Travelling & Arriving

I arrived safely in Bangkok after an eventful day... the longest day of my life so far – it started at 05h00 UK time yesterday and it is now 20h46 Cambodia time and I have not yet had a night time – Cambodia is 7 hours ahead of the UK. It is a peculiar feeling ... just perpetual day! Anyway, I am off to bed soon, just as soon as I have written this update. And I am sure I will sleep like a log!

I took off from Heathrow at 10h10 yesterday, on the first leg of my trip. Saying ‘Goodbye’ to my beloved England was poignant... the more so now that in her green arms she holds almost all my worldly treasures – husband, children, horses, friends... My theme song was running through my mind: ‘I will run, I will run this race, and I’ll do it all for love.....’

A brief hour later I landed in Paris, where I had a Thai Latte so that I could take my anti-malaria tablet - and yes, I did actually drink a milky drink!!! The Bangkok flight was delayed, so I lay down against the wall, on the floor and went to sleep.... I woke up refreshed 45 minutes later, just in time to board the plane. And off we went, racing ahead of the sun. I sat next to a Frenchman, and did not endear my English self to him at all when I spilled some of my coffee on his lap! In my defence there was a lot of turbulence, and the air-hostess was passing the cup to me, and it slipped and spilled. Oops!

I dosed a bit and half-heartedly watched a movie or two and had enough time to get bored... it was a relief to arrive in Bangkok at 07h00! It took ages to get through customs; there were so many people, none of whom appeared to speak English. I had forgotten to collect an arrival card as I exited the plane, and it proved impossible to find someone who knew enough English to tell me where to get one (you can't go through Passport Control without it neatly filled out). So I was rather flustered by the time I solved my problem, and it was incredibly hot and humid. By the time I collected my luggage my t-shirt looked like I had put it on straight out of the washing machine! Fortunately it was easy to access a change of clothes. I then found my way to Starbucks (yeh I know... but one has to make allowances for culture shock and all that!) where I settled down with a coffee to wait for fellow team member, Claire, to arrive from Vienna.

She arrived at 11h30. It took a little while to find each other, as we had not met before, and the airport was extremely busy. We had been told to meet at the aptly named 'Meeting Point'. Problem was that everyone else had arranged to meet each other there too! Wandering around praying for insight, I saw a lady and I felt a certainty that it was her, so I pushed past my feelings of 'Well what if it isn't?' and enquired as to whether she was Claire! I was most relieved when she said she was. We then found the driver of the taxi Malina of the XP team had arranged for us, and with our equally large suitcases carefully stowed in the boot, we set off for the border, a three and a half hour drive.

My first impression of Thailand is that it is SO flat!!! Miles and miles of flatness, stretching to the horizon in all directions, and Bangkok in the middle of all that flatness. No wonder there was a flooding disaster a while back – there is just nowhere for all the water to go. There are hundreds and hundreds of little fields, growing rice, and also fish and water snail and shrimp farming, interspersed with houses.

Traffic drives on the left, like in England. Our driver was excellent, and our car was air-conditioned, so it was a comfortable trip. Claire and I chatted non-stop about all sorts of things! We stopped for a toilet break on route, and that was an interesting experience, Basically there is a toilet, but it is flat on the ground, and instead of it being flushable, there is a reservoir next to it and you scoop water out of the reservoir with the scoop (supplied), and pour it down the loo until it is clean. 

When we got to the Cambodian border, our driver dropped us off, and we set off out into the great unknown! It was so nice to be together; we were rather rapidly reverting to a ‘stick together’ attitude. It was all rather bewildering, and we were definitely feeling a little out of our depth.

The first challenge was to find the Thai Passport Control building; this turned out not to be too difficult. Once over the Thailand border, we were then in a sort of ‘no-man’s-land’ zone, and we had to walk, dragging our heavy suitcases behind us, and find the Cambodian Passport Control building. This was not particularly clear at all... it took us a while during which we got ourselves a little flustered and hot and bothered - again! The suitcases seemed far too large and bulky now that we were actually in our destination country, and the building we sought was further down the road than we realised – which is why we couldn’t find it!

An official came over to help us, and when we said we needed to go to the Passport Control building, he immediately asked if we were coming to do Christian work. We weren’t sure how to respond to this query, and mumbled something vague, but he smiled broadly and said emphatically: ‘You are here to work with CHO!’ (CHO was the NGO we were going to be working with for the week.) And he then asked if we had visas. We had bought ours online in advance, and apparently this is the best way to do it, as you might be overcharged if you buy one at the border. He then showed us where to go, and our problem was solved.

Passports and visas sorted, we then had to figure out how best to get to our hotel, which was straight down the main road – the only tarred  road - of Poipet. By now there was a busy cluster of people around us, all loudly advising us where to go and how to get there. They seemed completely astonished to hear that we were not on our way to Siem Riep, but intended to stay in Poipet. ‘Whatever for?’ their demeanour seemed to ask.

 English women abroad, living up to our stereotypical image, we steadfastly refused to listen to their suggestions about the wonders of Angkor Watt and insisted on going to the Ly Heng Chaay hotel. To our dismay, we were informed that it was about 2 km away, too far to walk, - and we were by now finding it decidedly difficult dragging our heavy suitcases along the poorly paved and often non-existent sidewalk.

So we said we were looking for a tuk-tuk (a kind of motorbike with passenger seating behind it), but our 'advisors', still keen to send us off in a taxi of their choice towards Siem Reap, said there wouldn't be one till 18h00 (a lie if ever there was one). Then some motorbike taxi chaps offered to help. I was more than a little horrified at their suggestion – they were offering to take each of us PLUS our big suitcases on the back of a bike! But there seemed to be no other option, so Claire and I abandoned what was left of our English reserve and allowed ourselves to be precariously balanced - with our suitcases - and off we went! And in fact it was fine; our advisors were correct! It did feel rather startling to be transported down a busy road, swerving in and out of the traffic, wind blowing through our hair, and ourselves and all our belongings depending on their expertise. After a while, surprisingly, we started to enjoy it.

They charged us 260Baht for the 2km drive, and we were sure that this was too much, but we were so relieved to be at our hotel at last that we handed the money over without a quibble!

The hotel is modest but comfortable, and I have a bedroom to myself, and there is air-conditioning, so one can take a break from the endless heat and humidity. It is amazing! I couldn’t imagine the heat back in chilly England, and now my body is quite overwhelmed. I think it will take a while to adjust.

Unpacking done, we went downstairs where we found some of the other members of the team, and we all went for supper – which, typically for Asia, was rice and vegetables and chicken. It was good to meet the rest of the team, most of whom are from the USA and Canada. There are a few from Australia and New Zealand, and one person, David,  from Myanmar (Burma). By now the team leaders, including Patricia King, had joined us. We were also introduced to the group of Cambodians who would be our translators for the rest of the week.

After supper we had our first training session, which was mainly to do with culture, protocol and procedures in Cambodia, and then Patricia shared on Operation Justice, how it came into existence and what its purpose was. 

And now, at last, it IS night-time, and I am off to bed!

Our day begins at 07h30 tomorrow, and we are going on a tour to see what CHO is doing in Poipet.