Two pairs of flip-flops *and* sandals?! Really? I’d taken the van from Siem Reap and had reached the transfer town of Stung Treng. You’ve got to pass through it to get to anywhere: over the Laos border to 4,000 Islands (inaccurately named) and Dom Det; down to Kratie and; east to Rattanakiri province. ST was a functional town. Yes, let’s call it a functional town. Quite big, very dusty and apart from the two “places of worship” the nearest thing worth seeing, according to my app, was 44km away. We’d stopped for lunch. Everyone’s packs were twice the size of mine and I was intrigued as to what they’d brought that I hadn’t. “Is that all your stuff?” she asked, pointing to my pack.”Yep, and I think I’ve got everything I need.” But I was intrigued as to what they’d brought that I hadn’t. Some answers: ten tops (I brought 2, making 12 items of clothing in total) makeup, an extensive range of toiletries, a snorkelling mask (I’m not making this up), plus the two pairs of flip-flops and one pair of sandals. Wow.
Whatever time you arrived, you’d be waiting one hour. Alarm bells started ringing when I asked about Banlung and a minor panic ensued. The van service is ad hoc: it seems that each day they see what tickets they’ve sold and run buses to cater. Booking to Stung Treng and “winging it from there” wasn’t part of the system. But it was, because they just fudged it. Bundled off the third van about 3 minutes after I’d got on, I was told “Bus to Banlung, this one, from here, 5 minutes”. From recent previous experience, I didn’t believe them. And it was just me. “By myself?!” I asked, horrified. “Yes,” said a toothy grin. Oh no, this wasn’t part of the deal – I’m not doing a two-hour trip by myself. But all four just smiled enthusiastically and nodded. And I realised I didn’t have much choice. Staying here wasn’t much safer. I needn’t have worried: the van (not the one they’d pointed to) arrived five minutes later and, already full to the brim, I was bundled on.
The terrain changed as we got higher:
But the houses were the same:
My first moto trip was to my hotel: $1, helmet not included. I can report that the back of a moto is more stable than it looks.
Hotel’s ok. Sunset was impressive:
Only one person at the hotel speaks (a little) English. Hate being in a country and not at least being able to get by. Booked a one-day trek in the forest tomorrow and a waterfall tour for Thursday. I declined the elephant ride: they’re bred in captivity and live in “less than ideal” conditions. I appreciate the locals need to make a living, but I fundamentally disagree with using a wild animal as entertainment.
And talking about wild animals, I had a visitor in my room:
Travelling’s one of life’s contradictions: how doing so little can be so tiring?
Sleep.