Monday, August 13, 2012

Things I Don't Want to Forget: Transportation


Today my memories come from transportation in Cambodia. Any Peace Corps Volunteer will tell you modes of transpiration are big parts of their lives. Between biking around town and the 8 hour bus rides into the capitol, different modes of transportation, and finding the cheapest ones has definitely been a part of my service here in Cambodia.

Transportation:
-How 5 people on a moto is no problem.
-Toyota Camry = a taxi.
-How 10-11 people in a 5 passenger Toyota Camry is also no problem.
-How the driver often shares his seat in order to fit more people into the car or van.
-How there's no limit to the amount of people who can sit in a touri(a 12-16 passenger van) 25 people? Oh sure, we can fit a few more.
-How often Cambodians throw up on bus rides. They keep plastic bags on hand, just for this.
-How freaking loud they play movies, music, and comedy shows on the buses. Hands down the comedy shows are the worst.
-How monks ride side saddle on motos because their robes are like dresses.
-How you can get a bus to stop anywhere along their route, at any time to drop you off or pick you up. The routes take so much longer because they're always dropping people off and picking people up. Your 45 passenger bus could stop like 20 times within the last hour of your destination to drop people off.
-Cambodian road flares, or emergency blinkers = a bunch of tree limbs in front of and behind the car pulled over.
-Garages? Oh, you mean the living room? Yes, that's where they park their cars.
-Need to go to the bathroom while on public transportation? They'll stop pretty much any time. Men just go on the side of the road, and women bring kromas (large scarves) to cover up themselves.
-A host mom telling a volunteer to just put that kroma over their face, and no one will know it's them going to the bathroom, so it's no problem.
-The wonderful people we've met from hitchhiking around Cambodia.

1 comment:

Crazy Shenanigans-JMO said...

That's crazy how many people they'll fit into a car!

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