YA LEUM. 16 — A hitchhike to Phnom Penh
However, I felt it was time to continue exploring other realities. It is so easy to stay enjoying…but even in such travels, sometimes it is important to push myself to make a move, even when I feel like staying. Time is limited, sometimes because of visa, other times because there are future plans.
Maria and I shared the same room and did some activities together in Mondulkiri. It was always nice to be with her. She was traveling alone and already for a couple of months.
Maria is a warm Spanish woman. Kind, great listener, interesting, and uncomplicated. It was truly enjoyable to do things together, so we decided to go to Phnom Penh since we were already planning individually to go.
Since I arrived in Cambodia, I was motivated to hitchhike. So, I suggested to her the idea which she accepted immediately. She was a hitchhike lover, afterwards, she told me her fun hitchhiking stories in Vietnam, France, Cambodia.
Maria, Tania, Johanna, Madalena and so many other women crossed their journey with mine. I saw women from everywhere, with so many shapes and dreams.
All of them carried the same strength, determination, kindness, and freedom. It was inspiring to meet such women, despite having been always warned from everyone about the constant dangers of being alive.
Still, these women gently nodded to these fears and silently walked away to start a path that only belonged to them.
Phnom Penh is about 370KM from Mondulkiri, 7 hours in Cambodian road.
We woke up early and at 8.30 am we were already on the main intersection road heading to Phnom Penh. We wanted to avoid the strong sun, but it rises early in Asia. I personally like the process of hitchhiking, but the key to be successful is to have patience. To get a lift can take ten minutes or five hours. If you are on rush to arrive somewhere, it can get very stressful and the fun disappears fast.
We wrote a card and waited. We did turns because the sun was already hot. A few cars stopped, but either they were doing short distances or going in different directions.
After patience, it is as important to be strategic. I have had incredible nice people willing to give me a lift, but sometimes the drop off place was even worse than the initial one. So, it is tempting to accept the first lifts because we are afraid no one else will stop…but we need to find our patience back, and say no.
We waited for two hours, but never lost the animo. Finally two nice men, going to work in Phnom Penh agreed to give us a lift.
The van was nice and comfortable. One of them could speak some English, so we could have a simple conversation in the beginning. Even when we did not speak, they smiled. Like all Cambodians, they always smile.
It was a relaxing trip and looking out of the window, I would make the same happy smile I get used to every time I was back on the road.
Outside, there was an incredible tropical scenery that I started getting used to in Asia. The wind was blowing warm and the sun never stopped shining, nothing could make me happier than this moment.
We arrived late afternoon and we were dropped off in the outskirts of the city. We were in a busy area and not knowing exactly how to get to the center.
Back in Mondulkiri, I found a couchsurfing place, slightly outside the city center.
Couchsurfing is a platform where people offer their couch to travelers, in exchange for a cultural experience. It is absolutely free and I must say, the Couchsurfing experiences were one of the best moments of the entire trip.
Very coincidently, Maria had stayed in the same Couchsurfing I booked. She had such a good experience, she wanted to visit the Couchsurfing family again.
She still knew how to get there, fortunately, because from where we were, we had to change public transport a few times.
The couchsurfer hosts were a Mexican-Cambodian couple extremely used to hosts travelers. Always with positive reviews. They were indeed nice and attentive.
The night we arrived, there were other travelers, including a Polish couple that hitchhiked all central Asia, including China, because they did not want to travel with planes. They were already traveling for more than a year and sometimes they would stop in some places to work and save money to continue traveling. I was so happy to meet them because Mathieu and I were planning to do something similar. They really inspired me!
Their apartment was in a friendly and lively neighborhood. That evening, the first one, we set the table outside and shared a meal with the family and other travelers.
The neighbors were loud and happy. Drunk and singing karaoke.
I tried my first fried insects. I joined the neighbors. The other travelers too.
We shared stories. We understood that our choices were mind blowing.
I felt so free and so happy.
I understood what it means to be a traveler.
Welcome Phnom Penh!
A city with more than 3 million people, it is the hub for art, restaurants and charm. Vibrant and affordable, it is possible to enjoy its perks and the beautiful places left by the influence of the French. I liked this city so much. So far, my Cambodian experience was at his top. I had an incredible time in Thailand and Laos, but Cambodia made me feel with such an ease I cannot describe. I felt truly good here.
Phnom Penh can be chaotic during the day, but the youthful and charismatic touch makes your time there an experience to repeat.
I visited the national museum, one or two temples, and the impressive and horrific Tuol Sleng Genocide museum.
This last place used to be a high school that was transformed into a political prisoner’s camp during the Khmer Rouge regime. There is an estimate that 20.000 people have been imprisoned, tortured and executed and only 10 people survived. The rooms, the walls, still have traces of the atrocities committed by Pol Pot regime. I was shocked and sad to see, from so close, what happened during the Khmer Rouge, which was not so long ago.
Later, Maria and I moved to a hostel in the city center to be closer to everything.
Phnom Penh was the last stop for Maria before going to Spain.
I was ready to continue my trip to a small town called Kep, in the south of Cambodia
Our goodbye was a bit emotional.
As travelers we live intense moments together, we connect well with other human beings that are living the same as us. And then, in a moment, we must split and continue our ways separately.
There is a sort of sorrow in these moments. We promise to see each other again and truly hope the best we know for them.
Because the show must go on.
July 2017,
Patricia Assis
