We made the crossing from Thailand to Cambodia and immediately went from
backpacking luxury to a journey into a former Heart of Darkness. It was an
acute shock as the 12 of us, including the old Canadian farmer I'd met the
night before, were still recovering from an evening of bonding which
involved an excess of cockroach canapes and cocktails.
We'd joined up for a two-week trip by minibus and public buses through
Cambodia with Intrepid Travel. The roughing it style of this particular trip
suited me. I'd missed out a gap year when young, partly because I'd known I
get more out of it when older and wiser.
Work gets in the way, but these types of trips are a way of squeezing a
month's worth of a gap year into two weeks - no time wasted organising
routes or milling about. Overlanding travel is far from a package tour.
There's a real sense of adventure and freedom throughout. It was backpacking
with someone telling you where to put your bag but without being in your
face.
We were able to wander off and do our own thing, and we did more as time went
on, but there is a thrill as well in meeting new people and wondering
whether you will get on. You can make friends from afar to stay with on
future travels or people to party with closer to home.
As a group we bonded quickly. Mike, the 23-year-old procurer of cockroaches,
was soon playing up on our long bus journey, looking to while away the time
with daft guessing games and telling an Australian that we Europeans were
lucky to travel so freely thanks to our UN passports. Mike was my room mate
after the first night: we had a huge amount of fun and he benefited greatly
from a 32-year-old's supposed wisdom, of course.
Homestays, good guides, the best restaurants, cheaper excursions - all are
advantages of being escorted. Getting close to the locals, truly
experiencing the culture, sensing the suffering and finding out about the
recent history from the horses mouths - these are the things that make you
pity people who feel able to jet into a sheltered, luxury hotel for Angkor
Wat and hop straight on a plane back out of there.
THE ITINERARY
Day 1 - Bangkok
Our accommodation in the Thai capital is basic but clean, comfortable and
air-conditioned as are all the hotels on the tour. I meet my room mate for
the first night - a 60-year-old Canadian farmer called Frankie. He's an
affable enough chap, but I wonder whether the rest of the group will be
younger.
A jaunt around the Royal Palace is a fine way to pass an afternoon,
Disney-like in its colourful extravagance, harking back to the glory days of
the Siam empire - golden temples, gargoyles and Buddhas abound. Those who
haven't visited the city can choose to arrive a few days early, with
participants arranging their own flights.
The group turns out to be on the young side - backpackers using a cheap
organised tour for difficult parts of their longer travels, career breakers
and the odd holidaymaker. Hailing from the UK, Australia, the US and Canada,
there's often a larger number of Australasians in this region, with flights
cheaper from Down Under. It's also common to end up with more middle-aged or older
participants. Our guide is Eva from Spain - enthusiastic, well-travelled
and well-organised.
We break the ice over very strong Mai Tai cocktails at the Minibar - a
street-side trolley filled with spirits and liquors and offering cocktails
at ludicrously low prices. The owner/mixologist shows off his framed
magazine article that lists it in the world's top ten bars. We bond over
insects when Mike returns from a wander armed with grubs, cockroaches and
grasshoppers. They are pickled, fried to a crisp and almost tasty. We all
wolf at least one down and I'm assured by super-fit Sarah from Boston that
they are very good for you - high in protein and fibre, low in fat.
