Our guidebook explains how to get between Phnom Penh and the Laos-Cambodia border by bus and boat but there wasn’t a lot of information available about connecting Si Phan Don with Siem Reap. It would’ve been nice to travel in a straight line from Cambodia’s border town, Stung Treng, but there seemed to be no direct roads connecting from there to Siem Reap. I posted some queries on a few Internet travel forums but had very little Internet access on the islands so I wasn’t able to check for any posted responses.

Much to our surprise, once we arrived on the islands of Don Khong, Don Khon and Don Det in Si Phan Don it turned out that every guesthouse advertised minivan transportation to Siem Reap for about $30, the exact price varying between guesthouses. Other offerings included minivan transport to destinations along the way such as Stung Treng ($14), just across the border, Kratie ($21), Kampong Cham($24) and Phnom Penh($26). These seemed to be a bargain considering the alternative we had planned on which would have cost over $100 per person to take the boat to Ban Nakasang ($3-4), bus back to Pakse, overnight stay in a hotel before boarding the early morning flight to Siem Reap ($95). The minivan route was scheduled to leave at around 8:30am from the guesthouse, cross the border and continue into Cambodia for an overnight at either Kratie or Kampong Cham (different guesthouses claim either city as the overnight point) and then arrive at Siem Reap by noon the following day. Sales for this trip were offered everywhere and we were excited about what seemed to be a new route open for tourists at a very reasonable price. However, very little of this journey ended up being as advertised or as expected. Although we may have been affected by a bit of bad luck, I offer this review as a warning to other travelers who may be considering the same trip.

The Road to the Border Will Soon Be Smooth

The most reliable part of the trip was the prompt departure from our guesthouse in our host family’s boat which allowed us a last early-morning cruise past the islands en route to the unimpressive port town of Ban Nakasang. Two minivans were ready for the gathering tourists who numbered about two dozen in total. We left Ban Nakasang at about 9:30 and headed for the border. The short stretch of road just before the boarder was very bumpy and unpaved and it took a good 20 minutes to get through it. However, road construction was already underway at the border crossing so this will likely be paved in a matter of months.

Laos-Cambodia Border Crossing

While exiting Laos we noticed a sign in English stating that official working days exclude Saturday and Sunday (we were there on a Saturday) and that “overtime pay” was in effect. For this the Lao officials collect $1 from each tourist. After a short walk to the Cambodian immigration office we filled out forms, submitted a photo and paid the $21 to receive a 1 month tourist visa on the spot. At an adjacent post two officials performed a passport stamping ceremony in which passports were collected from tourists, piled up on the desk and were then were processed (in no particular order), each making at least 2 or 3 rounds of back and forth handling between the two men in uniform. An additional $2 was collected here but nobody was really sure what that was for apart from the entertainment value of the passport stamping ritual.

The passengers of the two minivans were consolidated into a single full-size bus which headed for the nearby town of Stung Treng. As we approached the brand new looking Chinese –Cambodian Friendship Bridge leading into the town, our bus was stopped for a good 20 minutes. Other motorized vehicles proceeded to cross the bridge while we all stepped out of the bus to stretch our legs. No official approached the bus or requested anything of us until we were eventually given the go ahead to cross.

We arrived in Stung Treng at about noon for a lunch stop at a corner restaurant. Our first exploration in Cambodia was to the restroom in the back of the restaurant and what a memorable discovery that was! It was one of the filthiest experiences I’ve had in a long time, complete with a collection of both live and dead cockroaches and about 100 flies clinging to every bathroom tile on the floor and walls in addition to the requisite dirt and odors. At that moment I was grateful to be a man with only urination on the agenda otherwise I would’ve opted for an alleyway somewhere. That pretty much turned us off to eating lunch anywhere within a one block radius of said bathroom so we walked a good distance to buy a sealed package of cookies and bottles of water for the bus ride.

We did change some US cash into Cambodian Riels at the restaurant. The rate seems to have been decent (about 3,900R/1USD) and it was convenient for us since the nearby bank being closed on Saturday. It turns out that dollars are also welcome in Cambodia anyway.

