Saved a few quid today by forgoing the posh tourist bus to Siam Reap (with toilet) and taking the not so posh local bus (with bucket). An unremarkable seven hour journey came to a bonkers end when we were met by a baying mob of rabid Tuk Tuk drivers at the Terminal.
Of all the Tuk Tuk gigs in Southeast Asia this is potentially the most lucrative. Most tourists are here to visit Angkor's famous temples, and because they're so widespread the drivers know a fare from the Bus station could easily turn into a 5 day private hire.
They're fiercely competitive. And with only a handful of tourists on our bus, the welcome was probably even more frenzied. Funny in hindsight I suppose, but at the time it was bordering on scary. As soon as we stepped onto the tarmac thirty of the buggers were right in our face shouting and jostling for position. All waving placards showing ludicrously low day-rates, and all with the same sales pitch:
"Don't go with these guys, they'll rip you off, come with me"
"That guy's a con artist, come with me"
"They're all scamming you man, come with me"
All very reassuring, as you can imagine.
Anyway, we opted for the bloke who seemed to be making the least noise and attempted a quick exit. Even after we'd loaded our bums and backpacks onto his Tuk Tuk though, the mayhem continued, the mob forming an unruly circle while claiming our driver was a wanker and that we were about to be royally shafted.
They were wrong of course, he turned out to be a top bloke; an English language student who is saving for next year's tuition, he's polite, funny and informative. He also has the rather handy knack of knowing the back roads to every temple in Northern Cambodia.
Couldn't help smiling when he told us his name was Lucky.
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