Angkor Trip - The Road Trip to Siem Reap

And so there we were, getting into our taxis. Hmmm...let me think about how to describe the road trip to Siem Reap. It was a very very long and uneven dirt road. It was bumpy most of the time and I felt sick for the first hour or two in the car.

The driver was very familiar with the road and he skillfully tried to avoid every single hole he saw on the road by turning the car right and left, right and left and sometimes up and down, up and down and at the same time, still maintained his speed. Just imagine yourself in it and being moved right, left, up and down randomly and continuously for about 5 hours. I think you would feel sick too. Then surprisingly at the second hour, I kind of got used to the whole thing and didn't feel sick anymore. But we were all so bored...It was a long journey....

Apart from the bumpy journey, the trip was quite smooth for me. But it was not the case for my friends in the other taxi. They got into a traffic jam which was caused by a collapsed bridge and so there was a line of cars trying to get through (see photos below). And it was amazing how the cars got through the bridge. You have to see it with your own eyes to believe it.

But in the end, we reached Siem Reap at about 7pm. We checked into our guesthouse, put our bags there and then went to a restaurant nearby to have dinner. Ahhh...finally...no more bumpy road...

Travel Tips:

Tales of Asia - Cambodia. The one and only notes we used for our overland journey. It's updated frequently and very thoroughly written so set aside time to read it before your journey.

This was the road we were seeing for about 5 hours. It was uneven and very dusty too. Some parts of the road had been developed and the time to reach Siem Reap from the border is now about 3.5 hours.

Traffic jam due to collapse of a bridge - cars were waiting to get through

Before a car could get through, the bridge was checked and tested

"Ok, it's safe to come through now", said this guy as he was directing a car. Steady...steady...and go...

And that was how it's done!

Making a stop at the driver's house

Playing jenga at the restaurant where we were having dinner. We were so glad to finally reach Siem Reap.