The guide accompanying us (although trained in tourism, he served as more of an English-speaking representative of the bus company on this trip) requested that we all move to another bus which had pulled up behind the original. While in the new bus he asked for a show of hands of passengers heading to Phnom Penh vs. those going to Siem Reap. This same survey was repeated about 4 more times over the next 20 minutes. He told us that there would be no buses leaving the following morning for Siem Reap (at least none from this bus company) from either Kratie or Kampong Cham so we would need to stick with everyone else all the way to Phnom Penh and take the 7am bus to Siem Reap from there. There were only four of us going to Siem Reap so apparently that wasn’t enough for the company to stick to the advertised route and run a minivan in the most direct path from Kampong Cham.

The First of Many Bus Breakdowns

From this point on the fun really picked up. We were introduced to the Cambodian countryside which includes the usual fields, farmers, kids, cows, buffalo, trees, shacks and the occasional pagoda-like structure. It was somewhat scenic, certainly interesting, but I never really had the urge to whip out my camera. About 2 hours into the ride the bus had to stop due to a mechanical problem. That was sort of nice since it allowed us to stretch, use the restroom in the field and take photos (at least of the broken bus). The driver opened the back panel of the bus, did his magic, started the engine and we were on the road again. But this breakdown, bathroom stretch, back-panel magic happened about 4 more times over the course of the next 3 hours. At one point cows were being herded by a girl in the road ahead of us, blocking our path. The bus slowed down so much that the magic wore off and we were again stuck on the roadside while the cows left us behind in their dust.

Beautiful Sunset over the Mekong in Kratie

When we finally arrived in Kratie at 5pm the passengers began to organize and we collectively insisted that the company provide us with a new bus. After about an hour of watching the pretty sunset over the river a new bus arrived. We moved everyone’s luggage to the new bus and we left Kratie for Phnom Penh in hope of arriving before midnight while hotels were still open with available rooms.

After a bit we encountered another bumpy unpaved road but this on went on for a much longer time. The folks in the back of the bus were flying around with each bump but it was one woman’s birthday back there and they all seemed to really enjoy the good time. I’m not sure if the driver was trying to make up for lost time by taking a shortcut but we were definitely on very narrow back roads and I wondered if this was really the way connecting Kratie with the nation’s capital. Apparently it wasn’t because after about 30 minutes from the end of the bumpy road, the driver did a seven-point turn with the bus and, sure enough, we were heading back the way we came. Fortunately, the driver wasn’t stubborn or too proud to stop and ask directions from locals in the street at least twice before navigating back onto the intended route.

The air outside was cool and the stars were twinkling above. It was the perfect setting for this, the replacement bus, to now breakdown in the middle of the road. This time both the driver’s magic and our search for the bathroom were performed by flashlight but after a bit we were again moving down the road towards the big city. The second time this same bus broke down people started to get a bit antsy. Nobody needed another bathroom break and we’d already marveled at the starry sky just 10 minutes earlier. We were hungry and suspected that our Phnom Penh arrival would be after midnight. We were no longer surrounded by fields but instead found ourselves in a market which was completely closed at 11pm.

The guide told us that a new bus would come to pick us up in an hour. Some people exited the bus for a smoke while others just stayed seated to wait it out. I dozed off inside and only woke up periodically to catch a glimpse of the digital clock mounted at the front of the bus. I saw 12am, 1am, 2am, 2:30am but still no replacement bus. Sleeping in the bus was very difficult because the cramped seating combined with the collective body heat and lack of ventilation contributed to the feeling of claustrophobia. One tourist even took to sleeping on bus floor, the only way for her to lay flat with outstretched legs, while passengers continued to precariously step over her in the darkness on their way in and out of the bus. Mosquitoes roamed freely from passenger to passenger and the scent of mosquito repellent spray was added to the stifling mix in the air. I had to get out.

Just outside the bus a beautiful night awaited me. The market stalls were deserted and even the street lights went black by 3am. The only light came from an occasional truck making its way to Phnom Penh, filled several meters high with sacks or crates of goods. The air was refreshingly cool and the stars were still available for viewing. I spoke to our guide who stayed awake the entire night to “take care of the bus and his customers”, as he put it. He told me how proud he is to introduce people to his country and to teach them to say one or two words in Khmer and also apologized to me on behalf of his company for the predicament we were in. it was that same bizarre twist of events that dealt him more personal interaction with his customers that night, everything ranging from a tourist or two cursing at him and his company to my sympathetic ear.

