Filthy but happy and safe and sound

12 hours door to door, we're in Cambodia!!! I can't believe that I'm saying those words. Amy and I left our guesthouse in Bangkok to head for the bus station this morning. We told the driver to use the meter because he wanted to charge us 120 baht ($4) when it should only cost 80 baht. So he gave us the drive around - meter pegged at 125 baht. Little did he expect me to hand him a 100 baht note and walk off. I shouldn't have even given him that much, but it was bad traffic after all. It infuriates me when cab drivers try to take advantage of tourists. So there!

We made the 8 am bus out of bangkok for Aranyaprathet. We were supposed to meet a third woman that Amy knew, but she didn't show. On the bus, we met a 21 year old Cannuck gal from Vancouver, and the three of us managed the border crossing unscathed. It was crazy, though - a military guy got on the bus at a checkpoint and removed who I presumed are 8 illegal cambodians. Once we got to the border, I negotiated a tuktuk down from 150 baht to 80 for the three of us, and we walked across the border without trouble. I was expecting more of a crowd of pickpockets, so we'd tucked and cinched everything away. For $40, we got a cab about 150 km from Poipet to Siem Reap on THE MOST HORRIBLE ROAD ON THE PLANET!!!! I swear to God, I could stand up to my knees in some of those potholes. The only saving grace was that it hasn't rained here for awhile, so we never had to push the car. This is what third world looks like, though - Christian Children's Fund commercials in real life. I tried to focus more on the quaintness, smiling children awed by three foreign lass's, herds of cows blocking the road, and the fact that our driver RULED! We passed so many cars coming here (though it still took 4 1/2 hours), and no one passed us :)

Well, I'm tired, disgusting, in need of a bath and a good night's sleep. We're off to Angkor Wat in the morning, and I'll try to post my first photos in a couple of days once my card in more full. I love you all!