The Bus #
In medias res is a Latin phrase that literally translates as “in the middle of things”. It’s precisely here that I begin the story, having spent a warm couple of months in Malaysia, only to abruptly throw myself into Cambodia.
It’s a very different place here. I noticed that on my first day, observing the dramatic difference in road quality between Cambodia, and it’s neighbour Thailand. That’s a material cue to the poverty experienced by the general populace here, however there are far more insidious scars present on these people than mere poverty would afford.
I was insulated from this, at first, journeying on the luxurous Giant Ibis bus line, and being insulated from the need to sort out my own Visa On Arrival. This was good, because I didn’t yet have any US Dollers. This was also good, because they gave us all lanyards with their emergency number on it to wear around our necks, and herded us through the immigration process in a safe, and orderly manner.
My first taste of the real Cambodian culture came about right after we got off the bus. We were told that they had arranged for Tuk-Tuk’s to take us to our destination, and that it should cost between $2-$3, depending on whether we were in-town, or out of town. I found a driver immediately, and he proceeded to load up my (enormous) suitcase, and my guitar, and then lowered the shroud over it all, to keep it from getting wet in the rain.
We soon embarked, having shown him on the map where I was trying to go, and we set off. He asked me if I had a SIM card, and I said no, so he suggested stopping somewhere to get one, first. It seemed like an innocuous request, so I said yes, and we soon found ourselves at a stall, where he stopped, turned off the bike, and told me that he’d watch my things. I went to the vendor, and she had a price sheet listing out how much it would be for 1 week, 2 week, 3 week, 4 week. The prices were exorbitant. We’re talking $35 USD for a month’s service, with 100 GB of data.
What the heck, you’re probably thinking, if you live in North America, and most especially Canada, where we get fleeced on our phone bills as a general manner of being, but actually, this is a Asia, and that is a terrible price. I had pulled out 80 USD from the ATM when the bus stopped in Cambodia, and half of that went to pay for my Visa, meaning this would have literally cost me all of my money.
I aborted, telling the tuk-tuk driver that I wanted to go to the Guesthouse, telling him that the SIM card wasn’t a priority.
We continued on to the Guesthouse. Once we got there, I asked him how much. All the cash that I had, at this point, was still in USD, and what’s more, these were $10 bills. I expressed this, andn he offered me $3 in change. Remember, how the trip was supposed to be $2-3? I expressed as much, to which he pointed out the stop he had made to get me a SIM card, to which I replied that I felt like they were trying to rip me off, which wasn’t a nice feeling, andn that he was trying to do the same. He found two more $1 USD notes, and raised his offer for change.
I had little choice but to accept. He made a lot of claims, when confronted with the manner in which he sought to take advantage of me, and described having children to feed, and needing to find a job. He then asked if I was happy with this outcome, to which I said no. I really wasn’t. I felt taken advantage of.