There doesn’t seem any point in mucking around in Loas.
It is hot and sticky so driving seems to be the best option. Hopefully the
roads won’t be too bad! We head off early to get a good start. The landscape is
flat as we follow the massive Mekong River, and the road isn’t too bad. Later
in the day we see another camper approaching. We stop to chat with the German
couple. They have been in Thailand so we are getting hopeful. After over 500km
we pull over in a deserted petrol station for the night. A row of trucks join
us.
The next day we reach the town of Pakse by midday and
stop to use up our last Laos cash on groceries and fuel. Then we head to the
border at Strung Treng. There is no one else crossing and the staff seem to be
snoozing, so are not in too much of a hurry. They reluctantly stamp us out with
a few suggestions of money which is not forthcoming! Then we tackle Cambodia,
totally unprepared. We must apply online for a vehicle permit before we arrive.
He gives us the website, but our Laos sim has cut out, so he hotspots us and
leaves us to it. Eventually we sort it out and pay for a visa. Finally, in and
now we have a new sim in our phone. We are off again. Pass lots of plantations
– banana, mango and cassava. As we near the actual town of Strung Treng we
cross the huge Tonie Sekong River, turn into town and follow the river to the
meeting with the Mekong. Although it’s early I suggest we stop for the night on
the banks of the Mekong. No one bothers us and it is a surprisingly quiet night.
We enjoy watching the fishing boats and the sun setting over the river.
Another early start before it gets too hot. We are relieved
that the Cambodian roads are excellent. As we drive we enjoy the sights. Wats
in every village and motorbikes loaded with people and totally overloaded with
goods. Wedding venues are set up
directly on the main road, closing off half of the road or in some places the
whole road. Imagine your wedding reception in a tent on the road! We also enjoy seeing the latest fashion for
ladies. They love their pj’s morning noon and night. Young and old, they are
all wearing them.
Later we turn off the main road and drive beside the
river through the town of Sandan. When we spy rows of thatched buildings in the
river we stop to check them out. It turns out to be a very popular and very
cool (literally) picnic spot. We try some local pancakes full of beans before
we head off. It is still sooo hot that we are discussing staying in a hotel
tonight. Preferably one with a pool. John finds one near Kampong Cham and we check-in.
There is great parking for GR2 and we pack our bags and head in. But I don’t
think we will bother again. The bed is like a rock, the air con can hardly
cope, and the pool is tepid. At least we get a great breakfast before we head
off. This morning we are heading to the huge city of Phnom Penh. There is only
one turn I suggest that is not so great. The streets markets have spread nearly
all over the road, forcing us to squeeze between umbrellas and produce. Oh
well… too late now. Finally, through lots of road works to the city and head
straight to the spot John has found on our App. It is right beside the Mekong
with lovely views of the city. What could be more perfect! We decide to visit
the Palace. When we visited here 20years ago it was closed, so it is top of our
to do list. It is rather gorgeous, but John is disappointed that we only see more
temples. The lived in part of the Palace isn’t open. Then we wander through the
central park area and eye up all the highrise. It sure is a booming city, no
longer recognizable from our last visit. I suggest a sunset river cruise and we
finally find one and head to our boat. It is a lovely way to finish the evening
chatting to other travelers and admiring the views. Back at GR2 we enjoy some
dumpling soup before heading to bed. But our great spot is no longer so great.
The nearby night club cranks up the music and it keeps going until 12, then 1, then 2 and finally stops at 3am. We
should have moved when it started! Unfortunately, the locals get up early. The
promenade here is a popular jogging spot. Well, one more visit before we leave.
John’s choice is The Killing Fields of Pot Pol on our way out of the city.
Another of those terribly tragic places where some of the 3 million Cambodians
were brutally murdered in our lifetime. I am glad to leave!
We head south to Kampot and then down to the
beachfront at Kep. We find a nice quiet, rather unexciting beach to camp for
the night. Another storm rolls through so we are totally on our own making it
blessedly quiet. The next morning we explore a bit more waterfront, stopping at
the big crab market to look at all the fish and do a spot of people watching.
Then time to head back to Kampot. John has noticed our front LH tyre has a few
cracks and we want to get to a tyre shop before it goes on us. All done we leave
the town and start the long drive to the border with Thailand. All is going
well until there is a funny noise. We stop and the tyre is going flat. The
wheel studs are too tight so the guy at the petrol station (where we
conveniently stopped) calls the mobile tyre shop. Later it rolls in with an air
gun and compressor onboard. Eventually all our tyres are moved around, we no
longer have any left on the roof. We drive on crossing numerous huge waterways full
of wooden fishing boats and edged with houses. Then suddenly our good road ends
and it is very slow going over rocky road accompanied by heaps of slow trucks.
