What Would Happen If...: ... Border crossings weren't so simple?

Little did I know that getting from Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia would be so challenging but doing it solo was a pretty memorable experience. After about an hour of searching near the airport I found a bus to take me to the border of Cambodia but no one could tell me what would happen once I got there. Feeling confident that I could at least get that far, I boarded a tiny mini bus with two other Thais and realized about an hour into the ride how unprepared I was. I had expected to have some Internet access at some point but since I was never able to get on, I couldn't check some pretty crucial details. I was on a four hour bus to enter a new country with absolutely no cash, no idea where Anna was staying, no knowledge of what the money in Cambodia was even called, or what the exchange rate was. I also had no clue how much the visa would cost or if I would even be able to find an ATM.

I imagined getting to the border and being unable to enter - held up by some guards who would berate me for how dumb I had been and having to convince someone to drive me to an ATM for an insane amount of money. Thankfully even that scenario didn't sound too too scary so I just took a nap and decided I'd have to take it as it came.

We arrived in the pouring rain and I spent 20 minutes in a room that looked like a garage with 7 Cambodian guys who only seemed to be interested in one question - not "do you have a visa?" Or "do you have 800,000 riel to pay us?" But.. "do you have a boyfriend?" I was then informed that having a baby with a Cambodian was great for the kid because they'd have dual citizenship. Always good to have that info I guess. I agreed to pay for a shared cab to Siem Reap from a nice Cambodian guy who proceeded to take me all around the border on the back of his motorbike with my giant backpack balanced in his lap. It was my first time on a motorbike of any sort and while I wasn't sure if that was the best option of transportation, it really was the only one I had.

So I'm on the back of a motorbike with a Cambodian guy in the pouring rain and he's talking on his cellphone. Oddly enough as out of place as I was and how dangerous it all may have seemed, I felt very calm and aware. I hadn't seen a single tourist or non-Thai or Cambodian the entire day and I finally felt like I was truly traveling. My new Cambodian friend carted me around to a place with Internet where I got Anna's hotel information, then to a guy on the street who helped me convert my money - he was shirtless, wearing only a bath towel, sweating profusely, and standing in front of a giant glass case of money. Not you normal bank but I converted some and it all seemed to work out just fine. I made friends with the bath towel man's wife and son and we shared an orange on the street and laughed about our inability to communicate.

An hour later I was squeezed into a tiny packed corolla on my way to Siem Reap with a family of 6, sharing the front seat with a 20 year old pregnant Cambodian girl who was only 20 years old, sold shoes for a living, and was infatuated with my skin color. After getting my arm rubbed for a few hours, I finally saw signs for Siem Reap and felt relieved but the car ride (which was full of some hilarious very broken English conversations) was cut short when they dropped me off on the side of the road (again in the rain) and told me I had to take a tuk tuk from there. After some intense haggling with a guy in the dark (he was trying to overcharge me and took me to the wrong place) I made it to the hotel and heard Anna's laughter as I walked down the path to the hotel. After 33 hours of travel I was beyond excited to see her and could already tell this trip was going to be quite different. I showered and we went into town with a crew of straggler friends Anna had picked up along the way and had a blast drinking $0.50 beers all night. Hellooo Cambodia!

A few photos...

I made it!!!