CAITA Day 6 & 7 Siem Reap-Phnom Penh - Ho Chi Minh

Day 6 Thursday 19th Oct. Siem Reap - Phnom Penh. 'PADI FIELDS'

We stayed at the City Angkor Hotel- 4 star, 4 storey property owned by Singaporean. Yesterday's slow progress meant that the visit to Angkor Wat Ruins was postponed to this morning at 6am. Due to time constrain, we were only given 1 hour to explore the magnificent place. We boarded a coach to Angkor Thom, a smaller Angkor Wat which was about 12km from town. After the fleeting visit and a short tour of SiemReap town, we returned to our cars and headed for Phnom Penh 350km. The road out towards the capital city was generally fair with the occasional pot holes to catch the unattentive. We were able to keep an average speed of 80 kmh. We passed by many huge padi fields, so big that it stretches over the horizon - it reminded me of the movie "Killing Fields" After crossing 21 bridges, the last being the biggest-sponsored by Japanese Gov't , we arrived at Phnom Penh, in time for lunch. After lunch, we went for a short city tour, and visited the Royal Palace. Our hotel- Hotel Cambodiana, overlooks the Mekong River, has large room and comfortable beds. A Friendship Banquet was hosted by the CAITA organiser, attended by local Gov't Officials, the Chinese Embassy and local Chinese business leaders

Day 7 Friday 20 Oct. Phnom Penh-Ho Chi Minh. 'NEARLY TURNED BACK'

Today, our destination is HCM City. 237km. We started the day at 8.10am. Traffic out of Phnom Penh was hectic with motor cycles all over the road, making over-taking a very exciting affair. This is the first time that we were driving with the attitude that Might is Right. Press the horn to warn motor cycle is a neccesity. We saw all kinds of vehicles being used for transportation. E.g. light goods van with a roof rack seated with at least ten people. Single motor cycle pulling atrailer behind with planks placed across, with 10 pax sitting on it. The road was riddled with potholes and after 30km of driving, we could feel the shock absorbers started to soften up. We bak tracked towards Seam Reap direction for a bit, before joining a road towards the Mekong river. By 1015am, we reached the Mekong River ferry crossing. After the crossing, we took another one and half hour to reach the border. Clearing the Cambodian border was a breeze. The real drama started as we tried to cross the Vietnam border. Our two Singapore cars were not allowed to enter Vietnam because the Vietnamese customs did not recognise our Carnet. We had to apply for temporary permit. Even this was rejected as they said they needed 4 working days to process. Our offer of gratication was rejected as it was a matter of policy that RHD vehicle not permissible to drive in Vietnam. So during our dilemma, our Vietnamese team mates assisted us by calling their contacts in Hanoi. With authorisation from the very top personnels in Hanoi, our cars were finally given entry 7 hours later. We were informed that we were the first Singapore cars -- Right Hand Drive cars to enter Vietnam. We finally left the customs at 6.30pm local time. Headed for HCM City, First Hotel. We finished our journey at 8pm. That was a really close call.

I would like to add that the Chinese organiser assigned a vehicle to stay with us throughout our waiting at the border and they too tried their best to get their contacts and their Chinese Embassy to assist. We did not feel let down in any way and grateful for their support. Our highest appreciation goes to the Vietnamese gentleman, Mr Nguyen Duc Hieu, from the Vietnamese contingent. It is through his personal relationship with the highest authority in Hanoi customs that got us through. He had to write a letter of undertaking that we are bona fide competitors in this Rally. He will personally see us out of Vietnam.

After we arrive at the hotel, we were greeted with many of our group members as well as the executive organising committee. For this we are very very grateful to all concerned. Had we not able to cross the Vietnamese border, we had to make a U turn back to Singapore, the way we came.