It's another world when you cross the border. Different language, different money, food, attitude. I'spent today getting acclimated to Siem Reap and Cambodia... walked around the town, eventually rented a bicycle ($6 for 4 days, nice three speed). Rode along the river, got the lay of the land a bit. Tomorrow I'll try and find a tuktuk guide who speaks good enough English to give me a good tour of Angkor Wat, which is about 4 miles north of here. I hope to find someone to share the price with, so I've got my eyes out for a westerner who might want to go along as well
Even though I was prepared to resist the border scam when locals try to overcharge you... by 'helping', I still got took. But it was by the van company where I bought the ticket. Just before the border they stopped at a restaurant and made the spiel. If you give me your passport, I can get the visa, no waiting. When I resisted, he got hostile (that should have been a tipoff, but I was afraid that maybe I'd get screwed on the other side, miss the bus or whatever, so I did it his way. A Czech couple said forget it, he got hostile with them as well, and I was curious to see how it would work out for them... No problem, they made it fine... now I know. And it occurred to me that if I was in the driver's situation, I'd probably do the same thing... make a buck when possible. It's a ripoff and I wasn't gutsy enough to call his bluff. He called mine... oh well, fuck it. ($20 I won't see again)
We arrived after dark but there was a small fleet of tuktuk drivers ready to pick us up and bring us into town to the guest houses. I ended up in an OK place, looked around for something cheaper today and was ready to move, but got the woman to lower the price to keep me there. It's a great $8 room. I'll stick around.
When I was walking around last night, I was approached by dozens of tuktuk drivers wanting to take me to the 'boom boom'zone. I hadn't had that much attention since walking around Castro St. San Francisco in 1980. And like that time, I didn't take them up on it. Now that I'm getting around on a bicycle, I get to avoid that come on. It's a relief. Not much to report beyond that, looking forward to Angkor Wat tomorrow.
Oh there's one more thing... the people are nice, On my walk I saw a little spot where a woman was dishing up food for some locals. She had 4 or 5 big pots with chicken and veggies, a curry dish, beef and peppers. I got some food to go, super cheap, 'same price as Cambodian' she assured me. Lunch was a buck and it was tasty. I told her I'd go back tomorrow, it's right around the corner. Earlier I saw some locals having coffee and I sat down for the same. For some reason it doesn't bother me to not be able to communicate, though they do try to speak a little English. I just watch and smile and feel content. I'd rather be there than in places which cater to tourists. Same as it ever was...
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