If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

We have reached the last town before the border of Laos here in Cambodia.  Internet is pretty much non-existent here, so this update will be brief.

After 3 hours in Stung Treng, our quest to get across the Mekong to the last stretch of highway into Laos has come to an end.  One night here and then we will start again in the morning sorting out a ferry that will transport our cars across the river.  Then off to the Laos border.  Today we have talked to about 10 different people including the police chief to make it through, but sometimes there is just nothing that you can do but get a nights sleep and try again in the morning.

Keep your fingers crossed for us that things go smoothly tomorrow morning.

It is exciting to drive into new cities. The everyday hustle and bustle of people in cities throughout SE Asia is quite a site to see. Cities also provide an opportunity to restock on some supplies such as batteries and cash. However, after a few days of being in a city, whether it be Bangkok, Singapore or Ho Chi Minh, I always find myself longing to be back out on the open road driving through small villages and down roads that in some cases don’t even seem like roads.

There is something about being in the countryside that puts my mind at ease. It might be more difficult to find something you need and the language barrier may be more of an issue, but the people always seem to be more open and friendly, the moto’s honk less, and the overall atmosphere generally permeates good vibes. Kids run up to and along side of the Toyotas shouting out hello and this is what The World by Road is really all about.

By and large, most cities throughout the world I have been to are pretty similar. I think it is only when you venture outside of the concrete jungle, and in our case right now into the actual jungle, that you get a true sense of the culture and how most people live. At first glace, life looks a lot more difficult in the more remote stretches of Cambodia, or any country for that matter. Truth be told, life is more difficult, but after spending some time with the people, you can’t help but think that they are happier than those pounding the pavement in the city.  

NH is basically the same denotation as the I for interstate in the US. Here in Cambodia a NH or National Highway is not exactly the same as our definition of an interstate. These roads can vary from the first road that we drove on here from Poi Pet to a pretty well taken care of paved and sometimes even divided highway.  There are a few added bonuses that you do not get at home here.

Even if you do end up on one of the well paved roads many obstacles still sprinkle the road to make the journey far from relaxing. Traffic going the wrong way on the wrong side of the road, overloaded trucks and motos, wild dogs and livestock all come at you somewhere in the neighborhood of every 5 minutes.  There are children who seem to be magnetized to the edge of the road and some of them even play the squirrel game of trying to run out in front of your car at the last minute just to flirt with death a little.

In our near 3 week stay in Cambodia, we have not really seen any police enforcing order on the highways.  Everyone says that it is corrupt so no one ever gets tickets anyway…my wonder is if they even have any real traffic laws on the books. We will be out of here in the next few days.  I am sure we will encounter more interesting road conditions ahead, but in a country that is renowned for bad and dangerous road conditions I feel like the excitement will be something to long for when we are gone.

Just got another couple of photo galleries up.

Kickboxing Match in Phnom Pehn

http://www.theworldbyroad.com/photos/gallery2embedded.php?g2_itemId=7070&

Traffic in Phnom Pehn

http://www.theworldbyroad.com/photos/gallery2embedded.php?g2_itemId=7165&

Arizona? That’s right, not exactly, but it is true.  A few years ago on a trip to Scottsdale, AZ to visit my friend Chad’s father, I had a conversation with his fathers girlfriend. Chad and I had driven down to AZ to purchase a boat and tow it back to Colorado.  We were in a Jeep Grand Cherokee and upon stopping at intersections it was possible to watch the temperature gauge on the vehicle rise as the car overheated.  On days when the temperature is 115 degrees, the movement of the car is essential to produce enough airflow to keep the engine from overheating. I asked Susan about this and wondered why anyone would ever choose to live here. It is so hot that a trip outside the confines of air conditioning is basically punishment.

She answered, "People just do not leave the house in the afternoon here."

What? A feeling of disgust came over me.  Where do these people get off living in a place where AC is not only a luxury, but actually a borderline necessity for survival? That is just the way of life down in Arizona.  The large cities of Phoenix and Tucson have really only grown at such a rapid pace because of modern climate control technologies. The retirees down there would not last a summer if they were forced to fend outdoors in the direct heat.

Here in Cambodia, the temperature does not get up to numbers that high, but we still have a tendency to push the mid nineties on a daily basis. This is not that hot of a temp overall, and our vehicles are certainly not overheating. However, when you throw anywhere between 60-90% humidity into the mix, a trip out of the shade will drain the majority of your energy in a matter of minutes.  Sweating does not help as there is not much breeze and the smallest amount of exertion will turn a little perspiration into some serious flop sweat.

So on the note of this being like Arizona, doing anything but sitting around in the afternoon is pretty much out of the question.  If I am not mistaken the next stop is some remote waterfall with natural vines to achieve my childhood dreams of the coveted Tarzan swing. The water cannot come too soon as our trip north is only getting hotter.