Phnom Penh is a busy, bustling city and there are quite a few means of making your way around it. Below are a few we have tried and survived.
Traffic is horrendous here and rules seem to be solely optional. It's crazy the way drivers blow through red lights and weave in and out of other vehicles amidst 6 lanes of traffic. My favorite move is when people want to make a left hand turn, they pull head on into traffic and sit there until they can complete their turn...
Mode #1: The Van
We rode this from the airport on the first day and have been in it a couple of times since. As long as the driver and passenger in the front are buckled in, you can squeeze as many people as you please.
Mode #2: Tuk-tuk
You hail these like a taxi--or the drivers hail you which is more like it... There is a small motorcycle which drags this carriage structure behind it. I think we managed to pile 7 of us into it.
Mode #3: Back of a truck
Again, anything goes- squeeze in as many as you want! Noticing a trend here...? This morning I actually saw a truck with over a dozen kids in their uniforms crammed into the back of a truck on the way to school.
Mode #4: Moto-dop
(LtoR: Mutiang- one of the language teachers/students, me, Tigor- the intern I will be shadowing here, Kim Leon- our Khmer teacher)
Yes, you do typically ride sidesaddle on these as a passenger and though Mutiang was just standing to the left and didn't ride with the three of us, it is not uncommon to see four jammed on to these tiny bikes.
However, I learned the hard way that these can get quite hot...
Mode #5: ELEPHANT!
We didn't actually take this mode, but we could have at Wat Phnom; instead I settled for a picture. It wouldn't exactly be the most practical way to get around downtown though!
No comments:
Post a Comment