d seen four kilometres before the border. Still thirsty, we walk to a little shop to buy some water. The girl is very friendly and quotes all the prices in Vietnamese Dong for some reason. With its multitude of currencies, Cambodia confuses us.
The official currency is the Riel, but everyone uses and accepts US Dollars, provided the notes are not too big because change will come partly in Riel and in US Dollars. A Dollar is worth 4000 Riel. Anyone Vietnamese around the border charges in Vietnamese Dong but also accepts Riel and US Dollars. Change comes in a combination of Dong, Riel and US Dollar. A US Dollar is around 21000 VND. It’s utterly confusing to verify prices and your change through three currencies.
The woman in the shop teaches Tu some of the Khmer alphabet, because Tu can speak but not read. It’s quite a complicated system which creates syllables out of an initial or middle consonant or vowel, after which you add another sound by surrounding the character with other marks, which they call the legs. A little bit like Korean or Arabic, but more elegant if utterly complex to read.
he also tells us there’s a night market near the hotel area, where we should be able to get cheap food. Indeed there is. A place crawling with begging children, but you can get a Vietnamese noodle soup and fruit smoothies for the same price as in Vietnam. Unfortunately, that leaves us with a lot of now useless Dong.