At 5:30 a restless passenger announced the opening of the market’s first roadside restaurant and the availability of coffee. The coffee was a dark and strong and mixed with sweet condensed milk, much the same as the Vietnamese café sua da. It was glorious. By 7am a replacement bus arrived to take everyone to Phnom Penh but the guide told the four of us heading to Siem Reap to simply wait by the roadside for another bus, the same one we would’ve taken that morning had we slept in the capital. Being only a half hour outside of Phnom Penh, that bus was supposed to arrive around 7:30 but we weren’t that surprised when it eventually came at 9am. To make a long story short J that ended up being our lucky bus. The only stops it made over the following 4 hours were scheduled meal and rest stops along the way to Siem Reap. The air conditioning was strong; the dubbed (Khmer) Hollywood slapstick comedy on the TV played loud and clear and, most importantly, the bus worked. After a total of 30 hours on the road, literally, we finally arrived in Siem Reap.

Even if a strong element of bad luck was at play on our particular journey, it’s difficult to deny the dubious condition of this bus company’s fleet of vehicles. Travelers wishing to make the same trip should be aware that things may not go smoothly or even as advertised. My guess is that most of the good folks selling the trip at guesthouses in Si Phan Don may not even have much of an idea of what actually happens to their customers once they cross the border into Cambodia since they never hear from them again. If money isn’t an issue and a bit of backtracking isn’t prohibited in your travel policy then it’s probably easier to pay the extra hundred bucks to bus and overnight your way back to the airport in Pakse. But if crossing borders and introducing yourself to new countries via the countryside is your thing then this route will likely get better, shorter, faster and smoother…even if these ailing buses need to first die to be replaced by shiny new ones.

Coming out of the airport, we asked the tuk tuk driver to take us to the southern bus terminal so we can catch the next bus going to Ban Nakasang. This started a whole chain of events we can refer to a “misunderstanding”.

The tuk tuk driver took us to the bus ‘terminal’ (an open market with 2 buses and many chickens) and to our surprise, there was a bus leaving right there and then going to our destination. After we paid double the normal price (tuk tuk driver was ‘kind ‘enough to get us tickets quicker than we were able to open our mouths) we boarded a local bus heading to Ban Nakasang, or so we thought.

The bus was definitely the authentic experience we were looking for-no doors, hardly any windows, loud Lao pop music and as Kevin likes to joke, “we’re the only 2 white people on the bus!” The driver stopped every 30 minutes in villages along the way and within seconds, we were surrounded by villagers peddling food through the windows such as meat on skewers, coconut and candy.

After 2.5 hours, we reached a car ferry and people started yelling something about Don Khong (not to be confused with Don Khon-our final destination). Once we got to the other side of the river, things started happening very fast. Within a matter of minutes the bus drove off and we were left on the side of the road with our backpacks while a minivan driver and an old woman with no teeth explained to us that we are nowhere near Don Khon. Thinking about this now seems funny but there was nothing comical about being stuck in the middle of nowhere in the heat after getting only 4 hrs of sleep the night before.

It turns out we were now on Don Khong which is the main island in Si Phan Don. It is said to be the most convenient one in terms of services for tourists but lacks the charm of its southern brothers-Don Det and Don Khon where we wanted to go.

Now tired, dirty and hungry, what else could we do? We went to eat. We needed to cool off, get a drink and strategize. We considered staying in Don Khong for the night and just taking a boat the next day to Don Khon but a quick look around revealed that there was absolutely nothing to do there and we were already too excited about getting to Don Khon. By God, we were gonna get there one way or another!

Luckily, we ran into 2 nice Israeli guys at the restaurant who had just arrived on the island 20 minutes earlier and were also ready to leave already. These guys were on 6 month journey through Asia eating only Western food, if you can believe that.

Anyway, we all chartered a boat together and after another 1.5 hr in the sun going down the Mekong we were finally in Don Khon! Hurray!!!

