5 dead mosquitoes. 6 dead mosquitoes. Seriously, why were they all hanging around me?? I was on the bus, headed back to Phnom Penh from Koh Kong, the border town near Thailand. I had had the opportunity to take an air-conditioned taxi back to the capital , but for the sake of a measly $13, I had refused. And in the process, I lost $50, or if you will, a day’s pay.
Let me backtrack a little for you. To get from Phnom Penh to Koh Chang, I had paid $23. At the time I had thought the price quite steep, but for less stress and because of the lovely girl who sold me my ticket, I paid up. The journey; completely non-problematic. So when I decided to return to PP, I again went to 3 different travel agents in Koh Chang and was quoted 15oo baht, or $50 if you will for the reverse journey. I knew I could do it cheaper off my own bat, so that I did. All was going well and I had only spend $15 by the time I crossed the border.
As I crossed, various touts informed me that the express bus I desired was full, and that I should catch a share taxi back home for $20. However, me being the seasoned traveller that I am (yeah right…) decided these guys were taking me for a ride (excuse the pun) so instead I headed for the bus station where sure enough, I was told the bus I wanted was full, but that a shittier version would leave in 2 hours time for the inflated foreign price of $12. (Locals pay $7) Begrudgingly, I paid and headed into town for some deliciously cheap lunch. I then wasted some time on good old ‘facebook’ before heading back to the bus station. When I went to pay for my moto driver, the hand in my pocket sensed that the $50 I had exchanged from baht back at the border was gone. Had I unconsciously put it in my wallet? No, I hadn’t. Nor had I put it in any of my other 4 pockets. It was definitely gone. So, I boarded my mosquito ridden, barely air-conditioned bus, trying to convince myself that some Cambodian had found $50 worth of New Year luck in the streets of Koh Kong that day. As for me, in an effort to save myself $27, I had parted with $80 that day, and it was only 1.20pm.
