From hell to paradise

If yesterday’s roads were merely treacherous; the roads to Poi Pet are hellish. The four of us, piled into an old Toyota Camry, made our way to Poi Pet, a town otherwise known as the cesspit/armpit of Cambodia, to cross the land border between Cambodia and Thailand.

Roads in Poi Pet are truly a sight to behold.

Muddy and riddled with huge mounds and potholes, they looked like they had been marched over by all the bulls and cows and chickens and ducks and people in Cambodia who thus churned the dirt into a terrifying state of upheaval and disrepair. They put yesterday’s roads to shame. People in Poi Pet don’t bother wearing footwear when crossing the roads. There is simply no way to avoid the stain of mud.

Astoundingly, we saw guesthouses in PoI Pet. They probably cater to the hordes of masochists who visit Poi Pet just to suffer its roads.

Our driver sounded his horn incessantly. Everyone drives on the wrong side of the road in ultimately futile attempts to negotiate the minefields that the roads of Poi Pet are. Lawlessness reigns there.

And yet, despite such apparent devil-may-care driving, in all my time in Cambodia, I have not witnessed a single accident. Close shaves were common, but they were all under control. Drivers are confident in their driving. Buses and cars hurtling down highways overtake into oncoming traffic without hesitation when there is even the slightest gap in traffic. But not once did I feel endangered. Drivers are very skilled. They start learning their motor skills from a young age. We routinely saw Cambodian schoolgirls (up to 3!) on a single motorbike riding to school. Every household seemingly owns a motorbike. It is the defacto mode of transport. There is a method in the madness that is Cambodian road anarchy.

We walked across the border at Poi Pet without incident.

Between the Cambodian and Thai immigration checkpoints exists a den of vice. In this short stretch of no man’s land, a number of casino resorts do good business. Roadside stalls here sell liquor freely.

We are now in Bangkok. The bus ride here was relatively luxurious compared to anything we took in Cambodia. I realised how much I missed smooth paved roads.

Cambodia’s been a mixed experience. From the sheer joy of Sihanoukville to the grimness of the Tuol Sleng, its been crazy. Tomorrow we shop in the civilised paradise that is Bangkok and return home.

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