After such an ordeal, we thought we deserved some kind of compensation (ok, I thought we did) and we marched right into the fanciest place on the island according to the lonely planet guidebook. We were going to splurge and pay $20 a night! That’s right, we thought we were living large! Turns out a lot of other people on the island are living large and the hotel was fully booked which meant we’d need to continue carrying our 12kg backpacks in search of another option. That option ended up being a simple guesthouse for only $2/night, the price of 2 fruit shakes in Laos.

We took a very modest room in a family’s house (on stilts) where the bathroom was outside right near the chickens. Being able to speak French proved to be very useful as the family didn’t speak a word of English but their French was great! The mother, Sissamon, told us about her family and showed us pictures of her oldest son currently studying painting in Bangkok.

We went for a short walk and saw a magnificent sunset over the river, got dinner and stared at the starry sky for a while. Back at the guesthouse we chatted with the family for a bit but we were exhausted by 9pm and were sleeping, under the mosquito net, covered in Deet by 9:02pm.

The next morning we upgraded to a $5 bungalow with private shower and a fan!

Let us all pray to the God of Malaria that the mosquitoes also took the wrong bus and are still stuck in Don Khong!

One of the recommended activities in Luang Prabang is a visit to the Pak Ou caves. The two caves are located 25km north of Luang Prabang in the lower part of a limestone cliff. Inside those mystical caves are hundreds of little Buddha statues hiding in the walls of the cave or seated on a rock. The caves are accessible by boat or by tuk tuk and we of course chose the boat option. After a nice breakfast by the Mekong, 1 Dramamine pill (me) and quick negotiation with the boatman we were on our way! We chartered a boat to go up the Mekong River all the way to the Pak Ou caves and split the cost with another traveler instead of going on a group tour. The ride north was gorgeous taking us along villages, animals and other boats.

After touring the caves and photographing every little Buddha (Kevin) we got back into the boat and went down the Mekong to the “Whiskey Village” – a small little village where Lao Whiskey is made. We didn’t try the Whiskey but I think we found how superman gets his superpowers!

The Australian traveler in the boat with us cracked us up when she talked about the changes in New York, security and otherwise, since “Seven Eleven”…. We had a really rough time restraining ourselves and it took one look at each other to start shaking all over.

Photos coming soon!

So far we’ve stumbled upon two photography exhibitions while strolling around in Luang Prabang. The first was housed in a beautiful French villa showcasing photos of Lao life as part of the Biennale international de l’image. The second exhibition was right next to the Palace museum entitled “Floating Buddhas”. The photos were taken by a German photographer who was invited by the monks of Luang Prabang to document novices’ study and practice of meditation. The photos were all shot with an analog camera in black and white achieving a wonderful dramatic effect. I liked it so much I bought a poster of the exhibition and with some luck, it will actually make it all the way back to New York.

We arrived in Luang Prabang on Friday morning and did not have a hotel reservation. At the airport, we met a fellow traveler, Laura, who mentioned she was going to a guesthouse that may have another room available. We decided to share a tuk tuk to the city (about 4km away) and see if we could stay at that same place. After a short drive, we got into town and realized that Laura’s guesthouse did not have any available rooms but the guesthouse next door-Levady had a room. We quickly snatched that room and started our adventure.

It was only later in the day that we realized we had struck gold-the guesthouse was in the most beautiful enchanting alley covered in trees and flowers. The location was perfect, right between the Mekong and the Nam Khan rivers leading to a beautiful Wat (Buddhist temple). We walked through the temple every time to get to the many cafes, restaurants and sights the town has to offer. We spent the first night in a regular double room and switched the next day to the “deluxe” room-a second floor wooden room with a balcony! Now we had front row seats to the alley and Lao life!

Right across from our guesthouse was a Lao family that seems like the local community center. Every day we watched people come in, sing, dance or act in a show. One afternoon as we were hanging out on our porch, we managed to capture it on video!

In Levady guesthouse we had the opportunity to stay with a family of three generations and observe how they live. One thing that is clearly very different about the way of life here is the absence of separation between work and private life. Your home is in most cases your place of business be it a guesthouse, a café , a stall at the night market, an art gallery or a massage/spa shop. People live where they work, sometimes on the second floor and sometimes in the room right next to yours. The whole family hangs out together while some members work, it would be as if my mom, grandma, nephews and cats all sat together with me in my cubicle back in NY.