18.03: Phnom Penh instead of Sianoukville

I guess the travel agency forgot to mention that the “Knightbus” had a 4 hour lay-over/change-over in Phnom Penh. Arriving at 2 PM instead of 9 AM made my ‘one-full-day-at-the-beach’ plan go to pieces. I gave my bus ticket to a merchandiser to let her try to sell it, but we got lost in translation.

I jumped on a rental scooter at 10 AM. Driving in the East could not be more different than in the West. Lonely Planet wrote that Vietnam is not the place to learn to drive and that is so true! There may be 9 million bicycles in Beijing (if this is a fact I will tell you soon 🙂 ) but there are at least as many motorbikes in Phnom Penh and zero traffic rules. If it is bigger then you it has right of way, unless you are faster or [more] fearless’. Loved it! And yes, I behaved. Oh yeah, I can understand if you struggle to believe me but I reached 80 kmh once and the bike seemed to lift off. Terrifying. Not to mention, the dodging of several pot holes that could fit my bike… argg

Presidential Palace

Choeung Ek

That day, I visited an immensely sad place, the Killing Field Choeung Ek. From 1975-79, Pol Pot’s regime -the Khmer Rouge- forced the establishment of a communist state. It became a totalitarian dictatorship; enslaving virtually the entire population and killing about 3 out of 8 million Cambodians. The majority died at Killing Fields (concentration camps), butchered with farming instruments such as spades or bambo sticks because bullets were too expensive. Loud music was played to counteract the screams of the dying. Babies were grabbed by their legs and smashed into a big tree whilst their mothers were forced to watch. About 9,000 people were killed at the site that I visited; bones, sculls and clothes still keep surfacing from the soil today. It was a shocking experience; the site was reasonably busy yet no one spoke, we were preoccupied in our worlds of thoughts and emotions.

My birth year is ’78. I had heard of the name ‘Pot Pol’ but I was unaware of this monstrosity. I fail to comprehend how this act against humanity could have taken place, only a few decades ago and with the world watching this region due to the Vietnam War. No one stepped in and stopped this massacre. My Middle Eastern experience has made me much more reserved towards international interventions in local affairs but I really believe this was one of those cases where we should have. What an incredible tragedy.

19.03: Vietnam doesn’t seem to want me but I will not throw in my hand

Fellow travellers had advised me to travel to Vietnam via the Mekong River because the delta was supposedly amazing. I joined a tour and sat on a crappy ‘speedboat’ for 5 long hours. I learned that the definition of a ‘speedboat’ is culturally different.  We finally made it to the border crossing, where the local Cambodian tour guide concluded that my e-Visa was not valid at land crossings. I couldn’t test this because it meant exiting Cambodia in order to reach the Vietnamese post. My Cambodian visa was single entry, so if the Vietnamese would turn me down, I would be stuck in no-mans land between the two border posts. The only option was to return to Phnom Penh on the “speedboat” and catch a flight. Captain’s log: Attempt 2 to enter Vietnam failed.

I got some refund for the tour after I nearly strangled the saleslady; she claimed I had ‘consumed the tour’. Yeah, as if waiting on a shabby boat for 10 hours with lousy views without food to return at departure point is ‘consumption’!! It must have been my eloquent language ( 😉 ) that made her change her mind rather fast after.

So Vietnam doesn’t want me, but I am not that easily daunted. I quickly booked a flight to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). It was twice the price of the tour but at least my schedule would not be compromised. I reached the airport just in time and my mood had lifted; in a few hours…I would eat real Vietnamese spring rolls. For the non-Dutch: every Dutchy loves them.

However… Did I already mention that Vietnam doesn’t want me? The ground staff apologised and told me that my booking was not confirmed by the travel agency yet. In laymen’s words: my name was there but I didn’t have a ticket. They offered a new ticket for twice the amount of the initial ticket. I decided to reach out to my agency first and ended up in a shabby airport hotel in the middle of a seriously dodgy red light district. Captain’s log: “Attempt 3 to enter Vietnam failed”.

20.03: Attempt 4

The next day, the agency’s 24/7 SOS help desk appeared to be available 0/24, so I wrote off the loss, booked a new ticket and marched to the departure terminal (again). At the check-in desk -hooray- my name was in the system and -hooray, hooray- I actually had a ticket confirmed. So step 3 out of 3 normally is to board the plane, right? Do I hear 3x hooray? No! Because Vietnam doesn’t want me! The ground staff explained that new rules stipulated that visitors needed proof of an onward ticket and I hadn’t booked one yet. In short, I was refused on the plane. Captain’s log: Attempt 4 to enter Vietnam failed. However, quick research on my iPhone -thank god that I invested in a data bundle- made clear that this rule is not 100% enforced. After some verbal jiu jitsu, I managed to sign a waiver to renounce all responsibility of the airliner. The incident almost made me miss the flight. When I finally reached the Vietnamese customs I felt pretty ambivalent. I promised that in case of any hickups I would fly to a deserted island else where, screw Vietnam!

Luckily, I had great support in this miserable time. My Intelligence team had all fingers crossed. Thanks, guys, your thoughts and prayers must have helped. It made me feel really great; miss you!

Then, the strangest phenomenon occurred. When you don’t want something anymore, then that something starts to want you. All the sudden, Vietnam wanted me. I couldn’t believe what happened but I was out and about in under 10 minuten. Wow. Captain’s log: mission accomplished!