We travelled directly from Don Det all the way to Phnomh Penh. This consisted of a river taxi to take us and our bags away from the Four Thousand Islands, and then a minivan to the Laos / Cambodia border. Exit and entry were essentially at huts down a track. We then had to walk the 500m between the two countries, before transferring into our 2nd (overcrowded) minivan of the day. The road improved quite a bit on the Cambodian side which took us down to Stung Treng where we needed to transfer to our second boat of the day to cross the Mekong. We had our first meal in Cambodia and waited for the next bus to leave. Off we went again, with our driver (complete with gangsta hat and sunglasses) pottering along at a relatively low speed considering the good (mainly!) road conditions. A flat tyre was discovered at a petrol stop (rather bizarrely) so a further chance to eat presented itself. A tasty baguette with some odd bits of meat was taken from a roadside cafe, alongside a disappointingly warm can of our first Cambodian beer (Klang).

Eventually we were off again - when we stopped to eat after an hour we couldn't help thinking that we woudl be better off driving (it was still about 250km to Phnomh Penh and it was about 1800 by now). An hour or so later our group was split into 2 as some people were going to Siem Reap (for Angkor Wat). Abortive attempts were made to fit 12 westerners into a small minivan with 10 seats. Everyone was getting a bit tired by this point, although a couple of olders aussies in the party did themselves no favours with their tirades about a lack of VIP service (which was what we had apparentlly bought) and the need for good custmer service etc etc. Anyway, we checked into the Lakeside Backapckers guesthouse (next to the lake) at about midnight and an immensely forgettable day was done and dusted. At least we got a second floor room (rats scuttle around on the ground floor becuase of the close proximity to the lake...)