China has a few big ports along this coastline. Finally, back on good road we
cross a big river with a huge gravel area. It will make a perfect campspot. We
stop and hope the breeze will come through our windows! At least more
torrential rain drops the temps a bit!
Today we will reach the border at Koh Kong. Dave has sent us a long list of instructions
and some paperwork to print out before the border. We stop in the biggest town
and a helpful local girl takes me on her scooter to a copy/print shop. Then we
are off to the border. Fingers crossed big time. Easy enough to stamp out of
Cambodia and drop off our vehicle paperwork. Now for Thailand. They print paper
for the vehicle, the next person notes our details and sends us on. The third
person types stuff into his computer… its looking good! But then he turns and
asks others. Everything stalls. They ring our shipping broker but there is no
resolution. We are sent back to Cambodia. Plan B has failed! They reinstate our
visas and we look for a spot to camp. There is a nice beach spot in no mans
land! But “no” we cannot go there – instead we must go to a scruffy, litter
strewn carpark behind customs.
Now we need to work on Plan C. Dave suggest we try
another border or wait a few days and try here again. Our shipping broker is
working on trying to get special permission to drive to the port. We wait! The
next morning, we start our cleaning program ready for shipping and wait.
We continue cleaning and wait after another hot sticky
night. When we start chasing everyone up it seems like we are going in circles.
Every avenue seems to be closing. We will need a Plan D! John visits Thai
customs and they give us a name. We pass it on to our agent and wait. Another
hot sticky night. Frustration is kicking in big time. Another visit to customs
and another name. At least this contact keeps replying. The others are all
ignoring us, I think they have put us in the “too hard basket.”
Hot and bothered and knowing that the weekend is
looming we head to a hotel. Cambodian customs have cleared us to leave. We find
the Nov Kohkong Resort with great air con, hard beds and a slightly tepid pool.
And we keep hassling our latest agents! Friday looms, and our agent is still
working on it and by the evening they say they can book us on a ship that
departs 17th May. Now they need to send the details to our
Australian agent to get it booked. But it’s too late in the day, so it will all
have to wait until Monday. Saturday, we
do a boat trip through the waterways with another couple, then Sunday we chat
to more Overlander’s we previously met
in Nepal who arrived last night.
Monday fingers crossed. It is a public holiday in
Thailand so we don’t think much will happen. But we are wrong. At 5pm we get
the message to take GR2 to the border tomorrow morning for a 10am pickup. We
finish the day in a final frenzy and head to the border bright and early the
next day. We check out of Cambodia after being warned that we cannot reenter on
the same visas again, then enter Thailand on our evisas we purchased a week
ago. We wait and wait. Finally, at 2pm our low loader/ slide tow truck
arrives!!! Yay. Time to venture into Thailand. Goodbye Cambodia.
Our driver is more than happy for us to join him in
the low-loader, so we are patting ourselves on the back. We have been saved the
hassle of getting our 4 bags (yes 4 now because we had to empty GR2 of personal
items) and us to a van and then a bus to Bangkok. But our pleasure is somewhat
dimmed when we realize the driver doesn’t exceed 50kmphr, and when chatting on
his phone he drops down to 40, making it a very long slow trip. Then we have to
stop at Customs for all of 2 hours to get a mountain of paperwork done, GR2
x-rayed and her 4 wheels wired up ensuring that she isn’t driven in Thailand.
Once it is dark our driver speeds up to 60 and I keep checking he is still
awake. He has been driving for hours! After 10.30pm he drops us at a petrol
station. We find a taxi and a hotel. Phew, it has been a long long day.
Overnight we booked a flight home and a hotel in
Bangkok. We just have to get another taxi for the final 100km. Our hotel is
amazing, right on the river. When the rain stops we head out to explore and
find a local river ferry. We get on and for all of 74cents each we go down the
river for about an hour. The ferry of course is continually stopping to drop
people off and collect more, but you need to be quick. They say mind the gap,
which translates to jump off quick or you’ll land in the water!
Today we fly home. It has been another amazing
adventure driving through India, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, China, Laos, Cambodia
and nearly Thailand. 13,500kms in just over 3 months. GR2 is at the port
waiting to be loaded onto a vehicle carrier and is due in Brisbane early June.
Watch this space for more travels in GR3.
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