I was sat next to a chap who wore a surgical mask for all but the last hour of the journey. I wondered whether he was just mistrustful of the air in Phnom Penh and a 200km radius, initially mistrustful of me but I won his confidence, or just got a bit sweaty. He also looked uncannily like Dr Marvin Monroe off the Simpsons (I had to google that).
When I arrived at the bus station in Siem Reap I became embroiled in the most ludicrous bartering dispute. While the the three other tourists seemed to have already booked guesthouses and made quick decisions about who to go with I waited until my bag was unloaded, leaving me alone and surrounded by at least 25 men all shouting and tugging at my shirt. When I shouted at them to get back while I decided they would take two steps back and then be back in my face after about 5 seconds. What made the decision confusing was that they were offering somewhere between free and 50p for a ride to the guesthouse of my choice which was disconcerting. However, somewhat surprisingly but thankfully, the instant I had pointed at my chosen driver, everyone simply turned and walked away.
It seems that the reason for the free rides is that the drivers then try to get you to agree for them to be your driver round the temples. Unfortunately for this driver I said myself and friend would be cycling around, though he seemed nice enough to say if I needed a tuk tuk I'd ask for him.
Siem Reap seems a bit more touristy than Phnom Penh and livelier because all the bars etc seem to be in one place. Bumped into Tom again at the guesthouse before our previously agreed meeting at Angkor What? bar (ho ho) and found he'd already agreed to be chauffeured around. Went to said establishment later anyway and met some nice Aussie girls, one of whom was a car salesperson, which I found mildly intriguing.
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