Are we there yet????

The Bus: WOW...this day has been quite eventful and without us even trying! It all started this morning at 6am when we got to the bus station to catch an early bus to the Cambodian border. We get on with only a few other passengers and I proceed to lay across the whole back seat seeing as there were plenty of open seats. After 30 minutes we make a stop at a gas station where 20 more Thai passengers get on. No problem, right? Well, 30 minutes after that we stop at another gas station where another 10 passengers get on...now its at capacity with a few in the aisles as well. Then, they decide to start BLARING some awful Thai music on the speakers. Even my Lil' Jon playlist on my ipod couldn't cover this abnoxious noise overhead! We continued to make unnecessary stops along the way, but thankfully I had a good book with me (thanks, Jillian) and was able to zone out. On one stop, a Thai army/police officer boarded the bus to check the Thai passports. By the time he left, our bus was 15 people less crowded. By the time we made it to the border, the bus ride had been about 5 hours (and still more to go)...

The Border:Wikipedia loosely defines corruption as an"impairment of integrity, virtue or moral principle." My definition: "Cambodian officials." As soon as the bus droppped us off, the four of us were immediately hassled by all the tuk-tuk (carriage type taxi) drivers to take us to the border which was just 7km away. You would think that this woudn't be a problem, but apparently these drivers want to make a little commission on the side. The first stop we made was at a shady restaurant that we were told we had to get the visas from. We oblige and went in, but after 10 mintues of talking to them, realized they were jacking up the price and definitely weren't legitimate officials. On to the next stop- the Thai consulate just down the road. Once again, we get inside and realize that they have doubled the official price and will only take the Thai Baht (in Cambodia, mostly US dollars are used). Finally after jetting out of there, we make the tuk-tuk driver take us to the border, as we asked in the first place. The tourist visa station there is just one window with 10 Cambodian officials on the inside watching what looks like a soap opera. We give them our passports along with $20, as the price of the visa is stated on the window. They will not give us the visa for less thatn $25 because apparently the sign is old and they are too busy to take it down (with a boost from Michelle I could have gotten it down myself)! Oh, and Michelle and I also forgot to bring passport pictures to give to them so they said 100 baht would be okay to let it slide (they'd rather the cash under the table than to set up a little booth for foreigners like us to actually pay for a picture). Once we were free and clear to go into the country, we had to find a way to Siem Reap...

The Taxi: After a bit of haggling, we got a taxi from the border to Siem Reap (3 hours away) for $50. Let me just tell you, this was NO normal taxi ride. The roads are full of potholes, ditches, detours, dirt, rocks, and gravel- the whole way! It was like riding a roller coaster because we'd be dodging potholes as if they were landmines and driving on the wrong sides of the road to avoid the motorbikes. We lost our stomach a few times and had quite a laugh about the whole situation, but most importantly we made it to Siem Reap. (Apparenty an 'unknown airline' is bribing an 'unknown political official' to delay this 20 year road project so that people will continue flying with this 'unknown airline' instead of driving- sketchy, I know!)

We are finally here in Siem Reap and plan on visitng Angkor Wat for the next few days. (It may look familiar from Lara Croft: Tomb Raider)