Around the World '09: phnom penh to ko chang

stepping on a crowded coach outside the old market in phnom penh at seven am is quite an experience to say the least. a few other westerners are along for the ride, but the vast majority of the sixty or so voyagers are khmer, attempting to manage children, luggage and the general level of stress that inherently accompanies any sort of organized activity in southeast asia. even negotiating with a moto driver in cambodia is a process that could take upwards of a half an hour, especially if two drivers feel the need to have an extended argument over the rights for your transportation.

the bus journey initially seemed as if it were going to be an average cruise through the kampuchean countryside. the most difficult part of trips leaving phnom penh is actually getting out of the city. this process is laborious and takes at least an hour and a half on a good day. having done an excursion to siem reap the weekend before, i was well prepared for the reality of traffic regulation in the city. however, i was most certainly not prepared for the two televisions in the bus that showed dvd's of khmer karaoke for the entire seven hour ride at full volume. any hopes to catch some sleep on the bus rapidly dissipated. at least none of those savvy to the inner workings of khmer karaoke chose to participate.

crossing the border at chamyeam was another adventure, involving changing buses multiple times and having your passport scrutinzed rather closely for no particular reason - they don't look through bags or run them through an x-ray, but passports are of their utmost concern. finally making it through and getting into another bus was a relief and about two hours later, i was waiting for the ferry to ko chang outside of a funny little thai city called trat. leaving phnom penh at seven am put me at the ferry dock at about six pm. luckily, beer was available for purchase on the boat and it left just in time to see the sun set over the north end of ko chang.

reaching the island was difficult enough, having traveled for over twelve hours and not really covering very much territory. getting off of the ferry, a whole new conflict presented itself - thai baht bus drivers. these characters refuse to take you anywhere unless the bus is full. it just so happened that there weren't enough people getting off of the ferry i was on, so this gentleman decided it would be smart to wait an hour for the next ferry to fill the seats on his pick up truck/taxi contraption. myself, a dutch couple and a german couple proceeded to get extremely angry with this man as we had all been traveling the entire day and the guy refused drive us ten feet. eventually, he won and was paid a very high sum for his services, much to the displeasure of his passengers.

ko chang is one of the most beautiful places i have ever seen. i rented a motorbike for the day and rode to every waterfall and beach i could find, but didn't bring my camera as i didn't want to have to be concerned about it while i was in the water.