Sihanoukville to Phu Quoc, D98

Sihanoukville --> Phu Quoc

We already had our visas from the Vietnam Consulate in Sihanoukville. It cost $60USD per person for a one-month tourist visa- by far the most expensive entry on our trip. Paolo, the owner of our hotel Carpe Diem, sets up our transportation. We pay $25 each to be picked up at Carpe Diem (in Otres), driven to the Cambodia/Vietnam border, transported to the town of Ha Tien where we will transfer to the 1PM ferry to Phu Quoc. Sounds easy enough!

6:30AM

Wake up, get ready, order breakfast...

7:00AM 

Minibus arrives EARLY (ticket says 7:30AM). Sylvia and Paolo from Carpe Diem rush to make our eggs to-go. The mini bus driver is in a hurry and he's a HUGE dick.

7:00AM-8:15AM

Pick up various passengers from Otres 1, Otres 2, Serendipity, Independence Beach and Liberty Beach. It becomes clear the bus driver is on meth-- not an exaggeration. "Yaba" is huge in Cambodia. Two pedestrians are on the side of a road and our driver slowly runs into them and laughs and drives away. He didn't know them. Weird joke.

8:15AM-10AM

The driver honks 95% of the trip. The road is two lanes, one going in either direction. Our driver honks, tailgates, sings to himself and laughs. He also texts and calls his friends and sings to them. We almost hit a PETROL truck.

10AM

We screetch to halt in front of a tourist information shop in Kampot, and the driver honks honks honks. He takes our bags out of the back. Apparently we're switching cars, though no one told us this would be the case. (In fact, we were told we had a direct bus from our hotel to the ferry terminal.) I ask him if I can go pee and he says no. I think about peeing on his seat, because I hate him, and the only reason I don't is because then I'd have to sit in wet underwear the rest of the ride. No peeing, no chatting, no dilly-dallying! We have to get in a jeep and leave RIGHT NOW. We get in the jeep with two girls who are going to Ho Chi Minh City (NOT WHERE WE WERE GOING). We double check that we're all supposed to be in the jeep, and the driver rudely says *GRUNT!*

10AM-10:45AM

New Jeep Driver is also a maniac. It's clear he hates his job and therefore hates us. No seat belts in the jeep makes for an extra fun time.

10:45AM

We get to the Cambodia/Vietnam border. The driver jumps out and gives our passports to someone and unloads our luggage. He tries to peel out, but Ian and I chase the car. I open the passenger door and Ian opens the driver door to stop him... we have some questions: IS ANOTHER DRIVER COMING TO GET US?  HOW WILL WE GET TO THE FERRY? WHERE ARE OUR PASSPORTS? WHAT THE FUCK?? Answer: Someone will come. She has your passports. *Peels away with doors not closed*  

What. Just. Happened.

10:46AM
I pee at the border casino. Sigh.

10:46AM-11:30AM

We sit and wait. A tumbleweed drifts by.

11:30AM

We're pretty convinced we were left to die... until the lady with our passports appears! Woo hoo! She tells us to walk across the border with our things. We tell her we're supposed to have someone pick us up. "Not possible." We walk.

11:45AM-12:30PM

We hand our passports to immigration. At first, we are the only people in the building. Oddly, they won't look at our passports and we don't know why; they just sit on the desk in front of the man. Ian stands in front of the counter and stares at the workers. They stare at the pens and beers on their desk. What did we miss?

Busloads of Asian tour groups start coming in in matching hats. Their passports are processed before ours. Ian goes up to the window and sees that everyone is bribing the immigration officers to take their passports. The going rate is $10pp. It's about 12:30PM, and we start to get worried- the last ferry to Phu Quoc leaves the Ha Tien Ferry Terminal at 1PM. We try to give the officer $10, but he says "Not enough for you," really leaning into the "youuuu," implying our skin color is the problem. We give him $15 and STAMP STAMP we're good to go!

See our blue passports being neglected?

12:40PM

We're freaking out. We already paid for our hotel on the island, and we're in jeopardy of missing the boat. I'm tired and frustrated and I'm holding back tears. We need to get to the ferry terminal, which is only 4 miles away. 

A taxi picks us up and five minutes later we're dropped off at a tourist agency. We show them we already paid for the ferry and they feverishly make a phone call.

12:50PM

Another taxi picks us up and takes us to the ferry. 

12:55PM
We get to the ferry!

1:30PM

Of course, the 1PM ferry doesn't leave until 1:30.

2:45PM

Arrive at Phu Quoc. Taxi to the hotel. (Taxi cost 350,000 Dong, or $18. Bus would have taken $3, but we did not want to DEAL.)

3:10PM

Arrive at our beautiful place.

Minibus with tweek #1, jeep with tweek #2, border abandonment/walk, racist holding, taxi, taxi, late ferry, taxi and... WE MADE IT!

Sounds easy enough, right?