The Road to Phnom Penh

Departed Siem Reap for Phnom Penh this morning via the Mekong Express (also known as the Bladder Bursting Ball Busting Bucking Bronco Bus).

Our journey began without incident, but after approximately 3 hours on the road, one of the rear shock absorbers broke. Guess what? The bus driver kept going...things got so rough that people were literally smashing their heads on the luggage racks above their seats and then landing hard on their tailbones. I sat knees bent, rump suspended off the seat, ready for the next impact...much like riding a horse.

You know the saying "...the poop hit the fan..."? Well in our case, the poop hit the ceiling and the driver announced that the washroom on board was closed until further notice.

We finally pulled into a small village market where the driver made the repairs. Here, we treated ourselves to some local delicacies...

Deep fried critters tossed in green and red chilies

  

On closer inspection, Zimern would have loved these crickets...

But these were even better...fresh roasted DUNG BEETLES

Assorted sundried fish jerky was mundane

Nicely packaged though...

  

 

...the usual fresh fruits that are ever abundant...

We finally pulled into Phnom Penh and were greeted by Anita, a volunteer worker with His Child, a Christian ministry dedicated to improving the lives of Cambodian street kids, some as young as 2 years old, abandoned by parents and cared for by 8 year old siblings. That evening we got a glimpse of the work the volunteers are doing but unfortunately we were not permitted to take photographs.

Later, Anita brought us to a local restaurant where we enjoyed iced tea with a bowl of pho before retiring to our accommodations at the missionaries' residence. We set our alarms to 4:45 am, looking forward to a full day's volunteering.