There's really nothing in the town. Most of the locals make their living from fishing in the Mekong River which runs through the middle of it. After some research, we found a small hotel that conveniently was where the boat departed from. We booked the hotel for one night. After our bumpy ride in the minivan to get there, we arrived at the bus station. A scrawny man strolled up and offered to take us to our hotel. I only mention he's scrawny because as he brings us over to his "ride" we realize its a bicycle rickshaw. The poor guy had to bike about a kilometer or more carrying Kristin and I, plus all our baggage. After he drops us off, I think he says the price is 50 dong. After I give him the money, he nearly craps his pants. His eyes light up in excitement. After a little thinking, I realize that the price was probably only about 15 dong, but I couldn't understand him because of his accent. Oh well, he earned the money. Following my sweet tip, I'm met by a bunch of local entrepreneurs standing in front of my hotel trying to sell trips for the border crossing. I tell them no. I previously mentioned that I had done my research and found out that it was possible to book the boat at the hotel desk. In my opinion, it seemed a lot more legit to book through them than some random guy standing in front of the hotel.
This hotel was certainly nothing to write home about (I realize I am writing about it now, whatever), but you couldn't beat the $9/night rooms. They certainly weren't much, as we could hear the people in the next room speaking clearly, which also meant that we could hear every time they got up to use the bathroom. I can't complain though, because that's obviously what you get for that price. Besides the rooms though, I loved the place. They had a little restaurant that was set up on a floating wharf in front of hotel. From there, you could watch all the locals going about their daily lives on the river. I feel this was probably the most authentic experience of the trip, because this was definitely not a tourist area and I could learn so much about them just by people watching.
Following a 530 wake up call, I was up and about. I didn't request a wake up call, but received one from all the local fisherman who get their boats ready to go at that time. At first I was pissed, because I'm not so great at getting up that early, but I was able to go watch them and their families as they prepared for their daily work and I felt much better.
The boat left at 8am, and before we got it, we had to pay for our stay at the hotel. Since the hotel booked the boat, I had to pay for that as well at this time. Hovering over me like a hawk was a local man, who said I could pay him for the Cambodian Visa process. Initially I thought I would need this, and considered it, but then realized he was definitely trying to scam me. I just paid $30 for the boat trip, which included this Visa process, and now a man wants to charge me an extra $30 for the same thing. I read through his bullshit and proceeded to the boat. It's clear that my bullshit goggles are on now.
The boat ride was amazing. We were able to see villages along the river, as well as fisherman and their families out working. It was apparent that everyone in this area relied heavily on this river for their livelihood. We sat beside a young cambodia woman who had the cutest kid I've ever seen. During the entire 4 hour trip I don't think the kid cried once. The Visa process was hassle free, and no one even attempted to scam me. Perhaps the word SUCKER was no longer written across my forehead.
After about 4 hours on the boat we arrived in Phnom Penh, the capitol of Cambodia. Our goal
was to get to a coastal town known as Sihanoukville by the end of the day. We just got to a bus station in time to catch the last bus of the day. Unfortunately, the seats we were given were located beside the toilet, which happened to stink, and behind quite possibly the stinkiest person on our planet. I don't believe he had washed in weeks, and not because he was poor either. He was playing a PSP the entire 4 hour bus ride. He had enough money to buy that, but not enough to get a shower or consider throwing on some deodorant. Some of the other people on the bus actually thought his smell was coming from the bathroom at first. After awhile they realized that although both smells were awful, they were completely different. Once we arrived in Sihanoukville, I was so relieved to get off the bus and away from that guy. His stench was so awful that I was frightened at the thought of ever running into him again during this trip. I never took a picture of him because you can't see stink in a picture.
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