It seems like I haven't written in forever. Perhaps this is because...I haven't? Our pace has been fast, and our times...great. After my lovely near-death (not really, but thats sure what it felt like) experience in the serene beach town of Sihanoukville, Carly and I headed back up to Phnom Penh (for our second visit) to attain our Laos visas and to catch a bus up to Siem Reap the next morning. Carly and I have become better and preparing ourselves for these bus rides, for they can be a bit...interesting. First of all, the drivers always blast Cambodian music videos at the top volume level. Honestly, you get on the bus and can't help but say outloud, "you have got to be kidding me". Thus, we always have our ipods fully charged; your best defense is a good offense, right? Let's move on to the drivers themselves. They have road rage. You think you know someone who gets a little ancy and mean behind the wheel? Now imagine the rage'o'meter cranked up a few notches, and they are driving a huge bus on what looks like a one way dirt road (but its two way). The drivers honk at anyone we pass, I guess telling them not to suddenly swerve into our way? I dont know. But I can't sleep, or breathe easily on these rides. We also figured out that we need to have breakfast before and pick up some snacks to go, if the ride is long (which it always is). The pitstops for food/bathrooms are, well, SHADY. We have no idea what the food is, and the people in these small, even poorer towns that we pass through do not speak as much English as the touristy ones. Go figure. Enough complaining. Honestly, bus rides are a great way to see a more real picture of the country we are currently in. In the case of Cambodia, once we leave Phnom Penh or Siem Reap or any major destination, houses become straw huts, and shops vanish. Children run rampant through the streets, as they cannot afford the money to go to school in these parts. After five hours of this today, we arrived in Kampong Cham, our first of two (hopefully) stops on our way up to Laos PDR. It was a bit sad to leave our last destination, Siem Reap, as we both agreed it was our favorite place in Cambodia thus far. Home to Angkor Wat and the surrounding ancient temples, Siem Reap was a charming, compact city, which made for a much appreciated change from Phnom Penh's hustle and bustle. We bought a three day pass to the temples of Angkor, which had been talked up so much by Southeast Asia travelers I had encountered before my trip, that I was worried how they would live up to their reputation as spectacular. But spectacular they were.
Off to grab dinner, and call it an early night before resuming travels tomorrow morning at 9. More to come when I get to Laos. From what I've heard, I am very excited...