We took a nice little drive on Saturday here in Cambodia. We hired a driver to take us from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, a distance of approximately 145 miles. But I will forever know that trip as “Exciting Game of Five Hour Highway Chicken.”
I’ve never been so glad to be alive.
Speaking of live and chickens, here’s a list of things we saw during that drive:
- A tuk tuk stacked with mattresses that said Washington USA” on them (I did not know that Washington was our mattress capital.)
- A flat bed truck full of stone Buddhas.
- Two scooters carrying live chickens (they were tied to the scooters handles and a clever chicken-carrying contraption on the back).
- A Mazda car chopped into a makeshift truck hauling duck cages.
- Children on bicycles being pulled by children on scooters (they hold on to each other’s shoulders).
- A truck of sewing machines pulling another truck of sewing machines by rope.
- Several vans with people sitting in the trunk area with their legs sticking out of the open doors. And one with people balanced on top.
- Several vans with scooters tied to the back (we think that’s a sort of makeshift tow truck for broken down scooters?)
- A van hauling some beautiful and very large carved teak beds. Basically, the frames were wider than the van and stuck out on both sides.
- Carts being pulled by oxen. Yes, oxen.
- A peddler cart with toys and housegoods. Sort of a portable Walmart.
- The most number of people we saw on a single scooter: Four.
- A van filled with clear garbage bags full of red chiles and green beans. (seriously full. To the roof full).
- A guy in camouflage with an AK 47 strapped to his back. Riding a scooter, of course.
I have a ton more to write about Cambodia and Singapore when I get back.