Cambodian Horror Show

I was hoping our next couple of posts would be catching up on our trip from Saigon to the Mekong Delta and the 2 days we spent there on our way to Cambodia, but not so.

You might also assume from the title that I am referring to the Teol Sleung Museum on the Khmer Rouge atrocities, or a visit to the Killing Fields of Cheung Ek, but it is not that either.

We were actually on our way to those 2 sites today in Phnom Penh this morning at 9:30 traveling by Tuk Tuk. Linda had her small pack on her lap with her arms through the straps. I was looking the other way, when I heard her yell.

I looked around just as she had to let go of her pack as a young man on the back of a motorcycle was hauling on it. He managed to get it from her grasp and they sped away, at least twice as fast as the crapheap we were in could go. She was bruised in the process and HAD to let go or she might have been hauled into the street. We yelled for help but nothing could be done and the motorbike was lost in traffic almost instantly.

Today has been spent counting our losses and trying to arrange to replace our Passports, Air tickets, Vietnam Visas, Exit paper for Cambodia, canceling credit cards and more...

All of that stuff was in the pack unfortunately and it really sucks. The "Tourist Police" were really mickey mouse, and several of them polished off a bottle of vodka while we were at their post this afternoon to get some paper work back from them.

We still have my credit card and most of my ID (except Passport) so money is not a problem, even though we lost a bunch of it. Traveling on or even home will be if things don't turn around though.

The Canadian Embassy shares facilities with Australia here, but the Canadian side was closed today (it's Friday here), and will not be open of course until Monday. We had planned on going to Siem Reap tomorrow, and flying back to Saigon from there and from there to Hong Kong and then home. That however is very complicated by the fact that all we can get here is an emergency replacement passport. Of course our multiple entry Visa for Vietnam is in that stolen papers...Yikes...

Well that's all I have the strength to write for now, except that so far I have to say we don't like Cambodia!

Updates as we have them.