Here's our family on Koh Chang this past week-end, where we attended a wedding. It was a trip of highs and lows. Koh Chang (in Thailand) is about a 7 hour drive from Phnom Penh. We've gone by bus to Thailand several times since we moved to Cambodia and none of those trips has been at all comfortable. Being 6 1/2 months pregnant, I hoped we could find another way. A couple of weeks ago our superintenent offered the use of his van for the trip as we don't have a car. His family had made the trip over April break and it had gone very smoothly. This was generous of him as he has five kids and the van is their only vehicle. Anyway, we weren't sure how long the border-crossing would take, but we figured if we left very early, we would make it by afternoon. Cambodia being a hot country, many people are up by dawn getting things done at a cooler time of day. We planned to leave at 5:00am, just before dawn. We didn't make that deadline, but managed to leave the house by 6:00. Getting out of the city was pretty easy and we only hit traffic once we came to the garment factory district. It's hard to appreciate the size of the garment industry in Cambodia until you see the mass-migration of workers in the morning. Most workers don't have their own vehicles and get to work by a variety of means. Many are taken by truck (the truck pictured was huge and it's standing-room only. Thousands upon thousands walk. Some are on the back of land-barges pulled by tractors. Cambodia has touted its garment industry as the humane choice of employment for its workers. I don't know if it's true or not, but I do know there are many, many jobs I've seen in Cambodia that I would not want to do, so perhaps the factories are better work environments. Anyway, you can think of these girls on their way to work when you wear your Cambodian-made clothing.
Beyond Phnom Penh, the drive was pretty. Green fields dotted by trees with cloudy moutains in the distance. We passed one small farming village after another. People were passing the time like they have for generations-planting rice, taking cattle out to pasture, planting gardens, 
sleeping in hammocks under the house. Outside of PP, the country feels very unsophisticated. At our one gas station stop we were served by ladies who had all worn their pajamas to work. This is convenient for the frequent nap-taking that happens between customers (and who can blame them with the unrelenting heat?) Many men wore no more than underwear (again, who can blame them?)
sleeping in hammocks under the house. Outside of PP, the country feels very unsophisticated. At our one gas station stop we were served by ladies who had all worn their pajamas to work. This is convenient for the frequent nap-taking that happens between customers (and who can blame them with the unrelenting heat?) Many men wore no more than underwear (again, who can blame them?) We made the Thai border by 11:00 and quickly realized that we were one paper short of what we needed to take the van into Thailand. After much calling back to the school, we managed to get what we needed and be on our way to Koh Chang by 1:00. When we got close to the ferry to the island we joined a traffic jam. We hadn't realized that this was a holiday week-end and thousands of people from Bangkok would be joining us for the week-end on Koh Chang. It was a couple of hours before we found out how long the line for the ferry was and when we did, I realized that it would be another couple of hours before we actually got on the ferry. At this point, I abandoned poor Eric. Even though it was a cloudy day, it was still pretty hot in the van and we couldn't open the windows as the notoriously hungry and malarial border mosquitoes joined us every time they had the opportunity. I walked to the pier where the rain and cool wind off the ocean kept the mosquitoes at bay. In spite of the wind and the constant shifting of cars it really was pleasant to sit by the ocean. We made it to the island within six hours of arriving at the ferry.
The resort where the wedding was held was really lovely and 
all night we heard the sounds of storms For us, who have been waiting for the rains in Phnom Penh, it was a lovely sound. For the rest of the family and friends visiting from Europe, East Asia and America, it had made their vacation less than ideal. Most had been on the island for many days and it had rained and stormed for most of that time, making the usually island activities very difficult or impossible. Thankfully, the wedding day was as perfect as it could be for the month of May. It was sunny and bright, but cooler than it would have been without the previous days of rain. Though everyone else was very hot, for us, it was cool compared to Phnom Penh (probably low-90s instead of upper 90s). The wedding was very small, but it was really lovely. With only 20 or so people, everyone contributed in some way to the wedding. Here is a picture of a fun activity organized by the Dutch contingent (the bride is from the Netherlands).
all night we heard the sounds of storms For us, who have been waiting for the rains in Phnom Penh, it was a lovely sound. For the rest of the family and friends visiting from Europe, East Asia and America, it had made their vacation less than ideal. Most had been on the island for many days and it had rained and stormed for most of that time, making the usually island activities very difficult or impossible. Thankfully, the wedding day was as perfect as it could be for the month of May. It was sunny and bright, but cooler than it would have been without the previous days of rain. Though everyone else was very hot, for us, it was cool compared to Phnom Penh (probably low-90s instead of upper 90s). The wedding was very small, but it was really lovely. With only 20 or so people, everyone contributed in some way to the wedding. Here is a picture of a fun activity organized by the Dutch contingent (the bride is from the Netherlands).After lunch everyone headed for the pool, including the bride and groom still in their wedding clothes. The bride's dress didn't seem the worse for the chlorine:) Around dinner time Eric & I, the only guests with a vehicle, drove the new couple to their honeymoon destination.
The next day, we decided to beat the rush off the island and leave in the morning. Unfortunately, many others had the same idea. This time it was sunny and much hotter than the day we had arrived. Gabe & I abandoned Eric shortly after we realized how long the ferry line was. We waited for a little while in an open-air restaurant, but it was too hot to stay for long. I paid the cook at the restaurant to drive me to the pier on his moto. We thought we would wait there, but the only shelter was a very warm warehouse. Gabe & I got on the first ferry 10 minutes later and sailed across to the mainland. Even the Thai people were hot on our shaded ferry ride which tells you how hot the day was. Once on land, Gabe & I paid $1.50 for a ride in the back of a covered pick-up to the nearest town. The pick-up stopped at a KFC which was where we spent the rest of the day until Eric arrived. Judging by the number of pregnant women in KFC, it must have been one of the few air-conditioned refuges in town. Long-suffering Eric had to wait in line for about 5 hours. It was too hot to keep the car running so every time the traffic stopped he got out and took shelter under the trees on either side of the road. We drove the border as quickly as possible, but it was still 4:30 when we finally made it through immigration. It was a slow evening at immigration and the officials wanted to hear all about our trip.
The road beyond the border goes through a large national forest in the Cardamom mountains. It is a lonely drive on winding roads and people 
usually do not recommend driving it at night. With darkness only 2 hours away, we realized we'd have to stay the night at the border. The best accomodation option was the casino right over the border. Gambling is against the law in Thailand so the Cambodians have built a large casino and hotel right over the border. Although it was depressing to see people gambling for 10 hours at a time, the hotel was on a lovely, lonely stretch of beach. Gabe enjoyed playing in the surf and we had a gorgeous sunset to end a pretty uncomfortable day. Oddly enough, this was the only time we were in the ocean on our island week-end.
usually do not recommend driving it at night. With darkness only 2 hours away, we realized we'd have to stay the night at the border. The best accomodation option was the casino right over the border. Gambling is against the law in Thailand so the Cambodians have built a large casino and hotel right over the border. Although it was depressing to see people gambling for 10 hours at a time, the hotel was on a lovely, lonely stretch of beach. Gabe enjoyed playing in the surf and we had a gorgeous sunset to end a pretty uncomfortable day. Oddly enough, this was the only time we were in the ocean on our island week-end.The next day we left early and made it back in time for Eric's afternoon classes. We also came back to a house with no electricity, but that's another story.
