Time for a new country...lets check out Cambodia.

I am quite excited about visiting Cambodia. Laos was beautiful but getting a bit fed up with the bland food and the rudeness of the locals.

First stop the small city of Kratie.

Travelled for 7 hours (Including the boarder transfer) on what I would now describe as a luxury bus (actually was comfortable with reclining seats and leg room!!)
The boarder crossing - this involved me handing over my passport to the travel rep along with completed arriving and departing cards and sitting on a bus! The rep got the passport stamped and you got out the bus to collect your passport back of him. A passport official (immigration officer) walked up the bus with a strange device which he was pointing at everyone individually. This was a thermometer and he was checking everyone's temperature. Apparently Laos has an H1N1 outbreak - nice to know as you are leaving!!
There was no checking to see if you were the owner of that passport from the passport control, no checking of baggage, nothing...just sit on a bus and go straight through to Cambodia!

I am now in Kratie, and it is grey and raining!!
Staying at You Hong.
Had a walk around the city, there are a few shops and market stalls. I am quite surprised by the amount of litter around in the streets, seems quite run down here.

After being told there is no night bus tomorrow evening, or any evening as there are no lights on the roads, have to get another bus tomorrow morning to Siam Riep!
I miss the Thailand night buses...why do buses in Laos and Cambodia have to leave at 8am!!

Had a walk around Kratie at night...it was 9pm and the streets were empty. One shop and one restaurant was open!!
At 6am the following morning, the city is alive...market stalls are setting up and everything is back open.
The litter has been cleared off the streets - well kind of, there are now huge piles of litter at the ends of the streets!!