Answer: a Cambodian bus
Here’s a crazy story before we catch you up with what has been going on the past week. So we are riding on a bus from Siem Reap to Kratie, Cambodia. We were lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of the bus until we heard a loud thud and felt a slight bump.
Beef, it's what's for dinner
The bus screeched to a halt and worried faces looked to the back window of the bus. Fortunately we had only run over a calf (and not a person). You see, here in Cambodia, people walk and ride their bikes along the highways and cows roam free. So the bus driver backed up to the dead calf and many people got out of the bus. There were discussions between the driver and some of the passengers. The next thing we know, they are opening a luggage compartment under the bus and proceeded to wrestle the dead calf into the bus. This compartment was separated from the compartment with our backpacks so we were relieved, thinking our backpacks were safe from any blood and guts. We inspected the damage on the bus and they lost part of the bumper and an air filter.
When we arrived in Kratie, the bus driver threw out our backpacks before we even got off the bus. By the time we got to our bags, the bus sped off and we discovered that our backpacks reeked of fish. In the compartment under the bus, a box of salted fish must have leaked and covered our bags in fish juice. We tried to complain to the bus company but they said it was the driver’s responsibility, hence the reason he sped off so quickly after dumping our bags. We had this happen to us before in Peace Corps so it wasn’t new to us. Continue reading →
