Feb 21st: Cambodia

We started early in the morning for Cambodia. The guide came to our hotel at half seven. We had been told half eight by our crooked tour guide (never trust tour guides !!) who said that we could have a nice sleep and breakfast first. Be careful when booking tours in South Eastern Asia, the tour guide will lie to you to get you to book a place: they will lie about the start time, how long the journey takes, the stops, the type of transport, etc.
We knew in advance that the trips to Cambodia were, in many ways, a scam, but we had researched the alternatives and it worked out to be the cheapest by far. To fly is expensive there (there is a conspiracy theory that says the airlines encourage the government to keep the roads in terrible condition so that people will fly, even at inflated rates), to get public transport means a taxi ride between Poipet (trashy town in Cambodia) to Siem Reap and due to the taxi mafia cartel it will cost at least 70 euros and could be a lot more, so that really only leaves you with the tours. They are cheap, but they are hell.
We spent 12 hours in transit in an old, dirty, cramped bus where I couldn't even move my legs or fit in the seat, I had to sit sideways, on a bumpy road, without air-conditioning, all the time trying not to get dust in our eyes. In a strange way, I actually got a kick out of this, it was a challenge, it felt like a real adventure, but that's looking back on it, nostaliga has rose-tinted lenses.
We did meet a few nice people on the trip, a girl from Canada who was extremely friendly and a fun guy from Australia. There was a great sense of comradory on the trip and we felt like we were really 'travelling', 'backpacking' for the first time.
Travelling through Cambodia is like going through any third world country, shocking and surreal. People live in huts, barely houses, dusty and delapidated, they seem so poor and desperate. There is no electricity in the country so they carry flashlights about, a lot of the houses have no windows, just an open wall, so everyone can see in, poeple sleep on hamocks in the same room.
When we got to Siem Reap we were amazed at how different it is. Entering the town you are met with fancy hotels and plush spas. Our bus stopped at a hotel and we had already decided not to stay because buses always make deals with dodgy hotels here, but when we got there we were so tired and hungry and our bags seemed so heavy, that we gave in and stayed there. It was, after all, only 3 euros per night.