Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

I left my friends in Laos and headed for Cambodia.

The ride involved a series of ever-changing minibuses (i.e. 15 passenger vans) loaded to the gills with tourists and backpacks. Shortly after entering Cambodia, we picked up a local woman, who had a large, plastic container of gasoline. The drivers wanted to put this canister behind the back seat, but an older French gentleman, who had the misfortune of being in the back seat fought that idea. Having been a firefighter, he told the drivers that it was too dangerous and that they should put the canister on the roof. What he didn't realize was that he needed to be very specific and tell them to tie it down, too, which they did not.

Naturally, about 30 seconds later, as we sped down the road, everyone on the left side of the bus started yelling. It seems that the canister had tipped over and was leaking gasoline, which was streaming down the sides of the van and in through the open windows. This time, the "crew" properly secured the container and the Frenchman warned them, "NO SMOKING!"

Only minutes later, the driver and his partner were leaning out the windows smoking cigarettes.


This was my introduction to Cambodia. I get the feeling that it's going to be a wild ride!

Luckily, when I reached Phnom Penh, I met a really nice and very English-fluent tuk-tuk driver who drove me around the city until I found a guesthouse I liked and also dropped me off at a really good (and reasonably priced) Cambodian restaurant called Khmer Saravan. Here, I was introduced to a great local dish called Amok, which is like my favorite curry with some added cabbage. I think I am going to like this ride.